Bedford’s Trevor Zegras leading Team USA at World Junior Championships
BEDFORD, N.Y. (BVM) — Coming off the fourth line for the first time in his career, Bedford native and US hockey juniors captain, Trevor Zegras, had to take on a different role for Team USA in 2020. Now in his second stint on the club, Zegras is back to a more familiar role on the first line in 2021.
With an opening matchup against Team Russia in the 2021 World Junior Championship, it wouldn’t take long for the breakout forward to get going, scoring his first goal of the tournament in Team USA’s 5-3 loss against Russia.
With the early loss, Zegras would help Team USA get back on track, tallying 12 points in the team’s wins over Austria, Czech Republic and Sweden.
The point-scoring barrage from Zegras didn’t come as a surprise for many, who expected the former ninth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft to come out strong in this year’s tournament. Last year, Zegras led his team and the entire tournament with nine assists.
“[I] went in there with the mindset of just going out there every shift and working as hard as I can and I guess I just got kind of rewarded, got kind of lucky, being in the right spots at the right time,” Zegras told the NHL Network of his performance at the 2020 tournament. “With the way we finished last year it kind of left a bad taste in our mouths, so I think we’ll be pretty motivated this year.”
Before breaking out at the World Junior Championship, the star forward attended Fox Lane High School in Bedford, N.Y. before transferring to Avons Old Farms School in Connecticut.
Zegras would play his lone collegiate season at Boston University, appearing in 33 games for the Terriers. The freshman forward tallied 36 points on 11 goals and 25 assists in his opening campaign and was selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Anaheim Ducks.
With a tournament-leading 15 points, Zegras has propelled Team USA into this year’s medal contention. After placing first in its grouping, the under-20 squad took home its first playoff win of the year with a 5-2 victory over Slovakia. Now in the semifinals, Team USA is just one win away from a chance at the gold medal game.
Team USA will take on Finland in its semifinal matchup and can guarantee a medal placement with a win.
