| Troy Stecher | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1994-04-07)April 7, 1994 (age 30) Richmond, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team Former teams | Edmonton Oilers Vancouver Canucks Detroit Red Wings Los Angeles Kings Arizona Coyotes Calgary Flames | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2016–present | ||
Troy Stecher (/ˈstɛtʃər/STETCH-ər;[1] born April 7, 1994) is a Canadian professionalice hockeydefenceman for theEdmonton Oilers of theNational Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for theVancouver Canucks,Detroit Red Wings,Los Angeles Kings,Arizona Coyotes andCalgary Flames.
Undrafted into the NHL, Stecher played for theUniversity of North Dakota for three seasons. In his last season, he was honoured as aSecond-Team All-American West,All-NCHC Second Team, andNCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year.
Stecher began playing hockey at the age of six with the Richmond Minor Hockey Association. After graduating from Alfred B Dixon Elementary, Stecher attendedSouth Delta Secondary School due to their hockey academy while still playing in bantam hockey.[2] Despite being selected in the 2009 WHL Draft by thePortland Winterhawks, Stecher chose instead to play with thePenticton Vees of theBCHL to better develop as a player.[3]
In his second year with the Vees, Stecher was named an Assistant Captain[4] as he helped guide the Vees to the national junior ‘A’ Championship.[5] Although Stecher was loaned to Team Canada West for the2011 World Junior A Challenge, he still registered a career-high 42 points in 53 games during the regular season. While playing in theRBC Cup, Stecher recorded 10 points in 15 games and was named theRoyal Bank Cup's top defenceman.[6]
On June 28, 2012, Stecher was named team captain for the2012–13 season.[6] It was during this season, his final year with the Penticton Vees, that Stecher committed to playing NCAA hockey for theUniversity of North Dakota.[5] At the conclusion of the 2012–13 season, Stecher was named to the BCHL First-Team All-Star[7] and awarded the Top Defenceman Trophy for the Interior.[8]
Stecher played three seasons ofcollege hockey with the University of North Dakota.
In his freshman year at North Dakota, Stecher played in all 42 games, the only freshman to do so.[9] He ended the season with 11 points in 42 games.
In his last year of draft eligibility, Stecher was passed over in the2014 NHL Entry Draft, the third straight draft he was not selected in.[3] As such, Stecher returned to North Dakota for his sophomore season. During a December game against the Lake Superior State Lakers, Stecher was injured and was expected to miss 6–8 weeks to recover.[10] After missing eight games, Stecher returned for a 3–2 loss against Nebraska Omaha on January 30.[11] He ended the season with 13 points in 34 games.
In his last year at North Dakota, Stecher set a career high with 29 points in 43 games. He was named aSecond-Team All-American West at the conclusion of the 2015–16 season[12] and selected for theAll-NCHC Second Team. He was also named a finalist for NCHC Defenseman of the Year andNCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year,[9] winning a national title with North Dakota. Following his outstanding third season, theVancouver Canucks signed him to a two-year entry-level contract on April 13, 2016.[13]
Stecher was a late cut from the Canucks' 2016 training camp and was sent to theirAHL affiliate, theUtica Comets to startthe season.[14] After playing in the Comets' first four games and tallying an assist, he was recalled to the Canucks on October 24, 2016.[15] He made his NHL debut the next day, logging 22:35 minutes of ice time in a 3–0 loss to theOttawa Senators.[16] As a result, Stecher became the first player born and raised in Richmond, British Columbia to play for the Canucks.[2] His first career assist and point came on aDaniel Sedin goal on November 5 in a 6–3 loss to theToronto Maple Leafs.[17] In the same game, he was hit by Leafs enforcerMatt Martin in the 3rd period and aline brawl proceeded.[18]
He scored his first NHL goal againstKari Lehtonen on November 13 in a 5–4 overtime victory against theDallas Stars.[19] On March 26, 2017 he left a game against theWinnipeg Jets with an upper-body injury due to a fall into the boards after a collision with a Jets player.[20][21] Stecher healed well enough to play on the Friday game.
During the Canucks2017–18 season opener, Stecher recorded his first NHL fight againstEdmonton Oilers forwardRyan Strome.[22] On October 24, 2017 the Canucks announced viaTwitter that Stecher would be out 4-to-6 weeks with a knee injury that was caused in a game against theDetroit Red Wings.[23] He returned to the Canucks lineup on November 24, 2017, after missing 14 games.[24] Stecher concluded the regular season with 11 points in 68 games. On July 20, 2018, Stecher signed a two year, $4.65 million deal with the Canucks.[25]
After not being tendered a qualifying offer by the Canucks, Stecher became a unrestricted free agent. On October 10, 2020, Stecher signed a two-year, $3.4 million contract with theDetroit Red Wings.[26]
On March 20, 2022, in the final year of his contract, Stecher was dealt by Detroit to theLos Angeles Kings in exchange for a 2022 seventh-round draft pick.[27] Stecher tallied 1 assist through the remaining 13 regular season games with the Kings. Drawing into the lineup for the playoffs in a first-round encounter with theEdmonton Oilers, Stecher recorded 2 goals and 4 points in just 4 games.
As a free agent from the Kings, Stecher was signed to a one-year, $1.25 million contract with theArizona Coyotes on July 13, 2022.[28]
On March 3, 2023, Stecher, along withNick Ritchie, was traded to theCalgary Flames from the Coyotes forConnor Mackey andBrett Ritchie.[29][30] In playing out the remainder of the season with the Flames, Stecher increased his offensive output in notching 3 goals and 7 points through 20 games, however was unable to help Calgary qualify for the playoffs.
As a free agent, Stecher left the Flames and returned for a second stint with the Coyotes by signing a one-year, $1.1 million contract on July 1, 2023.[31]
On March 7, 2024, Stecher, along with a 2027 seventh-round pick, was traded to theEdmonton Oilers in exchange for a2024 fourth-round pick.[32]
After recording two assists in seven regular season games, the Oilers signed Stecher to a two-year extension with an AAV of $787,500.[33]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Representing Canada | ||
| World Championships | ||
 | 2021 Latvia | |
 | 2019 Slovakia | |
On April 29, 2019, Stecher was selected to make his international debut after he was named to theTeam Canada roster for the2019 IIHF World Championship, held inSlovakia.[34] He helped Canada progress through to the playoff rounds before losing the final toFinland to finish with the Silver Medal on May 26, 2019.[35] Stecher finished the tournament posting one goal and two points in ten games from the blueline.
Stecher won the Gold Medal with Team Canada at the2021 IIHF World Championship, beating Finland 3-2 in overtime on June 6, 2021.[36] He had an assist on the game-winning overtime goal in Canada's quarterfinal match againstRussia, finishing the tournament with two points in ten games.[37][38][39]
Stecher was born inRichmond, British Columbia to parents Tracey and Peter Stecher alongside his two older siblings.[2]
He has a Bernese Mountain Dog named Phoebe.[40]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2009–10 | Greater Vancouver Canadians | BCMML | 38 | 4 | 27 | 31 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2010–11 | Penticton Vees | BCHL | 54 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 47 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 2011–12 | Penticton Vees | BCHL | 53 | 5 | 37 | 42 | 42 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 8 | ||
| 2012–13 | Penticton Vees | BCHL | 52 | 8 | 39 | 47 | 40 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 2013–14 | U. of North Dakota | NCHC | 42 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | U. of North Dakota | NCHC | 34 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | U. of North Dakota | NCHC | 43 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Utica Comets | AHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 71 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 68 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 69 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 32 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2020–21 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 44 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 61 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 20 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 47 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 494 | 19 | 91 | 110 | 225 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 10 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Canada | WC |  | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2021 | Canada | WC |  | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Senior totals | 20 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||||