Mikael Backlund named Calgary’s nominee for King Clancy Memorial Trophy
By Ryan Pike
11 months agoThe Calgary Flames’ longest-serving active player has been nominated by the club for a major National Hockey League award. The club announced on Tuesday that forward Mikael Backlund is their nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.
The King Clancy is awarded each season to the player who who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community. The award is adjudicated by a panel from both the Professional Hockey Writers Assocation and the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.
Backlund was also this season’s co-recipient of the Peter Maher Award, as voted on by a panel of local Calgary media members, and selected as the Calgary PHWA chapter’s nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and dedication to hockey.
Per the club’s release:
“Mikael Backlund has been a key member of both the Calgary Flames and the City of Calgary since entering the NHL in the 2008-09 season. He has spent his career focusing on initiatives dedicated to improving the lives of individuals living with ALS, providing opportunities for those with intellectual disabilities and childhood cancer to attend Flames games in a safe space, and keeping children in foster care with their beloved pets.”
In short: Mikael Backlund: good player, good person.
Flames players have been recipients of the King Clancy three times in its history: Lanny McDonald (1987-88), Joe Nieuwendyk (1994-95) and Jarome Iginla (2003-04).
The three finalists for the award will be announced at a later date, with the winner announced at the NHL’s annual awards show in Nashville in late June.
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