On Friday, the San Jose Sharks announced their candidate for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is “awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.” While their nominee, Justin Bailey, likely isn’t a favorite to win the award given the hardships some others have experienced over the course of the season, he’s certainly deserving of the nomination even though many fans around the league likely aren’t familiar with his story.
Bailey’s Backstory
To fully examine Bailey’s story, you have to start with his draft year. He was a second-round pick during the 2013 NHL Draft, selected by his hometown team the Buffalo Sabres. As a big power forward there were a lot of hopes surrounding him. He spent a couple more seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) as a member of the Kitchener Rangers and eventually the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds before finally making his professional debut with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2015-16 season. He played well in the AHL, well enough to get recalled to make his NHL debut during the same season. Unfortunately, he was unable to take advantage of the opportunity and failed to record a point in eight games with the Sabres.
It took until the following season, 2016-17, for Bailey to record his first NHL point. He only recorded four points in 32 games though so he spent some time in the AHL once again. This became the norm for his time with the Sabres, he was a phenomenal AHL-level player, but couldn’t seem to make it work in the NHL. During the 2018-19 season, the Sabres traded Bailey to the Philadelphia Flyers for a player in a similar situation, Taylor Leier. This is where both players went in massively different directions though. Leier got an opportunity in the AHL with the Americans, but after a season and a half with no chances at the NHL level, he left North America and has been playing in Europe ever since.
Bailey played a few games at the NHL level with the Flyers, but once again failed to find his footing. He was determined to make it work though. He signed a one-year two-way contract with the Vancouver Canucks on July 4, 2019, and played 19 games with the Canucks over the next three seasons, with most of his time spent as a member of the Utica Comets and Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL. His final game at the NHL level came on Jan. 27, 2022, and at the time, it seemed like that was the last chance he’d ever get at the highest tier of professional hockey. He finished the season with the AHL Canucks before signing a one-year AHL contract with the Bakersfield Condors. He played well there once again, which led to the Edmonton Oilers giving him a two-way NHL contract but he never made an appearance for them. Now, that brings us to the start of the 2023-24 season.
Joining San Jose
Bailey signed a one-year AHL contract with the San Jose Barracuda as management was looking to add some high-end skill to the roster to help develop the Sharks’ prospects. He was a perfect addition to the Barracuda who needed to take a step forward given their parent club’s rebuilding status. As you’d likely expect though, things never really go to plan. He played well and the Sharks had been plagued with injuries early in the season, so he was rewarded with a two-way deal and eventually promoted to the Sharks. From there, he never looked back.
Bailey got off to a hot start, recording five points in his first eight games back in the NHL. His counting stats fell off significantly from there, but he had worked himself into head coach David Quinn’s nightly plans and he’s now played a career-high 56 games in the NHL this season, while also recording a career-high in every offensive category. At the time of writing, he has five goals, nine assists and a total of 14 points on the season.
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After quite a bit of adversity, Bailey has seemingly become a serviceable NHL player. He’s played on essentially every possible line this season, but he’s spent the majority of his time on the fourth line and his game certainly fits that role. He’s not the type of player who’s going to find himself on the scoresheet every night, nor is he going to dazzle with his skill. He plays a rugged, powerful game and does carry quite a bit of speed as well. He’s the prototypical grinding fourth-liner, it’s not a pretty role but it may make it possible for him to stick around in the NHL.