'IT'S WHAT YOU LIVE FOR'

Sure, Troy seems invigorated by his new surroundings, but what will Phoebe Stecher think of the new digs?
"She'll love it. She's a big fan of the snow," the Flames' newest recruit said of his 110-lb. Bernese Mountain Dog. "She's still in Arizona with my girlfriend right now, but we'll get her out here as soon as we can."
Phew.
You see, Phoebe's a bit of a celebrity - and with
nearly 7,000 followers on Instagram
, it's clear Troy and his partner, Emma, have a tight family unit.
Unfortunately, when you're a prime trade target on deadline day, real life grinds to a halt.

The 28-year-old human-sized Stecher was informed of the trade north shortly before Friday's 1 p.m. embargo, completely uprooting his home life. He immediately packed up a suitcase, made a few calls, gathered his equipment and motored off to the airport where caught a 6:25 flight to the Stampede City, along with his former Coyote colleague, Nick Ritchie.
Talk about a whirlwind.
Not that Stecher - who arrived in the wee hours and had but a brief, overnight siesta in a downtown hotel - is complaining about the situation he now finds himself in.
"It's why you play," the blueliner said of being part of the Flames' playoff push. "You want to win. You want to compete for the Stanley Cup. Coming here and having an opportunity to chase down the playoffs, it's obviously exciting and it's the position you want to be in as a hockey player. Every game now is just as important as a playoff game.
"It's what you live for."
Brad Treliving described Stecher as a "hard-working, dedicated athlete" who - at 5-foot-10, 184-lbs. - isn't the biggest guy in the world, but plays with plenty of snarl. Most of all, the GM spoke highly of the blueliner's mobility, saying that in the absence of Oliver Kylington (personal) this year, the Flames D corps have been lacking in that regard.
"Troy brings that," Treliving said. "He's a right shot and with Stoney (Michael Stone) going down, we've had Dennis (Gilbert) there, so it gives us a little more depth, a little more experience on the blueline."
More than 400 games of it, in fact.
Stecher began his career with the Vancouver Canucks in 2016 and over that time, has built up quite a report when many of those now in the Flames locker-room. While he admits that coming to a new team could be "intimidating, at times," his new 'mates have welcomed him with open arms.
"Obviously Tanny, Marky, Toff ... Played Worlds with Mang ... Grew up with Looch. So, it makes the transition a little easier, for sure," Stecher said. "I think the hockey world is so small, whether you know guys or you don't - you've played against a lot of them and you know a guy that has a mutual friend, so it's easy to build relationships and get along with guys.
"You kind of put your battles aside and (become) teammates.
"It's exciting."
Stecher has bounced around over the past few years, signing as a free agent with the Red Wings in the fall of 2020, before being traded to the Kings at the deadline the following season. He then signed one-year, show-me deal with the Coyotes that will expire at the end of this term.
Despite having that instability in his life, one thing is clear: He's always been in demand.
Stecher is a true student of the game, 'reinventing himself' on numerous occasions, to grow as the game does, and to adapt to a new coach, system, or some combination of the two.
When he broke into the NHL following a 29-point (8G, 21A) spree at the University of North Dakota, Stecher was looked at as more of a two-way defender. He had a bit of offence in him and during his rookie campaign, he scored three times and added 21 helpers with his hometown Canucks.
Nowadays, he's more of a stay-at-home-type.

"My versatility is probably the biggest aspect of my game and why I'm still in this league," Stecher said. "I think if you look at my career, when I got to Vancouver, I was a powerplay guy playing 20 minutes (per game), and then you go through different coaching changes and your role gets diminished or changes. Just feel like I'm very versatile and I can play anywhere in the lineup, and a lot of that goes back to studying the game and having open ears and listening to the feedback that the coaches give you."
In an interview with DailyHive back in 2019, Stecher talked about his keen eye for detail and how it applies to his career, specifically.
Mistakes happen. That's the nature of the game.
But they can only happen once.
A gaffe that happens twice, three, or even four times is no longer a lapse in talent or faculty.
It's habit.
He's worked hard to create good ones in his game and avoid those repeatable breakdowns that separate the good from the bad in this league.
One would think that in a Darryl Sutter system built on possession, checking, and suppressing chances against, Stecher could truly flourish here with the Flames.
"I feel like when you think the game too much, that's when you run into problems and possibly create those bad habits. You've got to read and react, and anticipate at this level," he said, adding that he spends a ton of time reviewing film, but almost never during a game with the iPads on the bench.
"I want to break those and throw them away," he laughed. "I understand it from a powerplay perspective, if you're looking for a seam to open up or something like that.
"But at the end of the day, you've got to play."
Good thing, then.
Because without even a full team practice to get his feet wet, Stecher will make his Flames debut tonight on a pairing with Nikita Zadorov.
"Definitely some adrenaline," he said of being thrown into the fire. "On an individual level, I went through this process last year getting traded from Detroit to LA. I'm comfortable in this position and like I said, I want to come here and win games. I don't want to do too much.
"I just want to be myself.