Geoff Burke-Imagn ImagesFrom sharing the ice as kids in Pittsburgh with aspirations of one day playing professional hockey to winning a gold medal as part of Team USA, J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck have come a long way.
On Sunday, the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team won its first Olympic gold medal since 1980, in which Miller and Trocheck played a big part.
Prior to the start of the Olympics, Team USA general manager Bill Guerin faced criticism for selecting more defensively minded, physical players like Miller and Trocheck instead of players predicated on skill, such as Cole Caufield and Jason Robertson.
Contrary to the common public opinion, Guerin, as well as Mike Sullivan, were seeking to build a well-structured team with a balance of skill and players who are capable of playing a strong two-way, physical brand of hockey.
“One of the things that we felt strongly about that J.T. and Troch could bring to this team was intangibles, in the sense that these guys are fierce competitors, and also they bring a certain skillset that we felt was essential to helping us win,” Sullivan said.
“They’re elite penalty killers. They’re elite faceoff guys. They have a sound defensive conscience, and they also have shown an ability to produce offense in this league, for sure. When you look at our roster, for the most part, virtually everybody on the roster was a point-a-game guy. So it’s not like you’re giving up something at the expense of something else. But J.T. and Troch, we felt, would play a big part in helping our team become a team in the true sense of the word.”
Miller and Trocheck played their roles to a tee and contributed to Team USA’s success throughout the Olympic tournament.
Playing in a penalty-killing, defensively-oriented role, the two New York Rangers’ forwards thrived.
The U.S. didn’t allow a power-play goal over the entirety of the Olympics, going a perfect 17-17 on the penalty kill.
It was Miller and Trocheck who logged in the most shorthanded minutes amongst all American forwards, something they take immense pride in.
“We won the gold medal, right?” Trocheck said. “It’s validation, I think, for me personally, just knowing all the noise that was out there, knowing what my role is going to be over there, and being able to do it as well as we did.”
Miller and Trocheck may not have been playing in the same role as they are accustomed to with the Rangers, but the two versatile forwards adapted and now have their names etched in USA Hockey history forever.
“It's gonna go down as one of the greatest things to ever happen to me,” Trocheck said of winning a gold medal. “As far as hockey goes, that’s the pinnacle of my career.”