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Vincent Trocheck was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the 3rd round (64th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and currently plays for the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL.
Trocheck, a Pittsburgh, PA native, is a smaller center but works hard along the boards and battles for positioning to get the job done. Trocheck is seen as being a future two-way forward in the NHL and could eventually be used in penalty killing situations along with slightly above average outputs in goals and assists in a 3rd line role.
Of course, we will only know for sure once he makes the transition into the NHL, but his development has proven that will likely be the case.
Trocheck is just one of many bright spots looking at the Panthers future, a list that keeps growing through strong drafting by General Manager Dale Tallon. During the Panthers annual prospect camp held in July.
Trocheck had this to say in regards to the fresh prospects from this years draft; “I think it’s a great thing. We have better new guys coming in every year and I think it’s only going up for this organization,” He also spoke of the Panthers being ranked #1 on many lists when it came to prospect pools, “It showed in the rankings, we were the number one future team prospects and I think it definitely shows.”
The competition within the Panthers system can only make Trocheck stronger as he will battle in the future for a roster spot when his time comes.
With prospects such as Nick Bjugstad and Drew Shore looking to move to the NHL in the near future he has his work cut out for him but looks to be up to the task. “Hockey IQ is my main asset, my smarts and my hands. I think that comes back to when I was growing up,” Trocheck said in an interview after this summers prospect camp.
What Trocheck lacks in size, he makes up for in these areas and uses them to find openings on the ice.
Last season in the OHL, Trocheck improved his numbers from the year before in which he was drafted, scoring 29 goals along with 56 assists for 85 points in just 65 games. Trocheck signed an entry level contract in April and he’ll look to once again improve his numbers this season in the OHL before making the jump into the AHL.
His development is coming along nicely and expect to see him in an NHL uniform within the coming seasons, possibly as early as the 2013-2014 season.
Vincent Trocheck speaking at Florida Panthers prospect camp in July.
Vincent Trocheck scores during a game against the London Knights.
Another nice goal against the Brampton Battalion.
Check back in the future for more on the Florida Panthers number one ranked prospect system and feel free to follow me on twitter (@RobMc82) for future articles on the Florida Panthers.
