Jacob Trouba - how much love?

[VincentVega]

That's a lot of hype for someone who has not even a full season under his belt. Those with grand expectations may be disappointed.

[SeaDawg]

I had Trouba second on my list, but to be clear, I listed them on future potential.

I think Trouba is capable of 35-40 pts for the upcoming season and if I were ranking for next year only, Trouba would not be #2 on my list. OEL, Hedman, Krug, Carlson, and Schultz could all outproduce Trouba next year. Long-term, however, I am quite confident in ranking Trouba so high. It is certainly risky to take a player whose only played one season ahead of "veterans" like Hedman, Krug, etc., but long-term I think Trouba will put up more points than those vets.

[Pengwin7]

One of a few NHL players that I haven't gotten to see play enough.
Hopefully this season... I'm a bit behind on assigning a point projection to him.
Good thread to read.

[brett_c_b]

I have Trouba in a keep 27 that I took over and am rebuilding (other young D on the team are Hamilton, Lindholm, Murray) A year ago I didn't have that high of offensive expectations for Trouba, thought he'd be a solid defender and chip in a few points. The way he played last year my hopes are much higher on the offensive side than they were before.

[pmorrow]

Morgan Rielly
Seth Jones
Jacob Trouba
Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Victor Hedman
Justin Schultz
Aaron Ekblad
Dougie Hamilton
John Carlson
Torey Krug

[Spec7ral]

Trouba reminds me of a smaller Pronger. I think he'll get the offence sooner though. He's a bit mean, smooth skating, big shot, sees things developing before other players.

[Axeman33]

Silly comparison. Trouba plays much better defense than Paul Coffey ...

When you have the puck as often as the Oilers did back in those days, they didn't have to play defence.

[ross10019]

That's high praise, Ross. Especially since Hedman is coming off a 55 points in 75 GP season. You really like Trouba that much?!

A few comments:

1-CascadeFilly's post is the reason I'm so high on Trouba, his rushing ability and his solid 2-way skill means he'll see lots of TOI and the pts will come.

2-Seadawg's comments align with mine, I'm projecting Triuba against these other excellent Dmen based on future value (ie, who will I want to have in say 3 yrs and thereafter).

3-Maturity - this is a guy who is 19 and yet chose to take his Olympic break with his mom in the Caribbean. To me that says he's grounded and serious about his priorities, a great sign.

I think Hedman will be great, you can't argue with what he did last season. I'd probably right now trade Trouba for him, so let's say they're even in my books long term. Of the others maybe Jones. But yes I really like Trouba.

[fungchen3]

A few comments:

1-CascadeFilly's post is the reason I'm so high on Trouba, his rushing ability and his solid 2-way skill means he'll see lots of TOI and the pts will come.

2-Seadawg's comments align with mine, I'm projecting Triuba against these other excellent Dmen based on future value (ie, who will I want to have in say 3 yrs and thereafter).

3-Maturity - this is a guy who is 19 and yet chose to take his Olympic break with his mom in the Caribbean. To me that says he's grounded and serious about his priorities, a great sign.

For the record, I agree with all of this. Ultimately, the jury is still out on Trouba's long-term success but there's plenty of promise. The hard part is knowing for certain if he'll end up more like Weber and Pronger or more like Doughty and J.Johnson/Carlson offensively. His skill set can be found in the style of all 4 of those players. When young defensemen are that good all-around you have to wonder why some will be reliable 18 goal, 50+ point guys like Weber and some will be limited to 12 goals and 40 points like Doughty. Watching Doughty play, he should be a steady 50-60 point threat at the very least, yet he's not. Which path does Trouba eventually take and/or which is forced upon him by the Jets? That's the crux as the elite skill, great skating and booming shot is there.

[Zorro]

This is a great list and so tough to predict.. I see Trouba live a lot during the winter, he looks to be the complete package..

Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Victor Hedman
Jacob Trouba
Seth Jones
Morgan Rielly
Dougie Hamilton
Justin Schultz
Aaron Ekblad
Torey Krug
John Carlson

[CascadeFilly]

fung, wouldn't you say that Doughty's production is strictly product of playing on a very defensive Kings squad? When the Kings started to score more in the playoffs Doughty put up very nice numbers. I don't think Johnson or Carlson are in the same league as far as their skill-sets, but I get what you're saying.

I really like Zorro's list. That's pretty close to where I would place most of these guys. If guys like Hedman and Jones played for different franchises I would probably place them lower and higher respectively. I like Rielly's game, but I find it hard to predict where he'll end up and when; Zorro's placement mirrors my own there, as well.

[doulos]

When you have the puck as often as the Oilers did back in those days, they didn't have to play defence.

This is very true.

I think this is part of the reason why Grant Fuhr ... had his specific life struggles

[fungchen3]

fung, wouldn't you say that Doughty's production is strictly product of playing on a very defensive Kings squad? When the Kings started to score more in the playoffs Doughty put up very nice numbers. I don't think Johnson or Carlson are in the same league as far as their skill-sets, but I get what you're saying.

Oh, absolutely. Doughty is a 35-45 point player in Sutter's defensive-minded system and would most likely see a +10 bump in points under a difference coach. I guess that's my point - Doughty has been asked (and trained) to dial it back and be more conservative 24/7 unless told to open it up by Sutter.

On the other hand, Weber excelled as the top dog, even under another defensively-responsible coach in Trotz. I see parts of both their games in Trouba. I also see some similarities in style to Jack Johnson and John Carlson as well.

Johnson burst onto the scene in a similar way as Trouba but he didn't produce immediately at the NHL level. Carlson put up 37 points in his first full NHL season and, other than in the physical department, could be the best comparable for Trouba IMO. Trouba and Carlson are both the same size. Both are righties. Both have a bomb from the point. Both are very well-rounded DMen with complete tool sets. Both are/were stuck behind more established offensive guys (Green and Enstrom).

Remember when Carlson was the unanimous darling among fantasy D prospects? Many of us here thought he would be a 15-20 goal, 50-60 point monster. Then what? He ended up on the Caps top "defensive" pairing and didn't go crazy on the PP, even when he was handed the keys.

If I had to guess, I think Trouba will land somewhere in the middle between Weber and Carlson. But I'm glad others like yourself have chimed in with great feedback. It's made me think quite a bit.

[CascadeFilly]

I've never been wild about Carlson, but maybe I've just never seen him at his best. I haven't seen him step up and take over games and lead the way like Trouba, although again, maybe he does have those qualities and I've missed them. Anyway, that's another admirable quality about Trouba. He senses when his team needs a push, and that's when you'll see him step up with big rushes or big hits. He's got a real will to make a difference, and you see that all over the ice from him.

I don't mean to go overboard here. He's a kid, with a lot of ups and downs to come, I'm sure. He made more mistakes in the second half last season, and he's got lots to learn. There's sure plenty to love there, though. He's fun to watch.

[Vanek! at the Disco]

If I had to guess, I think Trouba will land somewhere in the middle between Weber and Carlson. But I'm glad others like yourself have chimed in with great feedback. It's made me think quite a bit.

I made the same argument recently to an over-enthusiastic Trouba owner