Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet is starting to realize what he might have in the newly acquired Trevor Zegras.
After practice Wednesday, Tocchet said he was quite pleased with how Zegras has approached training camp, practices, and thus far the one exhibition game Zegras has played. And it appears Zegras has taken a liking to his new coach, dubbing him, er, “Taco.”
“I think he calls me ‘Taco’ now, I don’t know what you call it,” Tocchet said as members of the media laughed in response. “I don’t know what he’s calling me, but I like the fact that he’s a good kid and he wants to learn. But there are certain parts of his game he knows he has to clean up and he’s willing to learn.”
Tocchet said he sees a lot of strengths in Zegras and is particularly happy with how the newcomer is fitting in with the team and in the locker room.
“Well he’s willing to learn, he’s coachable,” Tocchet said. “He’s been in the office watching video, he’s on the ice listening to the coaches. I know he’s a great kid. You talk to some other players that I’ve coached, he’s a great kid. The guy hasn’t liked his last couple of years, has doubters like we all do. I’m sure people doubt you, that’s the world we live in, you’re doubted all the time. So use that as fuel. He’s in house, this is his sanctuary. But I think with a guy like him his personality is great for our room.”
We believe Zegras is just using the coach’s surname as the jumping off point for the “Taco” nickname and not citing the traditional Mexican entree. Nor would we believe Zegras is a huge fan of ’80s European pop one-hit wonder Taco with his signature cover of “Puttin’ On The Ritz.” When asked if he had that nickname before, Tocchet said a few guys he knew earlier in his career had used it “but not really to be honest with you.”
Meanwhile, in other news, Tocchet noted that the possible pairing of Trevor Zegras with Matvei Michkov on a line may need a more defensively dependable center down the middle. And Tocchet feels Christian Dvorak could fit that bill, particularly lessening the onus on Zegras with faceoffs as he’s still trying to improve on his winning percentage on the dots.
“You play with Zegras and Michkov if I do keep them together I might need a reliable guy,” Tocchet said. “Obviously it’s my job to get those guys to play reliable but a little too many odd man rushes against the Islanders in the second period and those guys have to understand. I’m not saying I’m going to put somebody different but sometimes when you play with two highly skilled guys like that sometimes you have to have that responsible guy. It might work and I think Dvorak is that guy that can win battles in the corners and get the puck to a guy like Zegras or Michkov.”
So, one plus from this current coach/player relationship between Tocchet and Zegras is it seems to be getting off on the right foot. It’s a baby step, and there’s probably still a lot of work that needs to be done, but at least there’s no controversy between the two. For now. It’s something Zegras certainly doesn’t need or want after his final season in Anaheim. And Tocchet is certainly hoping to avoid the fiasco that was the situation between JT Miller and Elias Pettersson in Vancouver in the 2024-25 season before Tocchet fled the scene.
