Long wait ends; Trotman back in NHL
Zach Trotman waited a long time for this opportunity.
Fivehundred-seventy-one days, to be precise.
That’s how long it had been since Trotman’s previous NHL game, which came April 3, 2016 as a member of the Boston Bruins. The streak ended Thursday night, as Trotman made his Penguins debut while the team deals with a rash of injuries along the blue line.
“It would be exciting to get back, yeah,” Trotman said Thursday morning. “It’s been a while.”
With Justin Schultz and Matt Hunwick dealing with concussions, Trotman entered the Penguins lineup, skating on the third defense pairing with Ian Cole.
“Zach’s a good, solid twoway defenseman,” coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday morning. “He’s got a big shot, he’s got good size. I think he defends well in the battle areas because he’s big and strong. He skates well for a big guy, he has mobility, so we think he can fit into the style of play that we’re trying to play.”
Going into Thursday night, Trotman had 67 NHL games under his belt, all with Boston. He played just nine games with the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate last season before an upperbody injury ended his season. This summer, he signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Penguins.
“We’re excited to have Zach as part of our group of defensemen,” Sullivan said. “He’s a guy that we anticipated we were going to use throughout the course of this season.”
Trotman has been up with the Penguins for a week now, but had been a healthy scratch for all three games since is arrival. He admitted it can be tough to go that long without playing games, but it’s also something he’s accustomed to.
“It’s a spot I’ve been in before,” Trotman said. “When I was in Boston, I kind of got used to having to go in and out of the lineup. You don’t play for a week, maybe two weeks, then, when you jump back in, it’s all in the mindset. You just have to be mentally prepared, ready to go and just come back sharp.”
He also said the four games he got with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before getting called up help him get back into a rhythm after missing so much time last season.
“Yeah, we got a lot of work on it down in Wilkes,” he said. “Did a lot of video down there and obviously playing in some games helps you get in the flow of it. I think I feel pretty comfortable with everything right now.”
Trotman’s locker is right next to veteran Kris Letang’s, and the two were chatting for a while after the morning skate. But Letang said he doesn’t try to overload new defensemen when they join the locker room.
“You try and help them out, but there’s so much information thrown at them early when they get here,” Letang said.
“You just want to let them enjoy their time also so they can stay loose. You just try to mentally keep them cool.”
Scheduling inequity
The Penguins have the most back-to-back games in the NHL this season, with 19. Their opponent Thursday night, the Jets, have the fewest with just nine.
That sort of discrepancy is not insignificant, especially considering how much the Penguins have struggled in the second legs of back-tobacks so far this season. So would Sullivan like to see a bit more equality in those numbers?
“I don’t really give too much thought to that, quite honestly, because we can’t control it,” Sullivan said. “That’s something that the league takes control of. Our thoughts and our energy is going toward those things that we can control.”
Letang also opted out of taking a strong stance on the issue, correctly noting that the Jets do have to deal with much more travel in terms of distance than the Penguins, who will log the fewest total miles in the league this season.
“If we have more back-tobacks, it’s one thing, but I’m glad we’re not going East Coast, West Coast, back and forth all the time,” Letang said. “There’s a win and lose in different situations. We have to live with it, and if it’s hard, it’s just going to prepare us for later.m
Day off helps Letang
Letang was back with the team for the morning skate Thursday after missing practice Wednesday for a maintenanceday. Especially with the Penguins’ rough early season travel schedule, he said he’s just trying to find days off where he can.
“I feel fine right now,” he said. “I’m trying to keep building my game, being more consistent. A day off allows me to rest and get ready for tonight.”