Rather than chafing and getting off on the wrong foot with Tocchet -- whom he's nicknamed "Taco" -- Zegras thrived. One of the underrated keys to the team's growth last season was the example that Zegras set for the entire group. He developed a healthy push-pull relationship with the head coach and the staff.
Zegras is not afraid to ask questions or speak his mind as he sees fit. But it's always done with one thing in mind: continuous improvement to be the best player he can be for the good of the team.
A prime example: Zegras' hybrid role, which has gradually evolved more toward being a regular center. The player himself won't fuss about lining up on a wing if asked. However, he's also made clear that he'd love to become a full-time center role and that he understands the steps he needs to take to do that.
The keys: showing improvement on faceoffs, adding a bit more muscle physically, and continuing to grow into the 200-foot responsibilities that full-time centers carry. Zegras has been working toward those goals during the offseason. He plans to continue the process in training camp and during the season.
"I think some of it starts in the gym and just getting bigger and stronger. I think a lot of it was reps and repetition and taking a ton of face-offs, even against your own guys in practice or after practice, and just picking up on little things that maybe guys against you do. All things that I'm always thinking about. So I'll try and definitely be better than I was last year," Zegras said.
Zegras also plays an important role in locker room and on-the-bench dynamics. He likes to keep things light and humorous -- every team needs a couple such players to alleviate the pressure that builds -- but he also knows when to be serious. He's also not a self-centered player. Teammates notice if an offensively gifted teammate seems overly cheerful if he gets a couple points but the team loses.
Zegras isn't like that. He knows when to get serious. Just as importantly, he's only truly content if the team wins and he feels like he did his part in the process. That's the kind of teammate that other players want to have and which coaches respect.
It was not an overnight process for Zegras. He endured a couple down years in Anaheim before the trade to the Flyers. But enduring the adversity helped him in the long run.
“Trevor has been a big part of our team since we acquired him from Anaheim,” Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said to reporters last week.
“He cares about winning. And even in this negotiation, he’s the one who took charge. He’s the one who said, ‘I want to be here’. He’s gone through a lot in his career. Things that weren’t easy. That made him stronger.”
On the ice, Zegras has started to build a reputation as a player who gets under the skin of his opponents. New teammate Noel Acciari, who is cut from a similar cloth as a competitor, saw it first handhand last season as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In one game, Acciari memorably tangled with Zegras. In the ensuing scrum, Zegras ripped Acciari's helmet off his head. Acciari was enraged.
"It's all water under the bridge," Acciari grinned.
“I have not talked to Trevor yet. That will come soon enough. We’ll have a good laugh at it now. He does what he needs to do on the ice to get under guys’ skin. He does a good job, he’s effective at it."
For his part, Zegras is happy to be a Flyer as the rest of the team is to have him for at least the next four seasons.
"I just have a lot of fun being at the rink and being around the guys. I find it lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing people, from the guys to the coaching staff to Danny and Jonesy (president of hockey operations Keith Jones), Dan Hilferty (chairman). I found that it was just a very good situation for me mentally, and it was a lot of fun on the ice, too," Zegras said.
