Photo credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
Troy Stecher discusses beating the odds to make the NHL, and still trying to overcome doubts a decade on.In his 10th season in the NHL, players like Troy Stecher don’t come around often. At 5’10, a player like Stecher is expected to produce on offense like a Lane Hutson or Quinn Hughes to stick, yet Stecher has taken the opposite path.Despite his size, Stecher has made a decade long career out of being a physically engaging player who isn’t afraid to use his body and battle for the puck.
Since debuting in 2016, Stecher has carved out a long NHL career for a smaller defenseman, passing the 500-game mark without ever being a big point producer.
After being claimed off waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Edmonton Oilers, Stecher sees himself as still being doubted, but wanting to take the opportunity in Toronto to prove what he can do.
What Troy Stecher revealed about being «told no» his whole career
Speaking to Leafs reporters after being acquired from waivers, Stecher says he knows he still has something to prove.
Stecher told reporters he still feels he has something to prove as an undersized defenseman, even a decade into his career.
Being told no my whole life, being a smaller guy. The NHL now, it’s my 10th year, it’s my seventh team. Try to prove people wrong, and more than anything, just prove myself right.
Stecher’s views are a personal experience of whether a player like him, an undersized defenseman, could make the NHL, and more so, if he can make it without being an elite point getter.
Even as players such as Hutson and Hughes change the narrative over the successfulness of defensemen under 6’0, it hasn’t yet had a massive impact on teams.
Despite a greater emphasis on skill in recent years and seeing less of the enforcer role, size still plays a major part in the NHL, and teams like the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers have set the standard for a return to valuing physical strength.
Both prospects had to prove themselves through their offense. For any smaller defenseman whose game comes from their offense, the path to the NHL is still a grind.
Why Stecher’s mindset is exactly what the Maple Leafs say they want now
If perseverance is what gets a player like Troy Stecher not just into the NHL, but for a decade, it’s the exact mindset the Leafs want to have in their roster.
Size isn’t everything, but compete level is, and what Stecher lacks in height he makes up for in effort and the desire to win.
Despite Brad Treliving being known as a General Manager who values the importance of size, he has shown an affinity for smaller players with a high effort level such as Max Domi, and back in Calgary Blake Coleman and Dillon Dube as examples of undersized high-energy forwards.
As well, Treliving brought Stecher to Calgary via trade while in charge of the Flames, already having an awareness of what Stecher provides.
The most notable example of Treliving being willing to give smaller players a chance is Johnny Gaudreau, who Treliving lauded the late forward as a hard-working forward who earned his way to greatness.
The Leafs are in need dependable defensive help and better puck movement, and Stecher fits the profile of a high-effort depth option who can help in that area if he earns a regular spot.
Troy Stecher has had a career that pushes against the usual expectations of what an NHL defenseman is supposed to look like, and in doing so has had a career that breaks the rules of what is a hockey player, and Stecher looks poised to continue breaking that barrier.
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