Oilers’ Troy Stecher Discusses his Role, A Chance to Win and his Scowl

The Edmonton Oilers acquired Troy Stecher and a 7th-round pick on March 7th, 2024, from Arizona in exchange for a 4th-round pick. Stecher was thrilled to be joining a playoff contender.

He played seven games down the stretch, but an ankle injury, due to a cyst being removed, didn’t allow him to play in the playoffs. It was extremely disappointing for the 30-year-old undrafted defenceman.

In his first eight seasons, he’d only experienced playoff success once. In the 2020 bubble, he won his first seven-game series with Vancouver. The Canucks also won the play-in round and Stecher played 17 games, scored twice and he was +9. He played in four games with the LA Kings in 2022 and produced 2-2—4. His thirst for the playoffs intensified and the main reason he signed a two-year extension last summer, at league minimum, with the Oilers was for the chance to chase a Stanley Cup. Eleven months later, Stecher and the Oilers are four wins away from hoisting the Cup, and Stecher couldn’t be happier.

I spoke with him about this run, his perma-scowl and his drive to compete.

Jason Gregor: You arrived in Edmonton 14 months ago, excited to play in the playoffs. The injury meant you had to wait even longer to experience the playoffs. How difficult was it?

Troy Stecher: Missing last year was tough. Maybe from the outside, I don’t think people really thought I would have been a factor last year, but I’ve always had confidence and belief in myself. And it was hard because I couldn’t play, and then I couldn’t maybe prove to people I could help. And then we come so close, and it’s almost kind of like one of those things like, I wish I was out there. I felt like I could have been a difference maker. And then this year I get hurt late in the season and I thought I might go through it again. That wasn’t good, but I got healthy, and I found a way to get back in the lineup and just trying to play hard every day, with a lot of excitement to help this team ultimately reach our goal.

It’s no different for anybody coming into the lineup in this organization. Your teammates are so supportive, and nobody’s focused on their individual self. It’s a team group here. We are going to win with 26 or 27 guys contributing. It’s not two guys that are going to win. I’m just so happy to help out.

Gregor: You mentioned your confidence and you believed you could have helped last year. Your playoffs numbers dating back to Vancouver are quite good (four goals, seven points and +16 in 27 games).  What is it about the post season that works for your style of game?

Stecher: I could be wrong, but I’ve always believed that at this time of the year, no one cheats the game. And I think I’m a player through the regular season… I don’t really cheat the game either. We’re not pointing fingers. I think some guys might try to, you know, create more offense in different situations in the regular season. But then when it comes to playoffs, I think everybody’s just kind of buying into living to almost fight another day or making sure you’re not going to be the reason why a puck goes in the net or making a big crucial mistake. I think everything is just simplified and magnified almost. There are brighter lights, more eyeballs on you, and it’s a simpler, harder game, and I think that plays into the way I play.

Gregor: You and I have talked before about how you’ve felt like you had to prove to something at every level, and you play with a bit of a chip on your shoulder. And ever since talking about that, I kind of chuckle when I watch you play, because I don’t think you ever smile in a game. You have a permanent scowl. But your teammates say you’re pretty funny. Is the scowl just reflective of your intensity in playoff games?

Stecher (laughs): I guess so. I think I’m like that in regular season as well (laughs). It’s almost like a light switch for me. It’s being really focused for those 60 minutes, sometimes maybe it’s 80 or 100 minutes in the playoffs. That’s your sole purpose in the world at that moment. And then when the game’s over, I go back to just being myself. I enjoy having conversations with a lot of different people. To elaborate on your question about who I am. I grew up in Vancouver with a lot of different cultures. A lot of my friends are half Asian or East Indian, and I don’t know how to say it, but I just try to treat people the right way, but when I play hockey, it’s completely different. I’m a bit angry. I kind of have that chip on my shoulder, kind of that F U mentality, and it’s funny how that works in professional sports. It helps me be successful on the ice, but I’m very different off of it.

Gregor: You’ didn’t play in the playoffs last year. You didn’t start this year, but when you came in you played well right away. How were you able to play well and not let the moment get to you?

Stecher: It might sound bad, but, like, what are they what are they going to do…scratch me again?  So, it’s like I don’t really have anything to lose. I might as well go out there and try to do the best I can to help this team win. And while doing that, obviously, I want to perform at my highest level, but I think the biggest thing is just not being afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are going to happen, and you live with the consequences afterwards. I think when you’re a little timid is when you actually start to play poorly because you’re trying to be too safe. I think the intensity of the playoffs definitely helps. You come in and you realize there is no time to dip your toe in the water. You’re just thrown in and like I said, what’s the worst that can happen? I get taken out of the lineup. I’ve been there before, and, obviously, it’s not ideal. You want to play, but life goes on. You wake up the next day, and you go back to work. I think that’s definitely helped me with my kind of my mindset.

Gregor: This is the deepest you’ve gone in the playoffs. The team’s playing very good hockey. The overtime winner for Kasperi Kapanen v. Vegas. I noticed you were the first guy off the bench to mob him after his goal. How much fun has this run been for you and just being in that moment where one second there is stress and intensity and the next pure jubilation.

Stecher: Oh, for sure. It is wild. It is a love/hate thing with how much of an emotional roller coaster this time of the year is. Wins and losses feel like kind of like a new birth or the death of you. So, yeah, anytime there is a big moment like that it is amazing. And especially since it was Kapy. Him and I came in the lineup together in Game 4 against Vegas, and then he finally gets the clincher in Game 5. I was just so happy for him individually. And having a firsthand look at how hard he worked throughout the first round of the playoffs and through that round to continue to stay ready. And the way he got rewarded, I was just so happy for him. And the moment he scores it is just pure joy for the whole group. I was off the bench pretty fast (laughs).

Kapy is going to the get the recognition, and he deserved it, but at the end of it all he walks in the room and he’s happy and proud of everybody in the room. It’s just a really unique situation this time of the year, the playoffs. It feels like one big family in here, and it’s what you dream of a kid. It’s a lot of fun and I’m blessed to be a part of it.

Stecher would love to play vs. Florida, but with Mattias Ekholm returning he knows his role will likely be cheerleader, unless there is an injury.

“He’s a better player than I am. That’s just the reality of the world and the business we live in. I want him healthy, and I want him to help us win. If I’m the one that comes out, I’m going to be disappointed, but it probably gives our team a better chance to win,” Stecher said in this interview with Mark Spector.

Stecher just wants to win, and regardless of how many more games he’s played, Stecher was a positive contributor thus far. His goal was to win, and the Oilers are four wins away from him, and his teammates reaching their goal.

When they do, I guarantee you will see his smile not his scowl.

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