Trotter took long road back to pro hockey

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This article was published 23/06/2015 (4151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brock Trotter is just happy to be playing hockey again.

The 28-year-old Brandonite was forced to miss the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons with injuries to his back and neck. Finally ready to play again last summer, he parlayed a tryout with Medvescak Zagreb of the Kontinental Hockey League in August into a spot in their lineup.

“It was going really well,” Trotter said. “I had a really good training camp. I had some goals, got some points and they signed me to a contract.”

Then disaster struck.

The day before the season started, a high ankle sprain knocked him out of the lineup for nine weeks.

“Right when I got my feet wet and things were going well I took another step back,” Trotter said. “It was difficult again so I just had to battle through it and grind my way back.”

With no minor league team to draw players from, the club signed several new forwards as it was hit by a spate of injuries.

When Trotter did get back, he was starting over. In 16 games with the Croatian team, Trotter had a goal and five assists as he rounded himself back into playing form.

Unable to get sufficient playing time, Trotter asked for and received his release so that he could rejoin Dinamo Riga, the Latvian team with which he had 26 points in 49 games in 2010-11.

Coincidentally for Trotter, Riga dropped four forwards — including former Western Hockey League and National Hockey League forward Marcel Hossa — and were looking for some new ones.

“Obviously I was familiar with the city and a lot of the management and the coaches were familiar faces and there were familiar players on the team,” he said.

“It wasn’t too big of a shock going there and playing. I liked the city — Riga is a beautiful place and they have great fans — so it’s a pretty good situation.”

Eight players remained from his first stint with the team, and one of the new players was Swan River defenceman Chay Genoway, who Trotter played against in midget.

The team was fighting to get into the playoffs and went on a long winning streak at the time of Trotter’s arrival. But a couple of late losses doomed their post-season chances.

“It was a pretty fun second half this year,” said Trotter, who had a goal and an assist in 16 games.

Trotter’s had an interesting career path.

After winning a provincial midget title in 2003 with the AAA Wheat Kings, he spent a year with the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and then one with the Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League. He played two-and-a-half seasons with the University of Denver before signing with the Montreal Canadiens early in 2008, spending parts of three seasons with their American Hockey League farm club, the Hamilton Bulldogs.

He did see action in a pair of NHL games with the Canadiens in early 2010, going pointless in just over 18 minutes of ice time.

Trotter left the Canadiens’ organization for the 2010-11 season to join Riga before returning to the AHL in 2011-12.

After two years away from hockey, he appreciates his second chance.

“I missed playing; it was a tough two years, grinding and trying to make my way back,” Trotter said. “I kind of took it for granted a bit, playing and being at the rink with the guys, the camaraderie. You definitely miss being with the boys. It was one of those things that I had to deal with and get through but in the second half near the end of the season, I started feeling like my old self again.”

He’s signed to return to Riga next season and is intent on proving that he has a lot of miles left in his skates as he sees the world.

“I feel focused on coming back and having a big year and getting myself back on track like I was before,” Trotter said. “Before the injury, my career was going well for me. I kind of have to do the right things to get myself back in there. I think as I get older, I’ll appreciate more the places I’ve gone and the experiences that came with that.”

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