Once rivals, Michigan natives Krug, Trotman aiming to take next steps together with Bruins

 

By @StefanKubus –

Zach Trotman and Torey Krug grew up playing against one another, first in youth hockey and then once again in college.

Now, separated in age by less than a year, the two are playing on the same side in Boston. The Michigan natives were even paired together to start Saturday night’s preseason game at Joe Louis Arena against Detroit and the two are expected to be play together once again for Monday night’s game against the Red Wings in Boston.

Despite Krug being the younger of the two at age 24, his two full NHL seasons – and subsequent 27 total playoff games – have slid him into something of a mentorship role to the 25-year-old Trotman, as the latter aims to make the Bruins roster full-time. Trotman, a seventh-round pick in 2010, skated in 27 games with the B’s last season and spent the remainder of his season with Providence in the AHL. In Saturday night’s contest, Trotman recorded two blocks and three shots on goal in 19:59 of ice time. Krug, meanwhile, recorded an assist, four shots and the 3-on-3 overtime winner in 24:45 of ice time.

“He’s a great player,” Krug said of Trotman. “Everyone knows what he brings to the table, so not much needs to be said to him. Just sometimes, small reminders that the coaching staff does a good job of talking to him about being consistent, making sure we’re paying really close attention to detail. When he’s doing that, he has a lot of success in this league.”

Trotman moved to Novi from Carmel, Ind. when he was in eighth grade. While playing his midget hockey for Victory Honda from 2005-08, Trotman went head-to-head with Krug (Livonia) on many occasions when he played for Belle Tire and Compuware. The two crossed paths two years later in 2009, as each played three seasons in the now-defunct CCHA, Trotman with Lake Superior State University and Krug with Michigan State University.

“Torey’s an awesome player, and I grew up playing against him, so I have a tremendous amount of respect for him,” Trotman said. “There’s a lot that you can learn from him or any of the other guys in our D core that have been around. Any time you get a chance to play with him, it’s good.”

Trotman credited his time at LSSU for truly preparing him to make the jump to the NHL, citing “a good coaching staff there that allowed me to develop and really find my way.” And he believes finding his way at the NHL level is more about being mentally prepared for the upcoming season than anything else, thus he kept his training plan this past summer similar to those in recent years. Having signed him to a two-year contract in July of 2014, a deal that was two-way in 2014-15 and now becomes a one-way deal in 2015-16, it’s apparent the Bruins’ brass also believe he can be a full-time player.

“At this point, it’s more mental than it is physical,” Trotman said. “This summer, I spent a lot of time trying to focus and prepare myself for the season.”

Likewise, despite his all-but-certain solidity in the Bruins’ lineup, Krug said his desire to be a more consistently-effective defenseman took center stage over the summer.

“It was long, so there was plenty of time to work on things,” Krug said of his summer. “For me, I wanted to be a more consistent player this year, always working on things that keep me successful: my skating – I worked on my power skating a lot this summer – my explosiveness, my power, just about being more durable and consistent, for sure.”

With a goal and two assists in two preseason contests so far, it would seem he is headed in the right direction.

Though only 24, Krug is showing signs at the professional level of why he was named just the second sophomore captain in Spartans history.

“I think he took it upon himself to be a leader,” Bruins head coach Claude Julien told the media following Krug’s overtime winner at Joe Louis Arena Saturday night. “He’s really developing into a good leader and a smart leader too.”

Krug isn’t only impressing his own coach. Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill (Sault Ste. Marie) had Krug on his USHL Clark Cup-winning Indiana Ice squad in 2009 before coaching against him just two years later in college while Blashill was at Western Michigan for his lone season. Saturday night’s Bruins-Red Wings clash marked the first game Blashill coached against Krug since the CCHA days.

“Torey’s somebody that I coached in junior and certainly had a big impact on us winning a championship when we played together, and I’ve got a lot of respect for him,” Blashill said. “I thought he played good. He’s an offensive guy. He’s become a real good NHL’er.”

And if there’s one road game both players circle on their calendars, it’s the visit back home to play at Joe Louis Arena.

“It was awesome,” Trotman said. “I was able to play a regular season game here last year. It’s always nice to come back to your roots where you grew up.”

Krug echoed Trotman’s sentiments.

“It’s fun because there’s so many people in the stands that you see, familiar faces, people you go to school with and family and everything, so it’s just fun to play in front of them again,” Krug said. “It takes me back to playing at Michigan State and everything. It’s just always a great experience.”