NOTE: This is the first episode of second season of Islanders Award Winners. The rest of the episodes will publish later this year.

In 1975, the Islanders had made an improbable run to the NHL semifinals in just their third season. A year later, a 19-year-old kid from a farm in Saskatchewan would make sure that run was no fluke. Little about Bryan Trottier’s incredible rookie year makes sense in modern times. A unique underage draft, a boy so humble and quiet he barely said a word all season, an instant No. 1 center who started his career with a hat trick in a five point game in his first appearance at his home arena. Trottier would score throughout the season, finishing with record numbers and helping the Islanders establish themselves as one of the best NHL teams of the mid-70’s. It wasn’t long before he established himself as one of the very best players in the sport... even if you’d never, ever hear him say so. This episode will cover Trottier’s entire Rookie-of-the-Year season, from his background and drafting, to his adjustment to Long Island, to the stunning way he “controlled the puck like he owns it” from the moment he hit the NHL and finally to the adversity he experienced when his goals dried up at the worst time.

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