Drafted Into Obscurity < Rocky Trottier >

Not all hockey players can survive the rigors of the professional game on talent alone. A few players get more attention from big league scouts because they have the "right" last name. Having those familiar letters on the back of your jersey can almost guarantee you a shot at leap frogging over more capable teammates and competition.

In this addition to the long list of pro hockey players who eventually got Drafted Into Obscurity, we take a look at a player who toiled in shadow a vastly talented big brother and NHL legend, Rocky Trottier.

Rocky Trottier with Medicine Hat Tigers

Maybe Rocky Trottier was destined to become an NHL'er. It appeared that he certainly was blessed with fantastic lineage which should've paid off handsomely for the Saskatoon native. But cursed was more like the reality for Western Hockey League junior.

Being the little brother of an already established NHL star probably weighed a little heavy on the average major junior. Over his four years in the WHL, Trottier posted a not too spectacular over a point-a-game pace. In his final year, Trottier began to show some flashes of what might become after scoring 84 points in 65 games,adding a solid 15 more in Memorial Cup action. That late display of talent might have given him a small chance at a pro hockey career, if it wasn't for that promising last name and what it meant.

In 1982, times were changing in the NHL, the eight-year run of the Colorado Rockies had come to an end with new owners moving the franchise to the largest sports market in North America. The New Jersey Devils were born out of the swamps of eastern metropolitan New York. The new owners knew what they were up against in the powerhouse, storied Ranger fan-base and new dynasty rivals Islanders - major competition. They needed a quick foothold into the market and what better way to make a splash by drafting the little brother of NHL mega star Bryan Trottier. Tempted by the family lineage promise, the Devils selected Rocky Trottier with their first pick, eighth overall in the first round of the 1982 NHL draft.

1984 with the New Jersey Devils

He debuted in the NHL after a successful run in the Memorial Cup playoffs in 1984, scoring 2 points in 5 games. By September, Trottier had made the Devils and was ready to begin another NHL brother rivalry. After splitting the 1984-85 season between the farmclub and parent club, Trottier worked hard to stick as an NHL regular. By 1986, he never got another shot at the big leagues, playing a total of 35 NHL games over two seasons.  He continued to langish in the AHL with Maine, not impressing Devils brass and by the fall of 1987, Trottier was on his way to hockey obscurity and out of the North American pro scene.

Trottier would head to Europe to play two more seasons of unspectacular hockey in Div II clubs in Sweden and Germany. He played one last season, making an unsuccessful return to North America in 1989-90, suiting up for the AHL's Hersey Bears.

Trottier was the perfect example of potential on name but not on pure talent. Luckily for New Jersey, 1982 turned out to be one of the weakest NHL drafts for underage juniors and Rocky Trottier's legacy became more of a footnote and sports game show stump-er than a franchise fiasco.