Ranking Every New Jersey Devils 1st-Round Draft Pick Part 1: The Busts
By Mike Luci
No. 29: Rocky Trottier
Right Wing
8th Overall, 1982
The first-ever New Jersey Devils player to be drafted turned out to be a dud. Despite only playing in 38 NHL games (tallying six goals and 10 points), Trottier actually has two more claims to fame. His older brother Bryan was the longtime Hall-of-Fame New York Islander and six-time Stanley Cup champion. During his brief time with the Devils, Trottier, also took (and scored) the team’s first-ever penalty shot, in a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers (evidently caused by Wayne Gretzky throwing his stick to try and break up a play).
After playing his first five NHL games in 83-84, Trottier appeared in 33 contests the following season, getting five goals and eight points. He never returned to the NHL after that year and played two more seasons with New Jersey’s AHL affiliate in Maine before being released by the organization. Trottier was in Europe for two seasons, before his second and final AHL stint in 89-90. He had 38 goals and 87 points in 177 AHL games with Maine, along with 15 goals and 28 points in 49 contests during his stint with the Hershey Bears.
Trottier clearly didn’t possess anything remotely resembling his brother’s skillset, but you might be able to use his underwhelming outcome to shed light on how truly dysfunctional New Jersey was as an organization in their first 5-7 years of existence.