Congrats Nick Foligno

Nick Foligno was kept pretty busy at the NHL’s Humanitarian Awards last night. He was called to the front a couple of times to pick up awards recognizing his leadership qualities.

The Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award is given annually to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to the team, on and off the ice, during the regular season.

The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.

As always Nick was extremely modest upon receiving the honours.

Video courtesy of NHL.com

“Nick looks at leadership as that he represents himself, his family, and our hockey club,” president of hockey operations John Davidson said. “In doing so, he proves there’s a good person there. That’s important. You go through life once, and at the end of it you look back and say ‘Did I make a difference? Could I have done more?’ I think he’s doing his part.”

Off the ice, Foligno and his wife, Janelle, donated a total of $1 million to Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital to further congenital heart care in honor of the oldest of their 3 children, Milana.

Foligno also continues to be involved in his family’s foundation, the Janis Foligno Foundation named for his mother who lost her life to breast cancer. The Jackets’ captain has also donated his time to numerous Central Ohio charities with his teammates throughout the season.

As if that wasn’t enough, Foligno’s efforts inspired partner campaigns from Papa John’s Columbus, which donated $500 for every goal scored by the captain. And ESPN anchor John Buccigross matched that same donation through his “Buccigross overtime challenge” program.

Foligno’s motivation to give back is something that came from values ingrained in him as a child, but also as he lived through challenges like losing his mother to illness at a young age, and watching his daughter fight through a heart condition at the very beginning of her life.