PITTSBURGH \u2014 Vincent Trocheck is a Pittsburgh kid through and through. <\/p>\n
There\u2019s no better example of that than an old photo displayed proudly in the Trocheck home. It\u2019s of a young Vincent posing with Mario Lemieux at a hockey camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe consider Pittsburgh home,\u201d Trocheck told Channel 11. \u201cI always have. I\u2019ve always come back here every summer. I think the blue-collar roots of this town and the city are something that have been instilled in me from a young age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trocheck is part of a generation of local hockey talent that includes J.T. Miller<\/a> and Brandon Saad, all shaped by the game\u2019s biggest stars right down the street.<\/p>\n \u201cI think being able to grow up watching guys like Mario when I was really young, and then right into (Sidney Crosby) as I grew older, it got the kids around this area into the game. I think my age group alone, we had four or five guys drafted in the NHL from this area.\u201d <\/p>\n For the Upper St. Clair native, learning to skate came almost as naturally as learning to walk. <\/p>\n \u201cHe was probably about three-years-old, and he started skating out in Mount Lebanon,\u201d said Trocheck\u2019s father, Vincent Trocheck Sr. \u201cHe just got hooked on watching the hockey players when he would be leaving the rink.\u201d <\/p>\n Chasing the younger Trocheck\u2019s NHL dream meant sacrifice for the whole family. He, his parents and two sisters spent plenty of time apart as Trocheck\u2019s talent developed. They even temporarily moved to Michigan for better exposure and bigger challenges. <\/p>\n \u201cI think he thought it from when he was a little kid. That was his dream,\u201d said his mother, Rita Trocheck. \u201cEvery year we would say, \u2018oh, he\u2019s never going to have a better year than that. He\u2019s never going to outdo that,\u2019 and he would. Every year, he would do something that was better than the year before.\u201d <\/p>\n That growth, discipline and support have produced 13 NHL seasons, two All-Star appearances and two international medals, including winning gold with Team USA at the 2013 World Junior Championships. <\/p>\n This winter, he\u2019s adding Olympian to his resume. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an honor and a blessing to be able to go over there and represent Team USA, obviously. It\u2019s something that we\u2019ve all dreamed of since we were little kids,\u201d Trocheck said. \u201cMe and my family, we\u2019re all looking forward to going over there.\u201d <\/p>\n However, what makes his family proudest is the person off the ice.<\/p>\n The man wearing red, white and blue for Team USA is, in many ways, the same kid at camp with Le Magnifique.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s remained the same person,\u201d said Trocheck Sr. \u201cHe respects people. He has good character. He\u2019s humble about it. He\u2019s never flashy or flamboyant in any way. He\u2019s just a good kid, a good guy.\u201d <\/p>\n Download the FREE WPXI News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>. | Watch WPXI NOW<\/a><\/p>\n TOP STORIES FROM CHANNEL 11 NEWS <\/p>\n \u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n