Foligno’s good works earn honors
LAS VEGAS — Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the Mark Messier Leadership Award on Tuesday in Las Vegas, making a clean sweep of the NHL’s “good guy” awards.
Foligno was recognized for his leadership on and off the ice, as well as his work and charitable giving in the community.
“You’re a hockey player for how many years?” Foligno
said. “But you have to go on and have something meaningful in your life.
“I’m proud of all the guys here ( who were finalists for the awards). We’re all so lucky to have the platform that hockey provides us, and it’s great to see so many guys using it. To be the guy who wins … it’s just really humbling.”
The King Clancy Award is selected by a panel of hockey writers and broadcasters. The Messier award is selected by the man himself, Mark Messier, who captained three NHL franchises (Edmonton, Vancouver and New York) and won six Stanley Cups.
When Foligno accepted the award, he called him “Mr. Messier.”
“I couldn’t help it,” Foligno said. “Mark just doesn’t sound like it’s enough respect for him. To finally meet him, and to be recognized in his name is a really, really amazing feeling and it’s something I’ll never forget.”
Messier gets input from across the league, but he alone selects the winner. Foligno’s is the 10th name on the trophy.
“I’ve noticed Nick for a long time, and I love the way he plays,” Messier told The Dispatch. “He plays with integrity. He plays with courage. The stuff off the ice — his charitable giving — made him a great candidate.”
Foligno and his wife, Janelle, gave $ 1 million to children’s hospitals in Columbus and Boston to research congenital heart defects. His daughter, Milana, was born with a defect and has undergone multiple procedures.
He also has supported the Janis Foligno Foundation in memory of his mother, who died of breast cancer in 2009.
“Losing your mother at a young age is one of the hardest things anybody could ever go through,” Foligno said. “But I think it helped me appreciate the struggle Milana went through, and will continue to go through.
“As tough as it is, it has made me a better person. And I realize that I have a chance to impact people in a positive way. Our foundation, our donation … it’s all because of hockey.”
The NHL awards its three humanitarian trophies on the night before the main NHL Awards Show. The NHL’s Foundation Award, won by former Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash in 2009, was presented to the New York Islanders’ Travis Hamonic.
In his brief acceptance speech, Foligno thanked the Blue Jackets organization from top to bottom, singling out president of hockey operations John Davidson, coach John Tortorella and the club’s foundation director, Kathryn Dobbs.
“Hockey is not just ‘ drop the puck and see who wins,’” Davidson said. “Nicky has been a great example of leadership for us. He’s a great example to the other guys in our room, and he’s a great guy to emulate for all our young fans in Columbus.
“This is great for him, great for our organization and it’s great for our city. I’m glad he’s being recognized for being Nick Foligno.”