Why the Flyers think Steve Mason can still get better

VOORHEES For years, Steve Mason’s goalie partner back in juniors, Adam Dennis, bugged Mason to work with his goalie trainer in the summer. And for whatever reason, Mason never obliged.

This past summer, after the Flyers’ starter marveled at Rob Zepp’s first taste of the NHL last season, Mason decided to do it.

Dave Franco, a goalie coach who worked with Dennis, Zepp and former NHLers Jamie Storr and Cutris Joseph, now has a new fan.

“I’m feeling really, really happy with where my game’s at,” Mason said the day after making 41 saves against the New York Rangers. “This summer was the first summer I worked with a goaltender coach back home. I think that really gave me a solid base coming into camp to feel comfortable with and then another contributing factor is being able to come in and work with Kim (Dillabaugh, the Flyers’ new goalie coach) before camp started. It was the first time in my career that I was able to come into camp and get some solid goalie work in before camp started.”

There’s already been a bit of a payoff in Mason’s two preseason games, especially Monday night against a Rangers team that was about as close to an NHL team as you’ll see in preseason play.

Now 27 and in his eighth year in the league, Mason feels his new summer routine will give him an upper hand and will help him get even better. He won the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie in 2009, but had even better numbers last year with a career-best 2.25 goals-against average and .928 save percentage.

“He was on top of his game right away,” alternate captain Mark Streit said. “He was really confident. He moves really well and he sees the puck well. He has a lot of confidence. He’s physically in great shape. He’s one of those ‘new’ goaltenders, big, tall, covers a lot of net and moves really well. He’s been great in the past and he’s still young for a goalie. He’s only gonna get better.”

Perhaps it’s just part of growing up for Mason, who was so supremely unhappy in Columbus before being traded to the Flyers that he was ready to play out his contract, retire and throw his goalie pads in the trash. The goalie is now one of the Flyers’ vocal leaders and reacts better to things than he did as a younger netminder in the NHL.

“I think Mase has become a pro,” said general manager Ron Hextall, a former goalie. “He’s obviously in better shape than he was earlier in his career. The maintenance part, he knows his body. The nutrition part, I think all our guys are getting better. Mase is coming a long way. You leave the game and people always ask, ‘How do you want to be remembered?’ and most guys say, ‘I want to be remembered as a good teammate and a pro,’ and I think Mase is getting to the point where he’s a good pro.”

Mason’s .944 5-on-5 save percentage last year was the best in the NHL among starting goalies. He probably went under the radar last season as one of the game’s top goalies with Montreal’s Carey Price and Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk getting most of the accolades.

“Maybe outside of Philadelphia (he went under the radar),” Hextall said. “I think people here realize what a good job he’s done for us. I think that’s possible outside of Philly.”

The improvement in his game, especially since being traded to Philadelphia April 3, 2013, shows that Mason is back to being all-in as an NHLer.

“I look back to last year and I thought Zepper was probably the best goalie in camp,” Mason said. “A lot of that has to do with the prep work that he put in. I wanted to make sure that this season I took that opportunity and built a relationship with Dave back home and I think it’s something that I’ll continue just because to have a goaltender coach not only for your team, but also back home that you can work with nonstop just to keep that base there is huge.”

Considering the Flyers are implementing a new system under rookie coach Dave Hakstol, the team may be relying on the goalie a little extra to clean up some mistakes, at least in the beginning.

“That’s the way it’s gonna be the first couple games,” Streit admitted. “If you have a goalie like him, you know he can keep you in the game. We want to clean that up as soon as possible and need him during the year. They had 16 shots in the first period. That’s a lot of shots, but it makes our life way easier because we have so much confidence in him.”

Dave Isaac; (856) 486-2479; disaac@gannettnj.com .