Trouba turning into top-flight rearguard

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This article was published 05/01/2017 (3177 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SUNRISE, Fla. — Jacob Trouba waited with his arms crossed as cameras and reporters surrounded teammate Nikolaj Ehlers just feet from where the Winnipeg Jets defenceman stood alone.

Ehlers, 20, garnered the attention after scoring two goals and setting up another in a win Tuesday over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nobody was surprised by what they’d witnessed. Instead, they were eager to dig further into what had been another big night for the young forward, who had posted seven goals and three assists in his past seven games.

When the scrum ended, only one reporter stuck around for Trouba. Despite scoring a goal and an assist against Tampa, Trouba managed to fly under the radar.

But not for Jets head coach Paul Maurice, who said despite a delay-of-game penalty that led to a late goal by Tampa, Trouba had one of his best performances of the year.

“Other than flipping it (the puck) in the stands, that was just about the perfect game from the guy,” Maurice said.

A day later, following a win over the Florida Panthers, Maurice went a step further. While reporters wanted to talk about the play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and his ability to earn wins on consecutive nights, or how 18-year-old rookie sensation Patrik Laine had kept his 40-goal pace, Maurice wanted to talk about Trouba.

“Our back end, from within five feet of our net, were outstanding tonight, and that probably started with Jake Trouba,” he said, adding Trouba, along with centre Bryan Little, were “the two best players on the ice.”

“That was probably as solid a game as I’ve seen him play.”

With an assist against the Panthers, Trouba has seven points in his past five games. He credits his recent offensive burst to a bigger role in recent weeks, including time on the power play.

“Probably a little luck, too,” the 22-year-old said after the Tampa game.

“You go through hot streaks, and you go through cold streaks where you make good plays and they just don’t end up (in the net) for you. I don’t really think too much of it, just stick to my game.”

Trouba has two goals and 11 assists in 26 games this year — a higher scoring rate than the 21 points in 65 games he collected all last season.

Maurice credits Trouba’s patience for his success in the offensive zone. Far too often, the Jets coach said, young players come into the NHL with high expectations built from having a great deal of success throughout their hockey life.

“It takes them a while to realize that 80 per cent of this game is a grind, and nothing happens,” Maurice said. “And the great players, when it opens up in that last 20, that’s where they feed. So patience, and we’re starting to see more of it, we believe.”

It’s not just Trouba’s ability to find the score sheet that has made him one of the Jets’ best performers this year.

He’s also minimized the blow of losing veteran blue-liner Tyler Myers, who has missed the past 24 games with an undisclosed, lower-body injury. With Myers out, Trouba has been relied on to play big minutes.

He ranks second behind Dustin Byfuglien in ice time, logging an average of 23 minutes, 48 seconds per game. Playing alongside Toby Enstrom on the designated shutdown pairing, most of those minutes are against the opposing team’s top players.

Trouba also leads the Jets in average ice time on the penalty kill (3:19).

“I think every player wants more, and you’ve got to keep earning more,” he said. “When you get it, you don’t want to let the opportunities squander.”

The emergence of Trouba is as impressive as it was improbable. Just months ago, the Jets were in a highly publicized dispute with Trouba’s camp, with each side differing in his dollar value and place in the lineup.

Trouba was reported to want a long-term deal, with upwards of US$7 million per season. He also wanted to move back to his natural side as a right-handed defenceman after playing parts of the past two seasons on the left.

Eventually negotiations stalled before hitting a boiling point, with Trouba’s agent demanding the Jets trade him. Any thread for reconciliation seemed severed and an exit imminent, sparking a month-long game of chicken.

The Jets would eventually get their way, signing Trouba to a two-year, bridge deal worth a total of US$6 million. Trouba was welcome backed with open arms by his teammates but was designated to the third pairing.

Having missed the entire training camp and the first 13 games of the regular season, it was understandable Trouba would need time to find his footing. Now, he says he finally feels like his old self.

“My legs have felt really good, and I feel I’m skating well, and that’s when I’m playing well,” he said.

“When I get flat-footed or don’t really move my feet too fast, that’s when I’m not playing very well, especially in the D-zone. That’s where my game starts is moving my feet.”

Maurice offered up another explanation for Trouba’s evolution: maturity. The coach sees it in his play every game, whether in his timing when he throws a big hit or his decision-making in the neutral zone in closing gaps against attackers.

“Jake is physically a much stronger man this year than he was, and that makes sense — you’re bigger and stronger than you were at 19 when you’re 22,” he said.

“He can drive harder defensively, he has just a little more experience on when to get in and when to get out.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @jeffkhamilton