Nick and Marcus Foligno have built long NHL careers on toughness, leadership and a willingness to rise in big moments. But this season, perhaps the moment that matters most won’t show up in a box score.
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Though the two brothers play on separate teams, they’re teaming up to raise money for breast cancer research in honor of their late mother, Janis, who died in 2009. Through a partnership with the Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, NHL, NHLPA and the V Foundation via Hockey Fights Cancer, the Foligno Face-Off has become one of the most meaningful initiatives of their careers.
“It’s really special,” Nick, the Blackhawks captain, recently told NHL.com. “Obviously, it’s something that’s near and dear to us with our mother and losing her to breast cancer. But the fight continues and that’s something Marcus and I have always said we would do in her honor is to continue to fight and continue to find ways to make it a better outcome for somebody else. I think she’d be proud of that.”
This year’s campaign invites fans to donate $17 — a nod to the number both brothers wear — or whatever they can give. One hundred percent of every donation goes directly to the V Foundation for breast cancer research, expanding the impact of the Janis Foligno Foundation, which has raised more than $1.2 million for research and patient care.
For the brothers, this is more than a cause. It’s a continuation of the life their mother helped shape. Her voice, her presence and her joy still echo in the memories that shaped them. While their dad, Mike, played in the NHL, Janis was often the one driving them to their own games and practices, which were often several hours away.
She made plenty of sacrifices to help both brothers reach their dreams of playing professional hockey.
“Our dad played hockey, and we listened to him for advice on how to play,” Marcus, a forward for the Wild, told The Athletic in 2023. “But if it wasn’t for our mom getting us where we needed to go, being such a supporter and booster of our confidence, I don’t think we would have made it.”
“She was the drill sergeant in the family, the motivator, the everything, really,” Nick told The Athletic. “She was the rock — which is why it really rocked our family when we lost her.”
Though she never saw the full arc of their NHL careers, she did see both boys get drafted and saw the start of Nick’s career after he was drafted in 2006 and made his debut in 2007. Marcus was drafted in June 2009 — by the Buffalo Sabres, one of the teams his father played for — and Janis passed away in July.
“It was emotional,” Marcus told The Athletic. “You think your mother hung on for that day, to see you get drafted. It was weird how full circle it was. Buffalo. It could have been anywhere in the NHL. She knew I’d be going home with a lot of family and friends there. She knew I’d be good. I’d be safe. It was a crazy, crazy, special moment.”
The lessons she instilled carry forward in both men’s lives, now shaping the way both brothers parent their own kids and the way they lead in their locker rooms.
Their faith in God also plays a central role in how they move through grief, success and every season in between. Both are actively involved with Hockey Ministries International.
Nick often returns to the clarity of Romans 12:12, which says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
“I just love how simple and direct a message it is,” he once told HMI. “I think it perfectly describes the journey we go on in our faith in Christ. Always be hopeful because without it, I firmly believe we are lost. When hard times come, be patient and strong and know it won’t last. And lastly be constantly in dialogue with Jesus because to me that’s how you stay connected.”
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Marcus said he’s fortunate to be able to play the game he loves “with Christ guiding me through all the ups and downs.”
“Attending team chapels throughout the season also helps me,” he once told HMI. “Our schedule is demanding and it’s easy to get caught up in uncontrollable events. Chapel provides a place for me and some of my teammates to sit down, reflect and grow our faith together. It helps us see the bigger picture and ease the stresses that come with our job — and to let go and focus on Jesus.”
Nick missed the first of his face-offs with Marcus (Nov. 26) due to injury, but the brothers are scheduled to meet three more times this season (Jan. 27, March 17 and March 19). Each time, fans can choose between Team Nick or Team Marcus, and each donor will be entered to win a Hockey Fights Cancer jersey signed by both brothers, as well as a signed puck from one of the teams.
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
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Owen Power is a defenseman for the Buffalo Sabres. He was selected first overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, and made his NHL debut on April 12, 2022, against Toronto.
Kent Johnson is a center for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was selected fifth overall in the same 2021 NHL Draft, and made his NHL debut April 13, 2022, against Montreal.
Power and Johnson were teammates in college at the University of Michigan.
Today on the podcast, Owen Power and Kent Johnson talk about their time together in college, being top-five picks in the same draft, growing in their faith in Jesus, and how they want to live out their faith through the platform of hockey.
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Owen Power and Kent Johnson spotted on the sidelines at @UMichFootball #OnceAWolverine #GoBlue〽️ #ProBlue pic.twitter.com/dh8zZ8cXTp
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) September 2, 2023
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Josh Manson is a defenseman in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche, and in 2021 helped his team to a Stanley Cup championship. Jaccob Slavin is a defenseman with the Carolina Hurricanes and a two-time winner of the NHL’s Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
In today’s conversation, Manson and Slavin chat with each other on a variety of topics, including parenting, marriage, finding true peace, and representing Jesus Christ in the NHL.
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“If I go my whole career and never win a Stanley Cup, him coming to know the Lord was way worth it.”
Today on the pod, we chat with hurricanes defenseman @Jslavin74 about Bible studies, the Gospel, and adoption! https://t.co/shUfMOZd2w pic.twitter.com/tAGbVoJZiq
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It was fitting that Paul Chestnutt and his son, Matthew, were inducted together into the Pensacola (Florida) Sports Hall of Fame in February 2024. Those who know them know they’re a package deal.
Since 1996, Paul has been a mainstay in the Pensacola sports scene. He served as the play-by-play voice for the Pensacola Pilots semi-professional hockey team until it folded in 2008, then was tabbed to be the voice of the Southern Professional Hockey League’s Ice Flyers when they came to town in 2009. He hosts a local sports talk radio show, covers the New Orleans Saints, the annual Senior Bowl football game, and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins.
>> Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more stories where sports and faith connect <<
For nearly two decades, his son has been by his side for just about all of it. Their relationship has been strengthened thanks to their shared love of sports and faith in God.
Matty, as he’s affectionately known, has cerebral palsy. He can’t walk or talk, but his impact has been felt by so many. And the love Paul has for his son is undeniable.
Raising a special needs child comes with some substantial challenges, but Paul calls his son “the greatest gift” he’s ever received. Likewise, Matty’s been able to use his life to be a gift to others.
“We try to use our platform to spread the word and try to raise help for special needs to give any type of person some hope,” Paul said.
There’s something about the game of hockey in particular that captures Matty’s attention. When he’s not in his wheelchair, he typically lays on the ground. But when Paul turns a Pittsburgh Penguins game on the television, Matty sits up straight to watch his favorite team.
His body language changes when he’s at an Ice Flyers game as well, and it’s clear to anyone around him how much it means for him to be near the ice.
“I take him to the games and he sits right next to me,” Paul said. “He’s part of the broadcast now. He takes to the hockey, and I guess he takes after his dad. He can’t walk or talk, but when he sees the movement, left to right, when he’s at the game, he enjoys it. He gets into it.”
Matthew and Paul Chestnutt. (Photo courtesy of Paul Chestnutt)
During the 2010-11 Ice Flyers season, Paul started Matthew Chestnutt Scores! Charities, a 501(c)(3) organization that seeks to raise awareness and money for the special needs community in Pensacola and the Northwest Florida area. The organization also runs the Power Play Pledge Drive, where fans can donate for every Ice Flyers power play goal to support various local special needs organizations.
Through the charity and his involvement with his father’s career, Matty is showing that disabilities don’t have to limit someone’s ability to participate in things they enjoy or make a difference. Paul said that’s especially true of his son’s involvement at their church — Cathedral of Sacred Heart Church in Pensacola, where a banner of a young Matty receiving communion from the bishop is proudly displayed out front.
Each Sunday, Paul posts a photo on social media of Matty at church in hopes of encouraging other parents of special needs children to prioritize taking their children to church. Even for those who can’t speak or walk, “you never know what they’re going to pick up” in the sermon, Paul said.
Matty responds to the music — particularly the bells — and has developed a great relationship with his priest and bishop. They typically sit in the last row because it’s wheelchair accessible, and Matty embraces the priest when he enters the sanctuary, Paul said.
Matty’s condition occasionally leads to him being a bit overstimulated by the music and other surroundings, and he can be loud sometimes. But even if he was quiet, his absence would still be noticed if he’s not in attendance. It’s hard to miss Paul walking Matty to the front of church to receive communion.
“The highlight of my week is taking my son to communion because he is doing something that every normal human being is doing, and that’s receiving the body of Christ,” Paul said. “The expressions I see when we’re walking back are priceless. He’s touching lives. He’s making a difference. They see a special needs kid with his dad wheeling him down the aisle and receiving communion. Not too many people do that.”
Matty’s journey has reached far and wide, in and around Pensacola and across the country. He’s rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in sports, like NFL stars Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts while helping his dad cover the Senior Bowl.
“We go and he sits right next to me during the radio show, and then we’ll go to a practice,” Paul said. “We’ll go down afterwards on the field and he’s with me interviewing the players and coaches.”
Matthew Chestnutt with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (Photo courtesy of Paul Chestnutt)
One year, one of those coaches was former Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien, who also has a special needs son. Paul was able to share a meaningful conversation with O’Brien about their similar journeys raising special needs children.
But perhaps the pinnacle experience for Matty came in March 2023, when he got to attend a Tampa Bay Lightning game against the Penguins and was invited to go down to the tunnel and meet players, including Penguins star Sidney Crosby. Paul and Matty also joined the broadcast during intermission.
They’ve also been interviewed by the NHL Network, and are now enshrined in their local sports Hall of Fame, next to names like former NFL stars Derrick Brooks and Emmitt Smith, track and field star Justin Gatlin, MLB player Don Sutton, and former manager Buck Showalter.
Standing next to his son on stage, Paul used his induction speech to share his son’s story and encourage others with special needs. He talked about how God can use anyone for a specific purpose, regardless of their physical makeup — that a disability is no match for the power of God.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the place,” Paul said. “He can’t walk and he can’t talk, but he was talking pretty strong. He was being heard pretty loud and clear on that night.”
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
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Adam Burt is the team chaplain for the New York Jets and lead pastor of Every Nation Church in New Jersey. Prior to his work in ministry, Burt was an NHL player for 13 seasons (1988-2001) with the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers and Atlanta Thrashers.
Today on the podcast, Adam Burt shares his journey from being an NHL player to becoming an NFL chaplain, emphasizing the importance of living authentically as a Christian in a competitive environment. The conversation touches on the challenges athletes face, the significance of mentorship, and the impact of faith in their lives.
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Adam Burt has taken the unique path from NHL defenseman to pastor, and now author. He's taking stories from his playing career, including playing in the longest game in NHL history, and using them as examples in his new role. https://t.co/FBXO7SuYvj
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