Trocheck chose to move to Detroit at the age of 13 with his father[4] in an effort to earn attention from scouts.[5] While in Detroit, Trocheck learned about the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and began attending Plymouth Whalers games.[6] He joined the Detroit Little Caesars AAA team for the 2006–07 season and remained with them for three consecutive seasons.[1] During his time with the team, Trocheck participated in the 2008 Port Huron Silver Stick tournament and was named to the Bantam All-Star team.[7] In his final season with the Detroit Little Caesars, Trocheck posted 17 goals and 14 assists through 36 games.[8] His performance in the 2009 state championship resulted in him being scouted by the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL. He was invited to see Game 3 of their first-round playoff series and was subsequently drafted by the Spirit in the 2009 OHL Priority Draft.[6]
Upon signing with the Spirit in 2009, Trocheck reconnected with his former Pee-Wee teammate Brandon Saad in hopes of convincing him to commit to the team.[9] Trocheck began his rookie season strong, tallying seven points through his first 10 games in the OHL.[10] He spent the majority of his rookie season skating on the Spirit's third line,[11] where he recorded 15 goals and 28 assists.[1] At the conclusion of his rookie season, Trocheck received the Spirit's Fan Favorite Award.[12]
After Saad signed with the Spirit in 2010, the two began the 2010–11 season on a line together. Through their first four games of the season, Trocheck tallied seven points while Saad added three goals.[13] Following the teams first shutout loss of the season, Trocheck was moved onto the Spirit's second line with Josh Shalla. In their first game together, Trocheck assisted on each of Shalla's four goals in a 5-2 win over the Windsor Spitfires.[14] By January, Trocheck was ranked 42nd amongst all draft-eligible OHL forwards and defensemen by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.[15] He was also selected alongside Saad to compete for Team Orr at the 2011 CHL Top Prospects Game.[16] On March 17, 2011, Trocheck recorded his 25th goal of the season in a 5-0 win over the Spitfires to help lead the Spirit to their first Western Conference division title in franchise history.[17] In Game 6 of the Western Conference quarterfinals, Trocheck scored two goals to lead the Spirit over the Guelph Storm and onto their second Western Conference Semifinals series in franchise history.[18] Trocheck finished the postseason with six goals and five assists for 11 points over 12 games. Leading up to the 2011 NHL entry draft, Trocheck was ranked 41st amongst all North American draft-eligible forwards and defensemen by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.[19] He was eventually selected by the Florida Panthers in the third round of the draft,[20] and attended their 2011 training camp.[21] He was also drafted in the fifth round, 137th overall, by the Vityaz Chekhov in the KHL Junior Draft.[22]
Upon graduating from high school, Trocheck began attending Northwood University while still competing for the Spirit.[23] Trocheck returned to the Spirit's top line with Saad to start the 2011–12 season. Through his first 10 games, Trocheck ranked second on the team with six goals and three assists.[11] On April 23, 2012, Trocheck was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Panthers.[24] Although Trocheck did not finish the 2011–12 season on the Spirit's top line of Saad, Shalla, and Michael Fine, he still led the team with 29 goals and 56 assists.[25]
Prior to the start of the 2012–13 season, Trocheck replaced Saad as team captain.[26] On November 5, Trocheck tied the Saginaw Spirit career record for assists after recording one point in a loss to the Sarnia Sting.[27] In a later game against the Sting on December 1, Trocheck moved into second place on the Spirit's all-time points list with 231 points.[28] On January 10, 2013, Trocheck was traded to the Plymouth Whalers in exchange for Zach Bratina, a 2nd and 3rd round pick in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection and a 3rd round pick in 2016. At the time of the trade, Trocheck had secured the franchise record for most assists with 146 and was seven points shy of McDonough’s franchise record of 247 points.[29] Through his 28 games with the Whalers, Trocheck recorded 26 goals and 33 assists for 59 points en route to the 2013 OHL playoffs.[30] Trocheck was recognized as the OHL's Player of the Week for the final week of the regular season after setting numerous personal milestones. He became the first Whalers player in a decade to score 50 goals and overtook Sting forward Charles Sarault for the league lead in points.[31] The league recognized Trocheck's efforts during the regular season by awarding him the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy and Red Tilson Trophy as the most outstanding player and league top scorer.[30] Trocheck was also named to the 2012–13 OHL's First All-Star Team.[32]
In Game 1 of the conference quarterfinals against the Sting, Trocheck recorded a hat-trick en route to an 11–2 win.[33] Through their four-game series against Sarnia, Trocheck led the OHL in scoring with five goals and seven assists.[34] He continued scoring at a rapid pace through the Whalers conference semifinals win over the Owen Sound Attack and conference finals loss against the London Knights. Trocheck finished the playoffs with 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points through 15 games.[35]
In 2017, Trocheck became the first player in Spirit history to have his jersey number retired by the team.[36]
Professional
Florida Panthers
Trocheck with the San Antonio Rampage in 2013.
After finishing the 2012–13 season with the Whalers, Trocheck attended the Florida Panther's 2013 training camp. However, he was re-assigned to the Panthers American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, on September 25.[37] He recorded his first professional point, an assist, on October 4 against the Chicago Wolves.[38] Later that month, he scored his first two professional goals within six minutes of each other in a win over the Wolves on October 13.[39] Trocheck quickly recorded nine goals and nine assists through his first 19 professional games with the Rampage.[40] He led the team in scoring through the remainder of the year while playing alongside wingers Greg Rallo and Bobby Butler.[41] Immediately following the conclusion of the NHL trade deadline, Trocheck was recalled to the NHL level on March 6, 2014.[42][43] He made his NHL debut the following night on March 7, against the Buffalo Sabres, where he registered three shots on goal in 17:35 minutes of ice-time.[44][45] He then scored his first NHL goal in his fifth NHL game against the New Jersey Devils on March 14.[46] Trocheck finished the 2013–14 season with the Panthers recording five goals and three assists, while also leading all Panther forwards in ice time per game.[47]
Following his rookie season, Trocheck again attended the Panthers training camp[47] before being re-assigned to the AHL to start the 2014–15 season.[48] He recorded two goals and four assists through eight games with the Rampage before being recalled to the NHL on October 31.[49]
As a restricted free agent heading into the offseason, Trocheck signed a six-year, $28.5 million contract with the Panthers on July 3, 2016.[50] In the first year of his contract, Trocheck experienced a breakout season in which he set new career highs in goals and assists.[51] By January, Trocheck had scored a team-leading 12 goals and 12 assists through 42 games and was selected to participate in the 2017 NHL All-Star Game.[52] He finished the season registering a career high 31 goals and 44 assists for 75 points through 82 games.[51]
Trocheck's 2018–19 season with shortened to only 55 games due to an ankle injury in early November. During a game against the Ottawa Senators on November 19, Trocheck twisted his right leg while chasing the puck in the first period and was subsequently stretchered off the ice.[53] Following surgery, Trocheck returned to the roster after missing only 27 games. However, he later admitted that he returned too early and had not properly healed.[54]
Trocheck participated in the Panthers 2019 training camp with new wingers Mike Hoffman and Brett Connolly.[55] During a road game against the Nashville Predators, eight games into the season, Trocheck injured his left ankle after blocking a slapshot. At the time of the injury, he had recorded one goal and five assists while centring the Panthers’ second line.[56] He missed seven games to recover from this injury and returned to the Florida lineup in November. After going pointless to start December, Trocheck was moved to the winger position alongside Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau in an effort to spark his offensive abilities.[57]
Carolina Hurricanes
As his production continued to decline, Trocheck was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Erik Haula, Lucas Wallmark, Eetu Luostarinen and Chase Priskie on February 24, 2020. At the time of the trade, Trocheck had recorded 10 goals and 26 assists through 55 games.[58] He scored his first goal with the Hurricanes in his fifth game to end the team's four-game winless streak.[59] Following this, the Hurricanes won their next three consecutive games before the NHL regular season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[60] On May 26, the NHL announced their return to play plan to complete the 2019–20 postseason. They modified the Stanley Cup playoffs usual format so teams competed in a unique conference-based playoff tournament based on their points percentage when the regular season was suspended.[61] As a result of this new format, Trocheck and the Hurricanes competed against the New York Rangers in the best-of-5 qualifying series in Toronto.[62] The Hurricanes swept the Rangers in three games to become the first team to make it past the Qualifiers and into the Eastern Conference first round.[63] They then faced the Boston Bruins in the first round and were subsequently eliminated in five games.[64]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 season was pushed back until January 13, 2021, for a 56-game regular season. Trocheck and the Hurricanes were also temporarily realigned into the Central Division where they would only compete against seven other teams.[65]
Trocheck was named to Team USA's senior team the following year to compete at the 2014 IIHF World Championship.[72] Trocheck went pointless over seven games as Team USA failed to medal in the tournament.[1] On September 2, 2016, it was announced that Trocheck would compete for Team North America in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey as a replacement for Sean Monahan. Team North America consisted of players from both Canada and the United States who were under 23 years of age.[73] He scored one goal in three games in the tournament.[1]
Personal life
Trocheck is of Italian descent as his grandmother was born and raised in Calabria, Italy.[74] Trocheck and his wife Hillary have two children together.[75] In October 2015, Trocheck signed a multi-year agreement with equipment manufacturer STX.[76]
