NHL'sTrevorZegras plays in Stamford while awaiting new contract with Anaheim
Aug. 8—While he is hopeful to have a new contract with the Ducks finalized soon, he has been staying on the ice, and his latest action was for an important cause on Thursday.
Zegras and other NHL players, including Darien's Spencer Knight of the Florida Panthers, skated in the Shoulder Check Showcase, held by the HT40 Foundation in memory of Hayden Thorsen, a Darien high school student and avid hockey player who died by suicide last spring.
Zegras, who is from Bedford, NY, is a restricted free agent and is coming off a season in which he led the team with 65 points on 23 goals and 41 assists.
As for a new contract, Zegras said "it's all kind of up in the air."
"Obviously, I would love to get back to play as my teammates get back but that's kind of out of my control at the moment," he said. "I do miss California and my teammates."
In the meantime, he has been working out at Prentiss Hockey Performance in Stamford, which was also Thorsen's training home.
"The biggest people who knew him were the guys in the gym because he was in there every day," Zegras said of Thorsen. "Getting to know the Thorsen family, you get a good idea of the kind of type of kid he was. A bunch of my buddies that live in the area, their younger siblings knew him and said what a great kid he was and how much of a good friend he was."
Like Zegras and Knight, Hayden Thorsen played in Mid-Fairfield Youth Hockey.
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Zegras's father Gary is a vice president of the MFYHA and co-founder of the HT40 Foundation, named in Thorsen's honor.
Zegras said hearing Thorsen's story made an impact on him.
"It kind of opened my eyes hearing about his story and what he went through, and the people around him and what they had to say about Hayden," Zegras said. "I was all for it when I heard about the idea (for the Showcase). It's something I'm pretty passionate about."
Zegras has been spending his summer in the Fairfield County area and said he'll be ready to go when his contract is ready and the season starts.
"It's summertime, I've just got to keep doing my thing, what I've always done, and that stuff should take care of itself," he said. "I've got a pretty good setup here in terms of working out and skating. Wherever we are with the contract, I know I'll be doing good stuff to help me get ready for the season."
He also had the chance to connect with Anaheim's new coach Greg Cronin and had dinner with Cronin a couple of times.
"He actually came down to Connecticut to see me, which is pretty cool," Zegras said. "Awesome guy; very intense; and very passionate about the game. He thinks that there are a lot of things that he could change about me to make me a better player. As somebody who wants to learn and get better it's very exciting for somebody like that to come in with such a strong presence.
"I'm very excited that I get to play for him."
