Rick Nash named finalist for NHL Foundation Award

From NHL.com, Brown, Kovalev, Nash named NHL Foundation Award Finalists:

Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown, Montreal Canadiens right winger Alex Kovalev and Columbus Blue Jackets left winger Rick Nash have been named finalists for the 11th annual NHL Foundation Player Award in recognition of their commitment and service to charities in their communities. 

The NHL Foundation will present $25,000 to a charity selected by the winner.

Rick Nash, the quiet superstar has given more to Columbus than most realize. Even die-hard fans of the team knew little of his generosity until Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch wrote an excellent article on Christmas two years ago, titled "Nash: Thanks to parents, star athlete's humility, generosity know no bounds."

The Blue Jackets have detailed some of his charity work in the press release:

Nash has become one of the most active Blue Jackets in the community, giving his time, money and support to improve the lives of people throughout central Ohio. He established the #61 Club to encourage students to make healthy choices and rewards those who do. Through the #61 Club Good Health Challenge, he provides more than 30 tickets to every Blue Jackets home game to students who make 61 healthy choices in a month. He donated $100,000 to The Ohio State University Athletics Department to endow a scholarship for a student-athlete and gave $25,000 as a founding donor of the John H. McConnell Scholarship Fund in memory of the Blue Jackets founder and majority owner. He made a $5,000 contribution to the 2009 Quebec Pee Wee team that represented Columbus, to pay for travel expenses so families would be able to attend with their children. For the past four years, he has donated $15,000 annually to Santa's Silent Helpers, which helps families with children, single mothers and the elderly in central Ohio who are experiencing financial hardships.

Rick Nash, in my opinion, has quickly become one of the most underrated superstars in hockey. He quietly gives his time and money to many in central Ohio, and his on-ice performance often goes unnoticed as well.

Nash is the unquestioned leader of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's the type of guy you like to have on your side. He couldn't set a better example for everyone around him.