Trocheck is a relatively light-framed player, but is much larger and has no problem playing intense hockey along the boards.
“Trocheck is the driving force behind the Rangers,” said Alan Greenberg, a veteran hockey writer and author who covers the Stanley Cup-winning Panthers. “He was a solid player with the Panthers, but he's become something even more special with the Rangers.”
The Pittsburgh native finished last season with an NHL career-high 77 points (25 goals, 52 assists), second on the Rangers to Artemi Panarin's 120 points (49 goals, 71 assists), but there's more to Trocheck's play than just points.
“He's a guy that's involved in every part of our game,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said, “faceoffs, offense, defense, power play, penalty kill, 6-on-5, 5-on-5. He's certainly played a lot of minutes and I have confidence in him.”
“I want to be involved in every part of the game and help my team win,” Trocheck said. “To do that, I need to be involved in different aspects of the game — penalties, five-on-six, tough situations. I want to play when it matters.”
He was one of the best Rangers players in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and his style of play is, in some ways, reminiscent of Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk and Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand, who both play with an edge.
Trocheck became a complete hockey player with a style all his own. He won 58.7% of his faceoffs, second in the NHL (minimum 1,000 faceoffs) behind Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares (59.3%). He was named an NHL All-Star for the second time.
Rangers historian and author George Grimm extolled the similarities between O'Connor and Trocheck.
“Both men had an immediate and positive impact on the club,” he said. “O'Connor led the Blueshirts to the playoffs for the first time in six years and a place in the Cup final in 1950.”
“Trocheck solidified the second line and helped Alexis Lafreniere establish himself as a scoring talent. Plus, both were veteran players when they came to the Rangers.”
Grimm's latest book, “Understaffed but Indomitable: The Frank Boucher Era of the New York Rangers, 1940-1955,” chronicles O'Connor's rise to stardom. His other books have focused on the current Rangers.
“Interestingly, Buddy and Vincent were worth the risks their respective managers took,” Grimm said. “Boucher went against advice to risk his job to get O'Connor. (Rangers GM Chris) Drury got Trocheck for a huge amount of money. [contract.]”
O'Connor played on two Stanley Cup winning teams with Montreal but never with New York. In 1950, the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Finals, losing 4-3 to the Detroit Red Wings in double overtime in Game 7.
“The similarities continue when you consider their strong leadership abilities,” Grimm said. “O'Connor served as Rangers captain in the 1949-1950 season, while Trocheck could well be considered a candidate to be the next Rangers captain.”
Playing in his sixth playoff appearance, Trocheck averaged more than a points per game (1.25) for the first time (eight goals, 12 assists in 16 games).
In the 1947-48 season, O'Connor set NHL records with 24 goals and 60 points, scoring at least one point in 43 of 60 games, which was one of the reasons he was named the Hart Trophy winner as the league MVP.
“The bottom line is that both O'Connor and Trocheck were the kind of players every team in the NHL would want,” Greenberg concluded.
