We’ve talked about it a lot during the final stages of the NCAA season and it was officially announced on Thursday morning.

Jacob Truscott has been named captain of the Michigan Wolverines for the 2023-24 season.

Truscott is a fifth-round pick of the Canucks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He is a 6’1″, left-shot defenceman who plays a support style of play. He isn’t the flashiest player, but does an incredible job at making his defence partners better and has locked in on improving his play on the penalty kill over the past couple of seasons.

Next season will be Truscott’s fourth NCAA season and it’s more than likely that he goes pro at the conclusion of the season and will join the Abbotsford Canucks.

Sources close to Truscott have told CanucksArmy earlier in the season that he was leaning towards signing and going pro after the 2022-23 season. That changed late in the year when Truscott suffered a wrist injury and was forced to miss Michigan’s playoff games.

He finished last season with four goals and 12 assists in 23 games before injuring his wrist. That was a nice jump in offence after he had two goals and 15 assists in 40 games during the 2021-22 season. Truscott also played for USA at that summer World Junior Championships that we saw in the summer of 2022.

Truscott has been a partner for NHLers Luke Hughes and Owen Power and did a great job letting those high-end defencemen cook. Truscott is well-trusted in his own end and can chip in offence when the situations present themselves but he is more of a safe player who doesn’t ever get caught in the NCAA. Truscott wore an ‘A’ last season and will look even better with a ‘C’ on his chest.

All we’ve heard from sources near to Truscott tell us that he will be signing with the Canucks organization after the 2023-24 season. We expect to see him at development camp this summer but will not see him at the Young Stars tournament as he will be preparing for his NCAA season.

We will follow his 2023-24 season closely and if he can continue to build on his defensive play while chipping in a bit more offence — there’s a lot to be excited about his jump to pro.

The Canucks need some of these support defencemen on their roster. It’s a stretch for sure, but his play style is similar to Chris Tanev. Truscott blocks a ton of shots and is simple with his puck movement. He’s not the star of a pairing, but he helps make a pairing star for their team.

Captaining the Wolverines is a big deal and Truscott will only grow from this experience. We expect a solid pro at the conclusion of this NCAA season and we expect him to be in Abbotsford at some point in April 2024.