Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno wins the NHL's King Clancy award for leadership and service

NEW YORK (AP) — Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno has received this season's King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and service, the NHL announced Thursday.

The award is presented annually to the player who “best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community,” according to the league's qualifications.

Each team nominates a player for the award, which is determined by a selection committee headed by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and including former King Clancy Memorial Trophy winners. Clancy, the namesake of the award, was a longtime player, referee, coach and manager who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958.

Foligno was recently presented the trophy in a surprise appearance at the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota by his older brother and current teammate, Nick Foligno, who won it himself in 2017. They established the Janis Foligno Foundation in memory of their mother, who died of breast cancer in 2009, and have been active in fundraising for breast cancer research.

The NHL will donate $25,000 to the foundation as part of the award to Foligno, who last month finished his 15th season in the league, including the last nine with Minnesota. He played his first six years for Buffalo.

Previous Wild players to win the award were defenseman Matt Dumba (2020) and forward Jason Zucker (2019).

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