A well-known name in Sudbury hockey circles took centre stage in Las Vegas on Tuesday evening.
Nick Foligno was honoured at the NHL Humanitarian Awards; taking home a pair of trophies.
The former Sudbury Wolves star and current Columbus Blue Jackets captain won the King Clancy Trophy and the Mark Messier Trophy.
The Mark Messier Trophy is presented annually to the player who demonstrates leadership with his team both on and off the ice during the regular season. Other finalists were defender Mark Giordano of the Calgary Flames and center player Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks.
The King Clancy Trophy is presented annually to the NHL player who demonstrates outstanding leadership both on and off the ice and who is exceptionally involved in his community.
At 29, Foligno scored 51 points, including 26 goals, in 79 games this season and helped his team reach the playoffs for the second time in eight years. It was the second-best point total of for Foligno in his 10-year NHL career. In 2014-15, he had 73 points, including 31 goals.
The sixth captain in the history of the Blue Jackets was also heavily involved in the community with his wife Janelle. Together, they donated $500,000 to the Children's Hospital in Boston to show their gratitude for the surgery that their daughter, then-newborn Milana, underwent in November 2013. A donation of $500,000 was also made on behalf of their daughter at the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus.
New York Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic won the NHL Players' Foundation Award. Its presented annually to an NHL player who applies the core values of hockey — commitment, perseverance and teamwork — to enrich the lives of people in his community.
Hamonic was honoured for creating connections with more than 200 children who lost a parent at a young age through his D-Partner program.
The NHL Foundation will donate $ 25,000 to Hamonic's charitable organization.
