Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno rejoins the team after daughter's surgery

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CHICAGO (AP) — Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno has rejoined the team after taking a leave of absence because of his daughter's follow-up surgery related to her congenital heart disease.

Foligno said Milana, who turned 12 last week, is home now and doing well. He described the past week as “very stressful.”

“I think we found a lot of comfort in the support of the hockey community and the fans, old teammates and my second family here,” Foligno said after practicing with the Blackhawks on Monday. “It's amazing when you go through a hard time how everyone bands together to send you a ton of support and love and prayers, and it was felt by our family.”

Foligno also said he was thankful for the doctors and staff at Boston Children’s Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

“We were able to get her seen quickly and ahead of what could have been probably a lot worse,” he said.

Foligno, who turns 38 on Oct. 31, is in his third season with Chicago. He missed three games while he was away — an 8-3 victory at St. Louis, a 3-2 shootout loss to Vancouver and a 2-1 overtime win against Anaheim.

The forward has no goals and two assists in four games this season.

“He's our leader, so you want that presence in your locker room,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think he brings good energy, so I think it was great to have him back. Great that, considering the situation, everything went really good.”

Foligno became the 35th captain of the Blackhawks in September 2024. His father, Mike, played in the NHL for 15 years, and his brother, Marcus, plays for Minnesota.

Nick Foligno broke into the league with the Ottawa Senators in 2007. He has 247 goals and 352 assists in 1,237 regular-season games, also playing for Columbus, Boston and Toronto.

Foligno also has two sons — Landon and Hudson — with his wife, Janelle.

Milana is "probably the one that gives us the most strength, with the way she's handled this adversity,” Foligno said. “It's impressive for a 12-year-old girl to handle it face on.”

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