Sudbury's Nick Foligno hopes charity hockey event will lift peoples' spirits

Hockey is on the long list of things that have been put on ice because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In Sudbury that includes the annual fundraising game NHL versus Docs — where pro stars face off against physicians — to raise money for the planned northeastern Ontario children's hospital. This year, NHL players will suit up for an online hockey skills competition tonight called NHL versus Sudbury.

Nick Foligno is an all-star forward with the Columbus Blue Jackets, a proud Sudburian and honourary chair of the NEO Kids foundation. And he will be taking part in tonight's fundraiser.

"I think you're going to see a lot of hockey players who probably have a little rust on them, trying to flip a puck around," Foligno told CBC Sudbury Morning North radio show host Markus Schwabe.

The friendly competition challenges participants to see how many times they can flip a puck on a hockey stick in 30 seconds. People will be able to watch NHL contenders like Foligno, his brother Marcus, Tyler Bertuzzi, Seth Jones, Cam Atkinson, Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski. There will be local celebrities as well. Proceeds from the event will go to NEO Kids Foundation.

"Obviously we had to cancel our event this year. But we're continuing to raise awareness for what's still going on in the world there's still kids getting sick," Foligno said.

"There's still those kids that need treatment. And you know, in light of everything, we still need to reach that audience and we have such a great community here that supports so many great things. We felt that it would be a lot of fun to continue that trend and I think tonight will be a lot of fun for everyone to see."

The event can be watched on the NEO Kids YouTube channel.

"I think the guys are a little nervous that we might get shown up a little bit, but it will be a lot of fun and we'll have a great time with it," Foligno said.

"And hopefully it will just make people think about something different than what's been going on in the world, and try to raise a lot of money and awareness for a great cause. My goal doesn't change just because of current events."

Like most people, the advent of COVID-19 has had a huge personal impact on Foligno.

"At first the information was overwhelming. It was like you were scared to walk out of your house," he said.

"So I looked at my wife and I just said, 'you know what? We're gonna make the best of this'. This is time I never really get with my family, especially that time of year, and we made the most of it. I was able to teach my kids how to ride their bikes, and do so many family activities that I'm not really around for. I cherish that. You really feel the pull of wanting to be around your family and close to family at a time like this."

The NHL is making plans to resume the stalled season with a playoff tournament of sorts this summer. But some players might refuse to play for fear of catching the virus.

"This is a very serious time in the world and I think we're trying to respect what's going on and the people that have been really affected by it. I mean there's been so many lives lost and families torn apart because of this virus," Foligno said.

"No one's putting anyone in harm's way, so if there is a way to play and they're going to do whatever they can to make sure it's safe — and if it's not I'm sure they'll understand and we'll have to cancel — I think, why not try?"

Foligno said bringing some kind of hockey back may inspire others.

"We're getting over this together and we're stronger than this and it would be a great sign if we could start to see sports and especially hockey come back into the fold."