Columbus Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno earned the NHL’s Mark Messier Leadership Award and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy at Tuesday’s NHL Humanitarian Awards.
Foligno thanked his teammates, head coach John Tortorella and his wife during his Mark Messier Leadership Award acceptance speech.
The Mark Messier Leadership Award is presented annually to the player who “exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season.” The award is given out by Mark Messier, who chooses the finalists and winner himself. Foligno beat out Ryan Getzlaf and Mark Giordano for the award.
The King Clancy Memorial Trophy, voted on by a panel from the Pro Hockey Writers’ Association and NHL broadcasters, goes to the player “who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.” Nick Foligno becomes the first non-Henrik to win the award since 2014, following Henrik Sedin (2016) and Henrik Zetterberg (2015).
Nick Foligno shone on the ice for the Blue Jackets this season, bouncing back in his second year as captain to notch 26 goals and 25 assists. He also made his impact off the ice, raising money for the Janis Foligno Foundation as well as donating $1 million to Children’s Hospitals in Columbus and Boston.
Congratulations to Nick Foligno!