Failure to Thrive: Jacob Trouba

Now that we’re past July 1 and the Rangers, for once, aren’t waiting on any contract negotiations via arbitration, we’ve officially entered the dog days of summer. Instead of counting down the days until training camp, we decided it was the perfect time to explore the Rangers’ past. Specifically, those Rangers who have passed on—not literally, of course, but those whose careers on the Rangers didn’t work out and then moved on to their new teams, where they became effective players.

Introducing our “Failure to Thrive" series: Was it us? Was it them? Was it both? What happened, and why does this seem to happen so often in New York?

Establishment of a Blue-Chip Prospect

Jacob Trouba was a top prospect in his age group for years leading up to the 2012 NHL draft. When he was just 13 years old, he starred for his local travel league team—the Detroit Compuware minor league hockey team—in the 2007 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. His career continued on this trajectory as he took on increasingly larger roles with different age groups in the United States National Development Program.

Each year, his game continued to develop, and he became known for his brand of hockey—a physically imposing, two-way style that left little room for teams to score against him. His offensive contributions also increased as he played for both the USHL team and the national team. He was named to consecutive World Junior squads, earning various medals, but was notably the only draft-eligible player on the American 2012 World Junior Championship roster. This version of Team USA struggled in the tournament, with very few positives to mention. Still, Trouba's control on the ice was seen as promising and one of the few bright spots for the underperforming Americans that year.

He committed to the University of Michigan, while the Kitchener Rangers held onto his CHL rights. Heading into the 2012 draft, Trouba was one of the top American prospects. Many pundits believed he had a real chance of going in the top five of his draft and being the first American selected. He was considered the crown jewel of what the USNTDP had to offer that year. He was praised for his size and physicality, with many prospect profiles noting that Trouba already had the size, muscle, and snarl needed for professional hockey. The only minor concern was his skating, which was still mostly seen as a positive aspect. Most criticism described him as a quick skater for his size, but he needed to keep working on his mobility to have a successful NHL career.

As the draft night unfolded, a couple of players went unexpectedly higher in the draft, and Trouba fell into Winnipeg’s lap at ninth overall. Kevin Cheveldayoff and the Jets regime gladly took the stage and selected Trouba, making him the second American player to be drafted that year after Alex Galchenyuk was taken by Montreal third overall.

After the Jets took Trouba, he continued on the collegiate path and officially became a Wolverine. Although highly ranked before the season started, the University of Michigan's program had an off year. With 36 points, they ranked seventh out of eleven teams in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association division. Despite this, they advanced to the CCHA Championship game, defeating divisional champion Miami University in the semifinals. Although they lost to Notre Dame in the Championship match, Trouba and teammate Andrew Copp were named to the All-Tournament roster. After the loss to Notre Dame and failing to qualify for the Frozen Four tournament, the Wolverines’ season was over. His freshman season turned out to be Jacob Trouba’s only NCAA campaign, but with 29 points in 39 games, he earned numerous accolades. Trouba was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team, the First All-Star team, the NCAA’s First All-American Team, and the CCHA’s Best Offensive Defenseman.

In addition to his impressive freshman season, Trouba achieved success internationally at both the World Juniors and the World Cup of Hockey. Wearing the “A” in his final World Juniors tournament, he helped lead the Americans to a gold medal and scored nine points in seven games, ranking as the top defenseman in both goals scored (five) and total points. Consequently, he was named the best defenseman of the tournament. He also contributed to Team USA's effort in winning a Bronze Medal at the World Cup, scoring three points and leading all players under twenty years old in points. There’s little more Trouba could have accomplished in his post-draft year to show he was ready to play professionally and to strengthen his position as a top prospect.