Trevor LeDonne’s Game Has Never Been About Shortcuts
On opening weekend in Wheeling, while LeDonne was with the Nailers, he sat down with Olde City Sports Network to talk juniors, his playing style, and more!
Every step, every level, every adjustment has been earned — from junior B at 16, to junior A, to the jump west, to college hockey, and now to the professional grind with the Allen Americans. “I think obviously it was a great experience,” LeDonne said. “When I was 16, I actually played junior B, so I think that helped a lot, too. It was just being against older guys, and then making the transition to junior A, which is like a step up, and then even going up to BC, I think, was even another step up and just challenged me in ways to just adapt to a quicker game and a higher skill level.”
That constant exposure to older, stronger competition helped shape LeDonne’s identity early — a defenseman who values awareness, gap control, and adaptability over flash. Each move forced him to process the game faster, defend smarter, and learn how to survive against speed and skill.
Now at the pro level, those lessons show up in the smallest details of his game. Defending rushes isn’t about one decision — it’s a chain of reads made in seconds. “I think first you have to see what hand he is, and then gauge how quick he is, and then you've got to pick, how tight of a gap you think you can go on them, or sometimes you gotta ease back off of it and respect his speed, and then go from there.”
Photo Credit: Allen Americans
That cerebral approach is paired with communication — something LeDonne emphasizes as a non-negotiable for a defenseman playing behind professional goaltenders. “I think a lot of them need their sight lines; they're talking to us if we are in front of them and telling us to move left or right,” he said. “They are telling us what they see, what they have their eyes on, and seeing everything ahead of them. For us going back for pucks, we have to take a look and then tell them what we see and make a call and tell them what we want to do with the puck.”
LeDonne’s path to Allen itself was just as fast-paced as his game. After a loss with Air Force, a flight home turned into an unexpected opportunity — and a quick decision. “I think it was great, actually,” he said. “It was pretty quick. We lost to Air Force at school, and then my flight home, I landed, turned on my phone, and I knew a guy out there in Alan, Mark Duarte. He's been out there, and then I just reached out to him and seeing if they were looking for anyone, and then their coach texted me when I landed, asking if I'd be interested in coming, and I went there. It was a great experience, loved my time there. Great city, great teammates, so I loved it.”
Even as he’s moved through different levels and locker rooms, those connections — especially from his college days — have remained important. Relationships built through hockey don’t disappear just because the jerseys change. “They're both great, guys,” LeDonne said of former teammates Trevor Zins and Mitch Deelstra. “Zins and I were close when I during my time there, and we don't talk as much. I played against him a bit last year… and then Deels, I was close with him last year, we actually went on a golf trip this summer, with four of us from Robert Morris, so we still stay in touch in that way.”
On the ice, LeDonne sees himself as a modern defenseman — one who understands the demands of today’s game while staying rooted in defensive responsibility. “I think just being good, 200-foot defenseman, being able to defend well, defend hard, close gaps, break pucks up, and then, obviously nowadays, everyone's becoming more offensive, so being able to jump in the rush and play that 200-foot game.”
Physicality has always been part of that equation. While the pro game adds size and strength, the mentality hasn’t changed. “I think it's just something I've been used to my whole life,” he said. “It's the way I've always played, just being physical in front, and I think it's obviously it's bigger, older guys, so I think it's the same thing I've always had, but obviously just got to adapt and get stronger.”
That willingness to adapt — without abandoning what got him here — continues to define Trevor LeDonne’s journey. With the Allen Americans, it’s not about reinventing himself. It’s about sharpening every edge of a game that’s been forged one level at a time.
- Samantha Wismer/Olde City Sports Network
- Photo Credit: Allen Americans/Rapid City Rush
