"But I can't change my style--you won't see me give this a major overhaul," he promises. "I can only work with what I've got."
He'll get plenty of work this year to show the NHL what he is capable of, but because situational luck is such a dominant factor in making "the show," Tracy knows his odds remain slim.
"There are so many guys down in the IHL and AHL that could be playing in the NHL with just one break," the ongoing NHLPA strike notwithstanding, he says. "Everything has to go your way, it seems."
With that in mind, Tracy has set two final goals for himself and his Harvard career.
"I'd like to be remembered from my Harvard days as having been a good person," he says, especially citing the close, long-lasting friendships he has made on the hockey team in the last 26 months.
But almost even more than that, he craves the ultimate success that he and his teammates have narrowly failed to grasp in the last two years.
"I want to be a member of a national championship team--that's by far my loftiest goal, and it's something I think we can achieve," he says.
That seven year-old with the baseball glove has come quite a long way. For if there's any one person who can singlehandedly fulfill that Harvard championship quest, it's Tripp Tracy, and that's just the way he likes it.
Darren M. Kilfara is an Assistant Sports Editor for The Crimson.