Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno’s 12-year-old daughter, Milana, is home and recovering from the emergency heart surgery she under-went Thursday in Boston.
In a month filled with positive news and trends for the Hawks, that announcement by Foligno on Monday was the best news yet.
He returned to practice after missing three games, the emotion unmistakable in his voice as he talked about the experience.
“It’s been obviously very stressful, but we found a lot of comfort in the support of the hockey community, fans, old teammates and my second family here [with the Hawks],” said Foligno, 37. “It’s amazing how when you go through a hard time, everyone bands together to send you a ton of support and love and prayers, and it was felt by our family. We appreciate it so much.”
Milana was born in 2013 with congenital heart defects. She underwent an experimental surgery as an infant to replace her mitral valve, then had another valve-replacement surgery in 2018.
She’d been in stable health in recent years, but critical issues can develop out of nowhere at any time with congenital heart defects.
Foligno thanked the surgeons and nurses at Boston Children’s Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago for their care this week in helping to prevent an outcome that “could’ve been probably a lot worse.”
He and his wife, Janelle, run a foundation called The Heart’s Playbook that raises awareness and funds research for children with heart defects. They’ve had a longstanding relationship with Boston Children’s Hospital, making donations and funding fellowships.
“This isn’t unique to us,” Foligno said. “If anything, it’s given us a higher calling, because if you go back there, it’s a constant reminder of the fight that so many families have. We’re going to continue to do our part in making sure we bring awareness to congenital heart defects, knowing that Milana is one of many stories that are still out there.”
Milana and her two brothers, Landon and Hudson, have made frequent appearances at Hawks practices the last few years. A group of young players, including Frank Nazar, Colton Dach, Wyatt Kaiser and Landon Slaggert, got to know them even better when they visited Foligno at his family home in Sudbury, Ontario, for a week this past summer.
The Hawks dedicated their game Wednesday to Milana, then went out and whipped the Blues 8-3.
“I’m very proud of the group, especially [considering] the way they went into St. Louis and played, and the way they’ve handled themselves,” Foligno said. “You’ve seen so much growth.”
He called his return to practice “the beginning of the healing process.”
“I’m excited for Milana to get back to school eventually, and I get to go back to work and be around the guys,” he said. “It’s the beautiful part of the game sometimes — it helps you distract yourself from what’s going on at home. But I’m so proud of how she’s recovering, and I know she’s an inspiration to me and a lot of people.”
Roster crunch
The Hawks have only one game over the next six days — Thursday night against the Lightning — which will allow them to get some rest as a team.
Forwards Jason Dickinson, Tyler Bertuzzi and Andre Burakovsky didn’t practice Monday, but all seem likely to play Thursday. With Foligno and fellow wing Landon Slaggert back as well, that would give the Hawks 14 available forwards, despite needing only 11 to complete coach Jeff Blashill’s preferred format of seven defensemen in the lineup.
Blashill said he isn’t sure what the solution to that logjam will be. Sending Ryan Greene down to Rockford, placing Sam Lafferty on waivers and/or finally trading Lukas Reichel are the most realistic options.
