Stecher embraces pressure, challenges of playing at home
Everybody wants a piece of Troy Stecher.
The opposition salivates at stapling the shifty and swift-skating diminutive defenceman to the boards and taking away his point shot. His buddies are always picking the brain of the homegrown Vancouver Canuck to either offer advice or glean inside information on the National Hockey League club.
If that isn’t enough, there’s avoiding the dreaded sophomore jinx and maximizing contractextension potential. And playing at home in a fishbowl existence can be unnerving. But Stecher set strict rules about his time away from the rink because he’s so dialed in whether in the gym on or the ice.
“My friends try to bring it (Canucks) up and I made it clear from Day 1 that it wasn’t part of my discussion,” said the 23-yearold Richmond native. “They can be fans. I’m a player and we have a difference of information and we leave it at that. They’re super respectful that way.
“But obviously they get excited with free agency when we sign a guy like (Thomas) Vanek because he had a ton of success in Buffalo.”
However, adulation in this market is fleeting.
Anything Vanek might add to the power play as a right-shot option will be met with angst if he’s a liability at even strength. Same goes for Stecher. As much as he looked comfortable in a reunited pairing with Alex Edler in the pre-season finale Saturday, his nine shot attempts included three that were blocked and three that missed the mark.
That doesn’t go unnoticed in Rogers Arena and it doesn’t escape the media microscope.
“Any press is good press because it’s the way you handle it,” said Stecher, who added two hits in his 16:35 of ice time Saturday in the 3-2 win over Edmonton. “You let it go in one ear and out the other, or you let it get to you.
“For me, I just take the noise. It’s the support from my family and I just forget about everything else.”
Stecher would like to forget the spectre of the sophomore jinx. But rather than be apprehensive, he’s proactive. He knows what Ben Hutton went through. The wide-eyed college rookie finished second in assists (24) and third in points (25) among rookie defencemen in the 2015-16 season and then slumped to 19 points (5-14) and a minus-22 rating.
He never meshed with Erik Gudbranson and never found his comfort zone.
“I was a sophomore in college (North Dakota) and I didn’t have a slump, but obviously you don’t want to think about it,” admitted Stecher. “Teams have a better read on you and I’ve talked to Ben. I’ve talked to a lot of players and my agent and even my family.”
“The biggest thing is confidence. If things aren’t going your way, don’t get frustrated. You’re here for a reason because the team believes in you and just keep playing the way you’re supposed to.”
Playing in Travis Green’s uptempo system should help Stecher. He had no trouble moving the puck Saturday and even though pairings could still be juggled before the regular-season opener, there are no red flags with Stecher. He even got second-unit power play time Saturday.
“Definitely attacking off the rush and being that fourth forward is going to be beneficial,” said Stecher. “But it starts in the D zone. You’re jumping from the corner, you’re not jumping from the blueline but from behind your goal-line and creating separation.”
Just 22 goals from the back end last season contributed to the 29th-ranked offence and power play. Edler led with six goals but the Canucks managed just five from blue-liners with the man advantage.
“There are so many different camera angles now (to defend shots),” said Stecher. “You find something that works and when they take it away, you have to adapt. Obviously, that was a key for me last year and I didn’t want to get frustrated.
“It was encouraging that they wanted me to be a shooter and if it wasn’t getting through you have to find a different way. That was a big aspect for me in the off-season besides getting stronger. Working on my shot and making sure I could get it through and open my angles a bit different with my feet and my stick.”
Netting more than just three goals in 71 games like last season shouldn’t be a problem for Stecher and he should eclipse 21 assists if there’s power play time. More importantly, strong and steady play with Edler will be crucial. Edler had just one shot Saturday, despite first-unit, power play deployment, and turned the puck over twice.
“Our games mesh well,” added Stecher. “We’re not overly vocal and probably not the best defensive defencemen, but we play with effort.”
And that’s all you can ask from the coveted college free agent who chose to play at home.
“I wanted to be a Canuck,” he stressed. “I had a lot of time to reflect this summer and this is a pretty special opportunity being a local kid. I’m just trying to make the most of it because I know things can change pretty quickly.
“You never want to get complacent.”