Boston Bruins Zach Trotman Is A Defensive Wild Card
By Jay Peterson
After watching him play last year and hearing news of him signing a one way contract with the Boston Bruins, it would be safe to assume that Zach Trotman will be spending the entirety of next season up with the big club. While this seems like the obvious choice, it is also the smartest choice due to how much more convenient Trotman will make Claude Julien‘s job of choosing who to play every night.
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When looking at the Boston Bruins defense, you see, with the exception of Zdeno Chara, a bunch of one dimensional players. Now, that’s not to say that our defenseman are not good at what they do; it’s just that they can’t do anything else. Dennis Seidenberg, Kevan Miller and Adam McQuaid will hit, poke check, block shots and kill penalties, but they will, hopefully, never attempt to play the offensive game.
Torey Krug and Matt Irwin will always make an appearance on the power play units and will move up as the fourth forward at appropriate times in the offensive zone, but don’t expect them to play big minutes outside of the power play or to be defensively reliable. Having one dimensional defenseman isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since you can typically just pair an offensive defenseman with a defensive defenseman and get the best of both worlds on every pairing. However, when a player gets bench or injured, it is of utmost importance that the replacement defenseman can fill in the responsibilities of the missing defenseman. This is where Zach Trotman becomes increasingly valuable.
Apr 11, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Zach Trotman (62) against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Like Zdeno Chara, Zach Trotman has not only proved that he can play a defensive game but has also proved that he can play an offensive game too. His time on ice during penalty kills ranks higher than Krug and Irwin’s and his time on ice during power plays ranks higher than Seidenberg, Miller and McQuaid’s. With a player like Trotman at his disposal, Claude Julien has the power to replace any defenseman on his team without missing a beat.
If Krug or Irwin get injured or benched, Trotman will fill in offensively. If Seidenberg, Miller or McQuaid get injured or benched, Trotman will fill in and focus more on his defensive responsibilities. If Chara gets injured, things will become a little more complicated, but Trotman would still be the man to replace him at first. With this plan in place, Trotman should be poised to play close to 60 games this year, if not more, depending on all possible circumstances.
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When looking at defensive prospects other than Trotman, none are at the point, yet, where they can perform both offensive defenseman and defensive duties. The only two players that compare offensively to Trotman are Joe Morrow and Colin Miller, but both of these defensemen still have to work on their defensive game a bit more and would not ever be relied on to replace a defensive defenseman in the Boston Bruins lineup.
Zach Trotman is the only other two dimensional defenseman the Boston Bruins have, outside of Zdeno Chara. Having both abilities will allow Trotman to play in all scenarios, collect a bunch of ice time, and develop into a very complete NHL defenseman. If all goes according to plan, Zach Trotman could turn out to be one of the most valuable players on the entire Boston Bruins roster this year.
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