The New York Rangers announced that defenseman Jacob Trouba has been named the 28th captain in franchise history.
The 28-year-old will be the first captain since Ryan McDonagh (2014-15 – 2017-18) and becomes the 12th defenseman in team history to be named captain. He is also the third American-born captain joining now-general manager, Chris Drury.
“Since he joined the Rangers, Jacob has consistently displayed all of the qualities we want in a leader on and off the ice,” Drury said. As we look to take the next step as an organization, he is a role model for all of our players to follow and the perfect choice to be our captain.”
Trouba, along with teammates Barclay Goodrow, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome, and Mika Zibanejad were alternate captains last season for the Rangers.
Trouba’s career Year
Trouba had enjoyed a career year last season with the Blueshirts. The defenseman scored a career-high 11 goals along with 28 assists. His career-high +25 rating was emphasized by his 177 blocked shots: the second most in the entire league. In the 2021-22 playoffs, Trouba recorded five points but was incredibly important in helping the Rangers get to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2014.
A former first-round pick in the 2012 draft, Trouba has also been a staple in the community since being traded to New York in June of 2019. He has helped support the Garden of Dreams Foundation (GDF) and Junior Rangers Youth Hockey.
Since the announcement became official Tuesday morning, his New York Ranger teammates have already come out to congratulate him for the incredible honor.
Trouba is now one of three defensemen in the NHL to currently hold the captaincy for their respective teams, joining Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon and Nashville’s Roman Josi.
“Right away when I got here, it was clear that Jacob had a certain presence in the locker room and among his teammates that exemplify what you need out of a captain,” said Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant. “With where our team is at and where we want to be, he is the right person to lead us there.”
Trouba will look to be the leader of the clubhouse as the Rangers prepare to contend for a Stanley Cup title.
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