Oilers’ Nurse a finalist for King Clancy Trophy

NEW YORK Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse is among the finalists for this season’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

The award is given out annually by the NHL to the player who “best exemplifies leadership qualities” and has made a humanitarian contribution in his community.

Anaheim centre Ryan Getzlaf and New Jersey defender P.K. Subban are the other finalists.

Nurse, from Hamilton, is an ambassador for Free Play for Kids, which provides opportunities to participate in sports to children from marginalized communities, and Right To Play, which aims to empower kids through sports. In 2021, he created the Darnell Nurse Excellence Scholarship in partnership with St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School — his alma mater in Hamilton — to award two scholarships each year to students pursuing post-secondary goals.

Getzlaf, who retired at the end of the season spent his 17-year career in Anaheim, serving as the Ducks’ captain for each of the past 12 seasons. He helped create the Anaheim Ducks Learn to Play program, which offers first-time hockey players the chance to get on the ice — and receive equipment — for free.

Subban, a King Clancy Trophy finalist for a third straight season and fourth time overall, made a $10-million (U.S.) pledge to the Montreal Children’s Hospital in 2015 — the largest ever by a Canadian athlete.

He made a $1-million gift in March for “Le SPOT,” the hospital’s new mental-health clinic, and donations for Ukrainian cancer patients who have been uprooted due to their country’s war with Russia.