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