Challenges have made Foligno a better player, on and off the ice January 17, 2017

Columbus Blue Jackets’ captain Nick Foligno has seen his fair share of ups and downs over the last few years, but through it all, he has persevered and come out stronger. In late October of 2013, his 2-week-old daughter needed life-saving surgery to fix a congenital heart defect. A year later, the Buffalo-native produced the best season of his career, was named captain of his team, and earned a big, six-year contract extension.

After a tough campaign in 2015-16, the talk of the NHL this season has been the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets, and the 29-year-old center has been key to the team’s revival. Besides excelling from a statistical standpoint (15 goals, 21 assists in 40 games), Foligno has shown he can be the great leader the team always envisioned him to be, proving that hard work and perseverance really does pay off.

For more on Foligno, keep reading the si.com column here.