On May 14, the NHL announced its winner for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award. For the 2023-24 season, defenseman Jacob Trouba of the New York Rangers was named the recipient.
Jacob Trouba has been awarded the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award for 2023-24! pic.twitter.com/spEmKUECil
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 14, 2024
The award 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.” Since its inception in 2006-07, there hasn’t been a single repeat winner of the award; Steven Stamkos won it in 2022-23, so that trend continues.
What makes Trouba an ideal candidate for the award is, most importantly, his community work. NHL.com lists him as an avid Hockey Fights Cancer movement contributor and a member of the Garden of Dreams Foundation, a “non-profit charity dedicated to bringing life-changing opportunities to young people in need.”
Furthermore, he and his wife, Dr. Kelly Tyson-Trouba, created The Trouba Creative Expressions Arts Program to support those suffering from epilepsy, and he has even been a participant in the Rangers Youth Hockey Camp. He’s done a lot of good for his community since being named captain of the Rangers on Aug. 9, 2022.
Trouba is known as a heavy hitter on the ice, but off it, he is one of the classiest players the NHL has to offer. He has had a tremendous community involvement recently, and that should only continue in the 2024 offseason. When he has free time, he certainly uses it well.
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