Forward Bryan Rust was selected as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.
This award recognizes “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” The NHL announced nominees for all 32 teams on Friday.
The winner will receive a $25,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of their choice.
No player has won the award as a member of the Penguins. Defenseman Matt Dumba, currently assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League, won this award in 2020 when he was a member of the Minnesota Wild.
Rust was previously nominated for this award in 2024. Once again, he is being recognized for his work with the National Association of Young People Who Stutter (the group’s name is often presented simply as “Friends.”)
A stutterer himself, Rust arranges tickets to every home game along with a post-game meeting with children who deal with a stutter (and a parent or guardian). During those meetings, Rust will pose for photos, sign autographs and offer advice along with encouragement to his fellow stutterers.
“Something that’s really important to me and my family,” Rust said in 2024. “Something that might get overlooked. … It’s something that I’ve gone through, and I’ve tried my best to go through that adversity and tried to get better. It’s something that, for me, was important because it gets overlooked.”
All 32 nominees:
Anaheim Ducks – Lukas Dostal
Boston Bruins – Jordan Harris
Buffalo Sabres – Alex Tuch
Calgary Flames – Jonathan Huberdeau
Carolina Hurricanes – Jaccob Slavin
Chicago Blackhawks – Alex Vlasic
Colorado Avalanche – Sam Malinski
Columbus Blue Jackets – Boone Jenner
Dallas Stars – Jake Oettinger
Detroit Red Wings – Dylan Larkin
Edmonton Oilers – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Florida Panthers – Sam Bennett
Los Angeles Kings – Kevin Fiala
Minnesota Wild – Marcus Foligno
Montreal Canadiens – Nick Suzuki
Nashville Predators – Ryan O’Reilly
New Jersey Devils – Jack Hughes
New York Islanders – Kyle Palmieri
New York Rangers – Adam Fox
Ottawa Senators – Linus Ullmark
Philadelphia Flyers – Garnet Hathaway
Pittsburgh Penguins – Bryan Rust
San Jose Sharks – Alexander Wennberg
Seattle Kraken – Joey Daccord
St. Louis Blues – Colton Parayko
Tampa Bay Lightning – Ryan McDonagh
Toronto Maple Leafs – John Tavares
Utah Mammoth – Alexander Kerfoot
Vancouver Canucks – Brock Boeser
Vegas Golden Knights – Jack Eichel
Washington Capitals – Alex Ovechkin
Winnipeg Jets – Gabriel Vilardi