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Trevor Zegras Really is the East Coast Jeff Spicoli (also: Why Hockey Players Showing Some Personality is a Good Thing)
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This interview is so good. “Fuckin’ amazing!” –
Trevor Zegras really is Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. It’s uncanny. From the long hair and facial features to the laid-back surfer demeanor. All Zegras needs are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and he’s fine.
It’s funny because Zegras played five years in Anaheim and San Diego and gives off Southern California vibes, but he’s not from the west coast. He’s from the New York City suburbs and played a college season at Boston University after coming through the U.S. development program. So he’s got the DNA of a northeastern guy with some acquired Masshole, but spent the last half-decade of his career playing on the other side of the country before being traded to Philadelphia.
On a more serious note, it’s good to see some personality on this Flyers team. Hockey players are notoriously boring and rifle through canned quotes faster than the United States lifted Nicolas Maduro out of Venezuela. You always get some sort of boring platitude in a postgame scrum, like “the boys played well, we got pucks deep and committed to the forecheck.” Meaningless drivel.
One of the ways you get people to buy in and start caring about a rebuilding Flyers team is by showcasing these guys’ personalities. You can be honest with Scott Hartnell (Hartsy) after the game and drop an F bomb on live television and still be a Rick Tocchet culture guy who “plays the game the right way.” These aren’t mutually-exclusive types of things. Look at how much guys like Brandon Graham and Jason Kelce resonate with the Eagles fanbase, because they aren’t presenting themselves as mindless sporting automatons in front of the camera.
It provides a base for which ownership can market stars, sell tickets, and regain a foothold in a competitive sports town. Who were the Flyers supposed to put on the souvenir cup between 2020 and 2023? Travis Konecny? He was the only interesting player, and the best quote was John Tortorella. When Danny Briere, Keith Jones, and Dan Hilferty extend Trevor Zegras, and hopefully get Matvei Michkov going again, you’ll have two young and exciting guys you can really promote and build the brand around. This is something the Flyers haven’t had in a long time.
“No shirt, no shoes, no dice!” –
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com