Sens Captain Brady Tkachuk Nominated for King Clancy Trophy

For the second time in four seasons, Brady Tkachuk is up for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and contribution to the community.

When you think of great leadership in Ottawa right now, there's a good chance you might skip past Parliament Hill and head straight to what's going on at the Canadian Tire Centre. At 23, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk has emerged as one of the NHL's best leaders, on the ice and in his community. And he was honoured for that on Tuesday with a King Clancy Memorial Trophy nomination.

It's the second time in the last four years that Tkachuk has been Ottawa's selection for the award. He certainly had an outstanding season, scoring 35 goals, cracking the top 25 in NHL scoring with 83 points, and finishing third in the league with 126 penalty minutes.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm9TCxd6n6k[/embed]

But none of that really factors into the King Clancy Trophy, which goes to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.

To anyone watches the Senators for about five minutes, Tkachuk's leadership becomes more than evident. He leads by example, defends his teammates, builds them up and drags them into the fight. 

But he's been equally good off the ice, with countless, amazing exchanges with fans, some caught by the cameras, some not. 

He and his fiancée, Emma, recently announced an affiliation with BGC Ottawa, starting “Tkachuks Captains.” The new program will award seven members at each of the four BGC Ottawa locations a Senators jersey, adorned with the captain’s C, to champion their own leadership in their day-to-day lives in the community.

“BGC Ottawa is a gem in our city. When young people walk into a club, they know it’s a special place where they get to be themselves and explore their own potential." - Brady Tkachuk

Brady and Emma will help the BGC Ottawa raise funds, specifically directed toward physical activity, skills development, and nutrition through the program.

The King Clancy Trophy was first awarded in 1988 to honour the late Francis “King” Clancy, who was basically the 1920s version of Tkachuk, starring for the Ottawa Senators 100 years ago.

Here are the NHL other 2022-23 King Clancy Memorial Trophy nominees:

Anaheim Ducks: Kevin Shattenkirk 

Arizona Coyotes: Travis Boyd

Boston Bruins: Patrice Bergeron

Buffalo Sabres : Alex Tuch

Calgary Flames: Mikael Backlund

Carolina Hurricanes: Jordan Staal

Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Murphy

Colorado Avalanche: Devon Toews

Columbus Blue Jackets: Zach Werenski

Dallas Stars: Jason Robertson

Detroit Red Wings: Dylan Larkin

Edmonton Oilers: Darnell Nurse

Florida Panthers : Aleksander Barkov

Los Angeles Kings: Mikey Anderson

Minnesota Wild: Matt Dumba

Montreal Canadiens: Jordan Harris

Nashville Predators: Juuse Saros

New Jersey Devils: Jack Hughes

New York Islanders: Anders Lee

New York Rangers: Jacob Trouba

Philadelphia Flyers: Scott Laughton

Pittsburgh Penguins: Evgeni Malkin

San Jose Sharks: Luke Kunin

Seattle Kraken: Chris Driedger

St. Louis Blues: Brayden Schenn

Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman

Toronto Maple Leafs: Morgan Rielly

Vancouver Canucks: Elias Pettersson

Vegas Golden Knights: Reilly Smith

Washington Capitals: Tom Wilson

Winnipeg Jets: Blake Wheeler