Stecher is set to make his Maple Leafs debut on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues.
Troy Stecher is entering the Toronto Maple Leafs with a chip on his shoulder, something he's had throughout his entire hockey career.
The 31-year-old was claimed off waivers by the Maple Leafs from the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, hours before Toronto's 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Oilers put Stecher on waivers to activate Zach Hyman from the team's injured reserve.
"It just became a numbers game," Stecher said on Monday after his first Maple Leafs practice.
"They were trying to get younger internally on the back end, and they had two really good younger D-men in (Ty) Emberson and (Alec) Regula come up, and I just kind of got pushed to the side, and that's the way the business works.
"I was on the other side of it when I came into the league. You kind of push some older guys out, so I wish them well, but I don't think it necessarily had anything to do with being a poor player. It just kind of came down to numbers."
Stecher appeared in six of the Oilers' first 19 games of the season. He didn't register a point while averaging 13:37 of ice time. Stecher isn't known for points, though; he's known for the physicality he brings, all while being on the smaller side.
"I play with a lot of motivation and a bit of a chip on my shoulder," he said, adding that the chip on his shoulder comes from being told "no" his whole life.
"I've reached, obviously, the NHL now, and it's my 10th year. It's my 7th team, so I always try to prove people wrong, and more than anything, just prove myself right. That's just where it comes from internally."
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Carlo missed practice on Friday for what the team described as maintenance, but Matthew Knies is good to play.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube enjoys Stecher's character and energy.
"Yeah, he plays hard. I mean, like I talked to you guys, he's a compete guy. He competes on everything and plays a pretty simple game."
The defenseman arrived in Chicago with the team at some point on Saturday, but wasn't in the Maple Leafs' lineup against the Blackhawks. He did get to attend a team dinner following the loss, as Toronto remained in Chicago until Sunday.
"Yeah, it was great. The guys were really welcoming," Stecher said.
"It was unfortunate they couldn't get the win that night. It would have been probably a little more upbeat. It's nice any time you can have time with your teammates away from the rink, especially on the road, it's a lot easier."
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Friedman adds that Toronto isn't interested in trading futures for a roster player.
Stecher mentioned he knows a couple of players on the Maple Leafs, including Morgan Rielly, with whom he grew up playing alongside in British Columbia.
"He played for a smaller organization called Hollyburn, and then he left to go to that school in Saskatchewan (named the Notre Dame Hounds)," Stecher smiled, looking in the direction of Rielly's dressing room stall.
"What do I remember of him?. He was just amazing. I was chasing him around my whole childhood, just trying to be as good as he was."
The two will now be battling together side by side with the Maple Leafs, something Stecher is excited about. Toronto is dealing with a couple of injuries on its back-end, including Chris Tanev and, as of Monday morning, Brandon Carlo, who was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 13.
"I really don't have a timeline right now [of how long Carlo will be out for]," Berube said.
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Nick Robertson said the team possibly could've tightened up following Chicago's game-tying goal in the third period.
Stecher will make his Maple Leafs debut on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues, playing alongside Dakota Mermis on the third pair. He'll bring plenty of experience, having played over 550 games in the NHL with seven different teams.
Oh, and don't forget, he also played in the Stanley Cup Final last spring with the Oilers.
"It's something I'll look back on when my career is all over, and be thankful I got to experience it," said Stecher. "In saying that, I still feel like I've got a lot of game left to myself, and I hope to win the Stanley Cup at some point. That starts here in Toronto, obviously, being here now."
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