Bryan Trottier letter to his younger self

[forty_three]

Letter to My Younger Self | By Bryan Trottier

The man gets, no - the man IS, hockey.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

he addressed the Bellows thing ... awesome

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Okay, I really had no fucking idea (or had forgotten) Trottier was on the Penguins' Cup teams.

 

[Puck082]

What a great read!!! Thanks for posting....

 

[BGDave]

Now that was awesome. Always (respectfully) hated the Islanders, but damn you gotta love Trottier.

Off to youtube to find that video of him and Bellows...

 

[forty_three]

You’ll realize that Jean Beliveau isn’t a superhero. He’s just a man. And that’s what makes the feeling of lifting the Cup so overwhelming.

My favorite part.

 

[dash]

I always liked the following from Gretzky (after they lost in the Cup finals to the Isles in '83):

The loss in 1983 was a humbling experience for the up-start Oilers, who were young and confident. However, Gretzky credits that loss with teaching the Oilers what it takes to win. And in fact, the Oilers would ultimately win four of the next five Stanley Cups and five of the next seven.

"We walked by their locker room in the corridor and saw after they won they were too beat up to really enjoy it and savor the victory at that moment," said Gretzky. "We were able to walk out of their pretty much scot free. We had so much respect for the Islanders players and the Islanders teams that we learned immediately you have to take it to another level in order to win a Stanley Cup. And that’s what we did. We learned from it and often credit for the Islanders players and Islanders teams for teaching us exactly what it’s all about and how hard it is to win."

 

[pixburgher66]

Badger Bob was straight up stolen from this Earth too soon.

 

[dash]

Dave 'Tiger' Williams stopped Trottier from quitting hockey in junior in Speedy Creek (Swift Current):

The famous story about Bryan is how he wanted to quit Swift Current (in junior, WHL) because the coach had him on defence and he was getting distressed. He came home for Christmas and told his dad, Buzz, about how he felt – how he wanted to quit the team. His dad asked him if he was sure and said he was free to do as he pleased as long as he called the coach and told him. Bryan had grown to hate hockey, so it wasn’t hard for him to quit. He told the coach he was done, and then, a half hour later, Dave “Tiger” Williams showed up at his door. Tiger told him, “You’re coming. You’re coming back to play with me.” Bryan told him no, but his teammate was insistent. He brought him back to Swift Current, was moved to forward, and the rest is history.

 

[pixburgher66]

Okay, I really had no fucking idea (or had forgotten) Trottier was on the Penguins' Cup teams.

What a lovable guy. When he's on your team. He obviously was good at what he did, basically the quintessential complementary player, but man he played with ridiculous talent. Now I'm off to watch early 90s Mario and Jags highlights.

 

[dash]

Badger Bob was straight up stolen from this Earth too soon.

I wish the Flames would have given Bob Johnson a Stanley Cup ring in '86, but I'm happy he managed to win one with the Pens in '91.

 

[pixburgher66]

I wish the Flames would have given Bob Johnson a Stanley Cup ring in '86, but I'm happy he managed to win one with the Pens in '91.

What's funny is how the Pens won back to back with two vastly different coaches...but everything I read about Bob makes me think he was just the greatest guy to play for. That's the guy you want to run through a wall for.

 

[Comeds]

What an ass. I guarantee that if I ever write a letter to my younger self I'm including stock tips, sports championship results, and the names of any hot local girls who make it big so I can attempt to latch on early. Older Ttottier is really selfish.

 

[IndyAndy]

Excellent find, & a pretty cool read.

 

[Puck082]

What an ass. I guarantee that if I ever write a letter to my younger self I'm including stock tips, sports championship results, and the names of any hot local girls who make it big so I can attempt to latch on early. Older Ttottier is really selfish.

Don't forget this:

 

[Puck082]

View attachment 55481
What a lovable guy. When he's on your team. He obviously was good at what he did, basically the quintessential complementary player, but man he played with ridiculous talent. Now I'm off to watch early 90s Mario and Jags highlights.

Guy is my favorite player of all-time. I was very young when the Isles went on their run, but my dad talked about Trotts all the time and it was his favorite player too. He always reminded me that Bossy will score from anywhere on the rink but without Trotts it wouldn't have been so easy. Guy was the epitome of hockey for me when I was young and started playing. I always tried to emulate what that guy did on the rink. And amazing as this sounds (as a guy growing up on Long Island despising the Rangers), Messier was the other. God I hated Messier but even at a young age I could appreciate how good he was. Do players like this even exist anymore?

 

[forty_three]

Guy is my favorite player of all-time. I was very young when the Isles went on their run, but my dad talked about Trotts all the time and it was his favorite player too. He always reminded me that Bossy will score from anywhere on the rink but without Trotts it wouldn't have been so easy. Guy was the epitome of hockey for me when I was young and started playing. I always tried to emulate what that guy did on the rink. And amazing as this sounds (as a guy growing up on Long Island despising the Rangers), Messier was the other. God I hated Messier but even at a young age I could appreciate how good he was. Do players like this even exist anymore?

The closest parallel I can draw to Mess is Ovi. Strong on his skates, plays with an edge, has a nasty streak and can change the game every time he steps over the boards.


Trottier I'll have to give some thought to.

 

[pixburgher66]

The closest parallel I can draw to Mess is Ovi. Strong on his skates, plays with an edge, has a nasty streak and can change the game every time he steps over the boards.


Trottier I'll have to give some thought to.

Guy is my favorite player of all-time. I was very young when the Isles went on their run, but my dad talked about Trotts all the time and it was his favorite player too. He always reminded me that Bossy will score from anywhere on the rink but without Trotts it wouldn't have been so easy. Guy was the epitome of hockey for me when I was young and started playing. I always tried to emulate what that guy did on the rink. And amazing as this sounds (as a guy growing up on Long Island despising the Rangers), Messier was the other. God I hated Messier but even at a young age I could appreciate how good he was. Do players like this even exist anymore?

I can't think of anyone who is consistently like Trots...although I feel like every Cup run seems to have a guy that fills that role. Like for the Pens in 2009, Max Talbot was our Trots. But he wasn't consistently that guy. Had to work hard to score, killed penalties, was scrappy, etc.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Jonathan Toews might be the closest thing to Trottier today.

Plays a pretty complete game. Not the highest skill level in the league but scores a healthy amount. Looks like he might have some leadership skills (I thinnk I read something about this somewhere). Plays on a dynasty-type team.

I don't think Toews is on Trott's level but few are.

 

[tducey]

1 of the best all-time for sure. I totally buy the Toews comparisons.