Bylsma Nominated for Honor

Mighty Duck forward Dan Bylsma has been nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by the Anaheim chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Assn.

The award goes to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Adam Graves of the New York Rangers won the award last season.

Bylsma’s skills as a penalty killer and his leadership have been invaluable to the Ducks. Off the ice, he runs the Dan Bylsma Charitable Foundation, which helps youths with the cost of playing sports, particularly ice hockey, and aids hockey programs for children in need.

Bylsma was recently named a Sports Ethics Fellow by the Institute for International Sports for his contributions to promote the ideals of ethics and fair play.

High hopes that Duck officials had for forward Maxim Balmochnykh have not been realized, and may never be, since his decision to return to Russia for personal reasons, according to Duck officials.

Balmochnykh, a 1997 second-round draft pick, has been practicing with HK Lipetsk, a second-division team with which he began his career in 1994-95. He has struggled during three seasons with minor league Cincinnati. He did appear in six games with the Ducks with one assist in 1999-2000.

He had six goals and 10 points in 23 games with Cincinnati this season.

Balmochnykh’s future will be re-evaluated during the off-season.

Defenseman Jason York left Sunday’s game against Dallas in the second period after being hit by the Stars’ Manny Malhotra. York may skate today at practice. He has been bothered all season by a sore right shoulder that will require arthroscopic surgery at the end of the season.... Mike Leclerc, Matt Cullen and Bylsma each have reached personal bests in goals. Leclerc has 19, Cullen 18 and Bylsma eight.