Trouba offers insight into NHL Combine

Jacob Trouba is a defenseman for the U.S. Under-18 National Team Development Program of the United States Hockey League. The 6-foot-2, 193-pound native of Rochester, Mich., was the youngest player on the U.S. National Junior Team at the 2012 World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Calgary, Alta. He also won his second straight gold medal for Team USA at the Under-18 World Championship in Czech Republic, connecting for one goal, three points and a plus-5 rating in six games. Trouba has agreed to give fans a players' perspective while attending the 2012 NHL Combine, scheduled May 28-June 2, by maintaining a blog of his experiences. Check back often.

Hi everyone. I just concluded my first day of interviews here at the NHL Combine in Toronto. I have 21 interviews scheduled -- 10 of those were on Tuesday.

I must say that each team is different. Some are laid back and some are intense. You get hot in those rooms, that's for sure! The one question that really got me was 'What is success?' I wasn't really prepared for that, so that was one I really had to think about. Boston gave a test that involved colors that was pretty hard and I messed up a lot on that.

It was all cool though, but I was certainly nervous at the start. In the morning, I woke up and spilled toothpaste all over my shirt … so I had to change shirts. That's one shirt down. I think tomorrow will be a lot better because I'll know what to expect. It's something you don't get to do every day, so you just have to have fun with it. Wednesday [six interviews] will be a lot easier.

I know a lot of the guys are thinking about the fitness tests and while I am too, I just feel like I'll be able to rely on the hard work I put in the last two years [with the NTDP] to get me through these tests and show what I have. I didn't work that hard for nothing. I think, historically, the NTDP guys have done well at these tests, and a big reason for that is because of what the program has you do. That's the type of work I've put in the last two years in the program.

On Tuesday night, a few of the NTDP guys got together with several of the Swedish players (Filip Forsberg, Oscar Dansk and Ludwig Bystrom) and we went out to dinner. It was pretty cool.

Until next time …

Follow Jacob Trouba on Twitter at: @JacobTrouba

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