Zach Trotman is 24 years old, and should be a lock for a job with the Big club this year as his contract is 1-way for the 2015-16 season. The only question that remains is where he will line up every night. Trotman replaced Dougie Hamilton from injury almost seamlessly last season, and with Hamilton set to sport the flamed C this season, it’s unclear who the Bruins have penciled in to fill his role to start the year. Considering how well Trotman performed to close out the year, it would be very puzzling not to see him at the very least, get a long look at the right side opposite captain Zdeno Chara.
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The 6’3, 219 pound defender put up less-than-stellar numbers, with 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 points in 27 game, which was a far cry from the numbers that Dougie Hamilton posted, 10 goals and 32 assists for 42 points in 72 games. It would be unreasonable to expect Trotman to match Hamilton’s impact with his point total if he takes over the top line job, however, Trotman does have a right hand shot, which is highly sought after in the NHL.
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While point replication seems out of the question, Bruins fans should still be pleased with the impact Trotman had on the defensive side of the puck last year, as he rarely, if ever, looked out of position or lost on the ice. One knock against Hamilton was that his inexperience led to the occasional positional mistake, which was magnified due to his top-line billing. Trotman seemed to be more comfortable dropping back into the defensive zone than Hamilton did, and as the opportunities presented themselves over time, he gained confidence joining the rush as well.
With the exception of Zdeno Chara and Adam McQuaid, Trotman was tasked with the toughest zone starts of any Bruins defensemen. The majority of Trotman’s ice time started outside of the offensive zone, however he finished third behind Chara and Hamilton with a 52.9 Corsi percentage among Bruins defenders with at least 25 games played. The puck possession numbers that Trotman brings to the team will undoubtedly help the Bruins, who finished 16th in the league in Corsi percentage with 50.7% in the 2014-15 season. To put it in perspective, the Bruins finished 1st in 2013-14 with a 61.4 Corsi percentage, and hadn’t finished anywhere outside of the top 5 since the 2009-10 season. (All stats used were found on Puckalytics.com)
With a log-jam in the back end for Boston, should Zach Trotman be the front-runner to replace Dougie Hamilton for a top-4 job this season in Boston?