San Diego Gulls: Trevor Zegras named AHL Player of the Week

It only took Trevor Zegras two games to make an impression. The San Diego Gulls was named the AHL’s Player of the Week.

Small sample sizes have been Trevor Zegras’s best friend.

The 19-year-old is fresh off playing in seven games at the 2021 World Juniors for Team USA, scoring seven goals with 20 assists en route to the American’s first Gold Medal victory since 2017. Now with the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League, the former ninth overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft needed just two games to turn heads.

Zegras racked up two goals and five points over the weekend in a two-game set against Bakersfield, marking his first two professional hockey games. For his efforts, he was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week in what figures to be the first of many honors coming his way.

“Z’s pretty unpredictable,” Gulls defenseman Kodie Curran said. “That’s what makes him so good. I would have loved for him to try The Michigan. I’m sure he will at some point. We kind of made eye contact after he dusted it off a couple of times. I’ve just got a little soft spot. It was a great pass, and it happened to work out.”

What a weekend for @tzegras11!
@TheAHL CCM/AHL Player of the Week collected five points in two games to begin his pro career.

Stick taps all around 👏

— San Diego Gulls (@SDGullsAHL) February 8, 2021

Zegras was part of a Gulls’ offense that tallied three second-period goals in the 2021 opener, racking up three points in the process. San Diego’s first goal was initially credited to Chase De Leo, but a later review overturned the boxscore, giving Zegras his first professional goal. Zegras also had primary assists on De Leo and Curran’s goals, making it a 3-1 game through two periods.

In Saturday’s finale, the 19-year-old phenom tallied two more points, including a powerplay goal from the right dot in the second period. Zegras’s snipe proved to be the game-winner, as San Diego held onto a 4-3 final score to take the two-game series.

Being the ninth overall pick in the NHL comes with enormous expectations, and Zegras relishes in the moment.

“The Ducks fans are awesome,” he said. “I don’t usually read into it or look into it, but I definitely feel the support. They’ve been unbelievable throughout this whole time. Kind of just encouraging me and keeping me upbeat. All the support I get, I definitely hear it from all the Ducks fans. I appreciate it.”

The Ducks have, historically, taken their time bringing prospects along. Given how anemic their offense is this season, they might be forced to promote Zegras ahead of schedule, especially if he continues to put up numbers similar to his first two games.

Ryan Sikes

Padres writer/editor for East Village Times. LA Kings writer/editor for Hockey Royalty. IBWAA member.