There are 32 captains in the NHL currently.
In the summer of 2022, the New York Rangers named Jacob Trouba captain, adding him to this elite club, which is a moment he’ll never forget.
“There was obviously excitement,” Trouba said on being named captain. “It was something that I wanted at the time, so to achieve something I wanted to achieve was fulfilling and it was kind of the start of the journey and then I actually started doing the job.”
And Trouba does his job pretty well.
A lot of fans are looking to nitpick Trouba’s individual game on the ice, but there are things that don’t show up on the statsheet and not noticed that actually have value.
Being captain doesn't just mean you have a C strapped to your jersey. There are aspects of serving as captain that hold a tremendous amount of pressure and Trouba has to not only lead by example, but also be the vocal leader even during the most difficult of times.
“When times are not as great you gotta step up and say something and be a leader… They kind of feed into each other, the way you play and the way you carry yourself,” Trouba said. “Just the way you act day-to-day. It’s pretty natural being yourself, you can’t really force it. You can’t be fake about it, it’s pretty genuine. Most people can see right through it, so kind of being yourself everyday and be who you are.”
For his unique leadership qualities, the 30-year-old won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, an award presented annually to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.
