Brady Tkachuk nominated for King Clancy Memorial Trophy

The NHL announced this afternoon that Brady Tkachuk has been named as the Ottawa Senators nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

A leader in every sense of the word, Brady Tkachuk has been announced as the Ottawa Senators nomination for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. This marks the second time in Tkachuk's young career that he has been nominated for the award.

The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is awarded "to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."

On the ice, Tkachuk's leadership speaks for itself. He plays with his heart on his sleeve, gives his all every single night out and leads by example. He never would ask a teammate to do something he wasn't willing to do himself and he's the first player to stick up for his teammates as well as give them their flowers.

Perhaps the best example of Brady's on ice leadership was when the team travelled to Madison Square Garden for the first night of a back-to-back after the Rangers had dealt them a loss on home ice just two nights earlier. After falling behind 1-0, Tkachuk set up Tim Stützle to tie the game. When the Rangers had pulled ahead again and the Senators had pulled their goaltender to try to tie it up late, who stepped up but Brady Tkachuk to tie the game with 49 seconds to play. The cherry on top came with just 18 seconds left in overtime when Thomas Chabot hit a streaking Brady with an outlet pass that Brady put five-hole on Igor Shesterkin to end the game.

It was no surprise that when Claude Giroux tallied his 1000th career NHL point that it was Brady who came barrelling in to give him a hug first and then ushered the entire Senators bench onto the ice to come celebrate with their teammate.

When Daniel Alfredsson was being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Senators had just suffered a loss to the New York Islanders at Canadian Tire Centre. Brady however, recognizing the significance of the occasion had the entire Senators team was on the home bench to watch Alfredsson's induction just a few minutes after the game and celebrate the Senators legend with the crowd at home.

These are just a few of the many examples that Brady brings to his team day after day and why Tkachuk was named the youngest captain in Ottawa Senators history at just 22 years old in the 2021-22 NHL season.

As much as Brady is the heart and soul of the Senators on the ice, off the ice he may up his game even further as a leader in the community. A fervent believer in Ottawa and giving back to this community that has embraced him as one of their own.

Earlier this year Brady announced his long-term commitment to BGC Ottawa, offering his time, energy and philanthropic support alongside his fiancée Emma, to improve the lives of the nearly 4,500 local youth who are a part of BGC Ottawa. He actioned that shortly thereafter with the announcement of his Tkachuk's Captains initiative in which he will award seven members of each of the four BGC Ottawa locations a "C" to champion their own leadership in their day-to-day lives in the community.

Click here to learn more about Tkachuk's Captains.

"Since we've come to Ottawa, the city has fully embraced us and we believe it is important to give back and actively be part of the Ottawa community," said Brady earlier this year when announcing his long term commitment to the BGC Ottawa.

With the Senators acting as a beacon of hope in the community, oftentimes children battling illnesses are invited to Canadian Tire Centre to watch the team practice and meet some players. Who is at the front of the welcome line every time, Brady Tkachuk. Perhaps the best story of that this season was when Daniel Maloney, a Make-a-Wish recipient got to spend the day at the Senators practice and then skate with the team during warm up and practice the following day. Brady took Daniel around all day long, bringing him into the shooting room, skating alongside him on the ice and making Daniel and his sister Lily feel like the most special people in the world the whole time.

"Sometimes we don't do enough maybe for these young kids and I know our team and especially Brady are one of the best at it,"said Senators head coach, D.J. Smith."They're a bunch of young guys that used to be those kids and we had an opportunity to make a kids' day and there's no one better than Brady and that leadership group for these guys and girls."

Certainly not a one-off occurrence of Brady utilizing his ability to lift the spirits of all those around him, he regularly pays visit to the Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario. His ability to connect with the youth is just a small part of how he continues to shape the community here in Ottawa. His presence on and off the ice plays a large role in the Ottawa-Gatineau community as a whole flocking back to Canadian Tire Centre in droves this season to cheer on their Sens.

Should Brady win, he would be the second Ottawa Senator to take home the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, following former Senators captain, Daniel Alfredsson in the 2011-12 NHL season. Whether Brady wins this season or not, his impact on the Senators and within the community of Ottawa is unquestioned and surely it will only be a matter of time before this trophy lands on his shelf during his NHL career.