Trevor Zegras to Represent United States at World Championships
USA Hockey announces Trevor Zegras as one of the first 15 selections to their Men's World Championship roster
Trevor Zegras to Represent United States at World ChampionshipsOn Wednesday, USA Hockey announced the first 15 members of the 2024 Men's World Championship roster. Anaheim Ducks star forward Trevor Zegras will be among those 15 players set to travel to Ostrava and Prague, Czechia, and represent their country. The tournament will take place between May 10-26.
After a grueling contract negotiation, Zegras (23) signed a three-year, $17.25 million contract extension. The length of the negotiation caused Zegras to miss an extended portion of Anaheim Ducks training camp.
Though he started the season on the opening night roster, he was hampered by what we now know was osteitis pubis, an "inflammation of the joint between the left and right pubic bones that can cause groin and abdominal pain," according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“I started feeling some stuff,” Zegras told Eric Stephens of The Athletic. “Didn’t really know what it is. Kind of when I got back on the ice. Just skating. Might have ramped it up a little too quick or something. I didn’t take care of it like I should have and maybe been on top of it. Obviously coming back into training camp is a whole different animal. These guys are playing at a different pace than you skate in summer so that probably didn’t help too much."
Zegras only tallied a goal and an assist during the team's first 12 games of the season.
Though he was playing through injury and the offensive production from Zegras wasn't where it normally was, he made tremendous strides on the defensive side of the puck in the first month of the season. He was playing with a noticeably high motor and was translating aspects of his game that make him such a dynamic offensive threat to the defensive half of the game.
Playing on-puck defense, Zegras was cleverly baiting puck carriers into vulnerable positions or decisions before engaging and winning battles with body position and stick work. Off the puck, he was dissecting the ice as he would with the puck on his stick and reading how a play would develop before jumping ahead of an outlet or pickpocketing a puck carrier.
"Your focus on defense has to be equally as invested as your offensive focus," Ducks head coach Greg Cronin said of his message to Zegras before the 2023-24 season. "He tried. He did what we asked him to do. Analytically, he did a really good job with the first 10-12 games. He wasn’t getting the points, but I was really impressed with his compete level and I was impressed with his defensive detail."
Zegras missed six weeks in an effort to recover from his groin injury. Zegras returned to the Ducks lineup in dazzling fashion on Dec. 23, when he scored his third career "Michigan" goal. Zegras only played in eight games between Dec. 23 and Jan 9, when he broke his ankle in a puck battle with Juuso Parssinen of the Nashville Predators.
Zegras would go on to return to the Ducks lineup on March 26, and play the team's final 11 games of the season. He tallied eight points during that final stretch, including six points in the team's last five games.
"I thought he was terrific," Cronin said of Zegras' play down the stretch of the season. "He was visible. His plus/minus was good. He did a lot of things that reflect him as a person and as a player. I’m excited for him and I’m excited to see how he works off this in the fall. "
Zegras will look to build on that final effort of the 2023-24 season and make up for missing 51 games as best he can so he can hit the ground running upon his return to Ducks' training camp for the 2024-25 season.
Zegras will be joined on Team USA by former teammates during his time at the USNTDP, Cole Caufield, Matt Boldy, and Jake Sanderson. He'll also play alongside close friend, Luke Hughes, for the first time in their careers.
Trevor Zegras will be wearing the stars and stripes for the first time since leading the US 2021 World Junior Championship team to a gold medal and led the tournament in scoring with 18 points in 7 games, earning him MVP honors.
The USA 2024 World Championship team is set to start training in Bratislava, Slovakia on May 5, and play a pre-tournament game vs Slovakia on May 7.