Rochester Hills Native Named Captain Of NHL Team

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — A Rochester Adams High School alumnus was named captain of an NHL team Tuesday.

Jacob Trouba, 28, will be wearing the "C" on his sweater next season for the New York Rangers, as he was named the 28th captain in franchise history. He will also become the team's first captain since 2018.

"Since he joined the Rangers, Jacob has consistently displayed all of the qualities we want in a leader on and off the ice," Rangers general manager Chris Drury said in a statement. "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."

The 6-foot-3, 208-pound defenseman is coming off one of his best seasons, scoring a career high 11 goals and 28 assists in 81 games for New York. He also set a career high in plus/minus, as he finished the season plus 25, which was his goal differential when on the ice.

In many ways, the Rangers had a surprise season, finishing second in the Metropolitan Division with a 52-24-6 record and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.

After graduating from Adams High School in 2012, Trouba played hockey for the University of Michigan Wolverines. He was named to the 2013 Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s All-Rookie team determined by a vote of the conference’s head coaches and was also named Best Offensive defenseman in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

Trouba was then selected ninth overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2013 NHL Draft, where he played until he was traded to New York in 2019. He then signed a 7-year, $56 million contract with the Rangers. He has 62 goals, 195 assists and 468 penalty minutes in 597 career games.