Last November, the
Blues captain sent a video message to Dr. Colleen McEvoy
, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Barnes Jewish Hospital who was responsible for developing the hospital's COVID-19 protocols. McEvoy was diagnosed with Stage 2B breast cancer and had to undergo chemotherapy alone due to the pandemic protocols, so O'Reilly's message came at the perfect time.
In March,
O'Reilly surprised a fourth-grade classroom at Renfro Elementary School
in Collinsville, IL with a virtual Q&A session over Zoom. During the call, O'Reilly quizzed the students on their math skills, talked hockey, and even got some laughs by showing off his missing tooth.
In addition, O'Reilly organized virtual holiday hospital visits for the team, and helped
create a toy drive for hospitalized children that collected more than 800 toys and gift cards
to locally-owned restaurants. Last April,
he also launched a hand sanitizer drive in his hometown
that supplied retirement homes and long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
All 31 NHL teams selected a King Clancy nominee, and from those nominees, three finalists will be named later. The winner, which will be revealed during the Stanley Cup Semifinals, will be chosen by a committee of senior NHL executives led by Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. The winner will receive $25,000 to donate to a charity of choice.
Other nominees include Buffalo's Jack Eichel, Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky, Minnesota's Mats Zuccarello, Nashville's Pekka Rinne, New Jersey's P.K. Subban, Toronto's John Tavares and Vegas' Marc-Andre Fleury.
Kelly Chase is the only previous player in Blues history to win the King Clancy, which he claimed for his humanitarian efforts in 1998.
