This is part one of a two part series. Check out part two here.

Jacob Trouba, Defenceman, 22 years (8th overall in 2012)

How high can the young defender climb?

When Trouba first broke into the league after dominating college hockey as a freshman, he fit right in from day one. There wasn’t a single game where he seemed out of place, and he showed great power on his skates with bone crushing hits, explosive bursts of speed to evade forechecking opponents, and he put up 29 points and 10 goals in 65 games as a 20 year old rookie. Needless to say, it looked like he had everything, and he projected quickly to dominate all ends of the rink.

However, his point totals have dropped every year, from 29 as a rookie to 22 as a sophomore, and he now has 10 points in 46 games, on pace for a that’s-okay-I-guess 18 points. His shots per game rate has also dropped, dipping from 2.05 per game last year to a measly 1.63 for the current season. Continue reading