Winnipeg Jets Top 25 Under 25: #1 Jacob Trouba

Previous Rank: 2nd

It feels odd to fawn over a player whose regular season highs are 65 games and 29 points, but that’s how impressive Jacob Trouba has been. A true beacon of hope (with apologies to Ben Chiarot) among an aging d-corps, he managed impressive fancy stats despite most often skating beside the corpse of Mark Stuart. When Jacob Trouba and Mark Stuart were together in 5v5 situations, the pair managed a 53.7% Corsi For. When Trouba was apart, he skated to the tune of a 56.8% CF. Stuart? 46.6%. Skating with four forwards and Trouba might have led to better results.

But part of Trouba's beauty is in how he brings together both the old-school and the analytically inclined; he is a wonderful example of eye test and advanced stats aligning. He hits, blocks shots, plays an aggressive, mobile style and possesses intriguing offensive potential which I believe has only begun to spread its wings. Playing 23:18 per game, Trouba's ATOI ranked 3rd among Jets blueliners behind Tyler Myers and Toby Enstrom. He led the team in shorthanded time per game, and even snuck in a power play average of nearly two minutes, where he scored just one less point than Toby despite significantly lower total PP time. In short, Jacob Trouba is already an all-situations force to be reckoned with.

Stats:

AIH Authors' Thoughts:

Andrew:

Was a bit “mish mashed’ late in the season, but I blame that on injuries and his rock, Zac Bogo being shipped off for Myers and Co. He’ll bounce back, and now with a taste of the playoffs, bigger things are expected of him.

Brian:

My favorite player so there’s obviously some bias. There were points last season when the young defenseman was the best Jets player on the ice. Trouba is a centerpiece to build around and is definitely a staple in our ever deepening core.

Tim:

At the young age of 20, Jacob Trouba took the title of king of the kids. Trouba is already a massive minute muncher and he has proven capable of carrying Mark Stuart – not even Zdeno Chara could carry Mark Stuart. That isn’t to say Trouba is the next Chara, but he is a strong two-way defender. The next step for Troub will be to polish his very raw offensive game. There is a pile of skill there and he gets very close to highlights regularly, but the finish hasn’t been there. Will it come?

Ian:

I could see Trouba being a Norris Trophy-caliber defenseman in 2-3 years. He is the closest thing to a franchise player that the Jets have and the only direction for him to go is up. But please for the love of God get him away from Stuart.

Ryan:

I took some flack for writing a piece a few years ago about how the Jets may regret Jacob Trouba. Whoops. But that was the title, and it should’ve been about how they’d regret passing on Filip Forsberg (another #niceplayer). Regardless, Trouba is a beast, and may be the only guy on the roster now that has the potential to become a true elite player. He has all the tools, and the required mean streak, to take on and beat the toughs, and has already done so as a teenager. The sky’s the limit for Jacob, and I don’t have many doubts that he will become the #1 d-man on this team for the next decade.

Video:

Summary:

With all due respect to Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba is the preeminent future of Winnipeg's RHD and the entire d-corps. When the question surrounding a defenceman's ceiling is whether he'll be a franchise blueliner or just an excellent top-pairing guy, you're talking about a special player. Jacob Trouba has acquitted himself so well that if the conversation isn't yet to that point, there's little to no reason to believe it's anything but an eventuality. It's easy to forget that we're talking about a player who is just 21 years old, and when you couple further development with a (possible) post-Buff roster of increased opportunity, the future looks rather bright. And who knows, by that point, he may have a higher caliber partner to boot.

A sincere thank you to everyone who joined us for this year's Top 25 Under 25 series. Be sure to stick with Arctic Ice Hockey as we march headlong into the 2015-16 regular season, and as always, please tell us your expectations for Trouba in the Comments section below.

Enjoy the weekend, and don't forget the Penticton YoungStars Tournament!