New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba was named the 2023-24 recipient of the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, which is presented "to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey." Trouba is the first Rangers player to earn the annual Mark Messier Leadership Award since it was first presented on a season-by-season basis in the spring of 2007.
Since joining the organization ahead of the 2019-20 season, the 30-year-old defenseman has helped lead the Blueshirts to success on the ice and has taken pride in representing the club in the community. This past summer, he participated in the Rangers Youth Hockey Camp, signing autographs for and spending time with kids taking part in the camp. Now in his second year as team captain after being named to the position on Aug. 9, 2022, Trouba frequently hosts meet and greets following home games with kids from the Garden of Dreams Foundation, spending time with kids and occasionally taking them on a tour of the locker room.
Throughout the 2023-24 season, Trouba and his wife Kelly have raised over $160,000 for the Garden of Dreams Foundation and the Epilepsy Foundation, predominately through the sale of Jacob’s art. He began selling prints of his art online to support the two charities in the fall, amassing $100,000 in donations before Christmas and donated an original one of his pieces to be auctioned off at the Rangers annual Casino Night fundraiser, where it raised $25,000 and was the most successful item in the auction.
On the ice, Trouba recorded three goals and 19 assists for 22 points in 69 regular season games. The Rochester, Michigan, native led all Rangers skaters in blocked shots (183) and ranked second in hits (191).
