From now until the beginning of training camp, Bruins Insider Joe Haggerty is profiling players who will be on, or have a chance to be on, the 2015-16 Bruins. Today's player: Zach Trotman.
Trotman should have an NHL spot locked up by virtue of his one-way contract for this season and the solid way he ended last season with the Bruins. He looked like he belonged. He moved the puck, got involved offensively, won battles in the defensive zone and showed the overall confidence in his game that perhaps wasn’t always there in earlier stints. He’s proven everything he needs to in the AHL, so now is the time for Trotman, 25, to show what he can do in the NHL. He’ll get that chance as long as he looks hungry to win a job in training camp and there’s no reason to think that won’t happen for a young player with a bright future.
Twitter Handle: @Ztrotman4
What Happened Last Year: Trotman didn’t have his best AHL season as he battled through injuries and the difficulty of bouncing back and forth between Providence and Boston after struggling last year in training camp. The right shot D-man had two goals and 13 points in 40 games along with a minus-9 rating for the P-Bruins, but was strong in Boston, with one goal and five points in 27 games. His final stint with the Bruins after the Dougie Hamilton injury was as good as he looked in the NHL. Trotman carried that over in a solid AHL playoff series with the P-Bruins, where he played like a dominant defenseman. He’s the most clearly NHL-ready defenseman on the young blueliners that will be competing for jobs in camp.
Questions To Be Answered This Season: Trotman has a cannon shot from the right point, skates fairly well for a 6-foot-3, 219-pound defenseman and has shown the ability to make a good first pass out of the D-zone. He’s also now shown he can do these things in the NHL. The biggest question surrounding Trotman is his ability to stay healthy. The 67 games he played between Providence and Boston were the highest total of his professional career. One would also hope that Trotman will use his size and strength a bit more menacingly in the NHL in terms of hitting and winning battles in the D-zone. He needs to more consistently play up to his size and strength if he wants to maximize his potential as a two-way defenseman, but must find a way to do it while staying in the lineup. That will be his challenge this season. Then he can show what his ceiling will be in the NHL. He has all the makings of a top-four D-man when his game is fully developed, but he might not be quite ready for that next season where a bottom pair role might be more realistic.
In Their Words: “They have to prove they can play [with Zdeno Chara]. In Trotman’s situation, he’s made some pretty good plays and he’s been pretty reliable. At some point you have to balance out your back end depending on who you’re playing. Some teams have two or three good lines and if you put all your best D’s on one pair, you become vulnerable. We’ve had to rely on [young guys], and at the same time, I think they’ve been earning our trust with the way they’ve been playing. In this case with Trotman, he’s done a good job.” –Claude Julien, on Trotman finishing up last season playing alongside Chara in a top pair role in even-strength situations.
Overall Outlook: Trotman finished last season playing top pairing minutes with Zdeno Chara and got the call from Julien in the game’s closing minutes. That’s an impressive amount of trust in a young defenseman from the Bruins coaching staff and is very indicative of the quantum leaps made in the final weeks of the regular season. Trotman will be given every chance to win one of the six spots on the B’s defensemen corps to start the season and he has all the tools to earn himself an NHL job moving forward. It’s his time, and he showed last spring that he’s ready for it. Now, it’s up to Trotman to see how good he can be after his humble beginnings as the final player selected (210th overall) in the 2010 NHL Draft.