Nick Foligno

Nicholas Foligno (born October 31, 1987) is an American professional ice hockey left winger and alternate captain for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

As a youth, Foligno played in the 2000 and 2001 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Foligno began the 2003–04 season with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program's under-17 team, where he had seven goals and 16 points.

He moved up to the under-18 team, which at the time played in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), where in 43 games, Foligno scored eight goals and 20 points.

In seven playoff games, Foligno had two goals and three points.

Foligno appeared in four games with the under-18 team in 2004–05, getting two goals and an assist.

After his tenure with the Development Program, Foligno joined the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), who were coached by his father, Mike Foligno.

In his rookie season in 2004–05, Foligno had ten goals and 38 points in 65 games.

He played his first game with the Wolves on September 24, 2004, earning no points in a 3–1 win over the Ottawa 67's.

Foligno registered his first OHL point, an assist, in a 6–1 win over the Erie Otters on September 26, 2004.

It took Foligno 23 games, but he scored his first career OHL goal on November 20, 2004, beating Kitchener Rangers goaltender Dan Turple in a 6–3 loss.

In the playoffs, Foligno had five goals and ten points in 12 games, as Sudbury lost to the Ottawa 67's in the second round of the playoffs.

Foligno saw his offensive production increase during his second season with the Wolves in 2005–06, as he led the club with 70 points, scoring 24 goals and 46 assists, while registering 146 penalty minutes, helping the Wolves to the post-season.

In ten playoff games, Foligno had a goal and four points as Sudbury was swept by the Peterborough Petes in the second round.

He was selected in the first round, 28th overall by the Ottawa Senators during the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Foligno was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets six years later, and eventually was named the team's captain for six seasons.

His father, Mike Foligno, is a veteran of over 1000 career NHL games.

His brother, Marcus Foligno, currently plays for the Minnesota Wild.

Foligno returned to the Wolves for a third season in 2006–07, as he scored a team high 31 goals and 88 points in 66 games, helping Sudbury clinch a playoff berth.

In the post-season, he scored 12 goals and 29 points in 21 games to finish with the second highest point total in the League; Sudbury, however, lost to the Plymouth Whalers in six games in the J. Ross Robertson Cup finals.

The Ottawa Senators selected Foligno with the 28th overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft held in Vancouver, British Columbia.

On March 21, 2007, Senators General Manager John Muckler announced that the team and Foligno agreed to a three-year, entry level contract.

He spent some time with the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2007–08 season, appearing in 28 games, scoring six goals and 19 points.

He earned his first AHL point in his first game on November 16, 2007, an assist in a 6–3 loss to the Philadelphia Phantoms.

Foligno spent most of the 2007–08 with the Ottawa Senators.

He began the season with Ottawa and played in his first game on October 3, 2007, earning no points in 7:36 ice time in a 4–3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Foligno scored his first career NHL goal and point on October 18, 2007, as he beat Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens in a 4–3 Senators win.

When he scored the goal, he performed his father Mike Foligno's noted goal celebration, the "Foligno Leap."

Foligno finished the season appearing in 45 games with Ottawa, scoring six goals and nine points.

Foligno scored his first AHL goal on January 18, 2008, scoring on Adam Munro of the Syracuse Crunch in a 6–3 win.

He appeared in his first Stanley Cup playoff game on April 9, 2008, in a 4–0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On April 14, 2008, he scored his first career playoff goal, beating the Penguins' Marc-André Fleury in a 4–1 Senators loss.

The Senators were ultimately swept in four-straight games in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals; Foligno's goal was his only registered point of the series.

Foligno spent the entire 2008–09 season in the NHL with the Senators, scoring 17 goals and 32 points in 81 games.

The Senators, however, struggled throughout the season and failed to make the 2009 playoffs.

In the 2009–10 season, Foligno missed 21 games due to injuries, including a broken leg suffered from blocking a shot in a game against the Montreal Canadiens on January 30, 2010.

He scored nine goals and 26 points in 61 games he appeared in.

The Senators qualified for the 2010 playoffs, and in six games, Foligno had one assist as Ottawa again fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Foligno appeared in all 82 games in the 2010–11 season for Ottawa, scoring 14 goals and 34 points.

The team, however, failed to make the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.