Foligno Legacy Spreads Across North America

Historic hockey families are nothing new to the world of the NHL and other leagues; perhaps one of the most recent legacies, however, is that of the Foligno family, whose legacy trails all the way down to the now-defunct OHA.

Let’s start with the eldest of the Foligno clan: father Mike, 53. This is where it all began – with his hometown Sudbury team, of the OMJHL/OHA at the time. Mike played there from 1975 until 1979, for the entirety of his junior career before he reached the National Hockey League. In 258 games, he scored 165 goals and 182 assists.

He’d go on to have a successful NHL career, spending time with Detroit, Buffalo, Toronto and Florida before retiring. Since then, he’s continued building a history: first, as general manager and coach of the Sudbury Wolves, coach of the Hershey Bears, and then as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Now, he’s currently an assistant coach with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.

Let’s move on to Mike’s elder son, Nick, a 24-year-old Buffalo native born during his father’s time with the Sabres. Thanks to his dual citizenship, Nick began his pro career with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. With the team, he played in the NAHL in the 2003-04 season before joining the Ontario Hockey League the following year.

From 2004 until 2007, Nick played as a member of the Sudbury Wolves, like his father. Over three seasons, including one after he had been drafted by the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, he scored 65 goals and 131 assists in 196 games. He proceeded to split his rookie season (’07-’08) in the AHL and NHL, spending a bit of time with the Binghamton Senators before making his full Ottawa debut the next year.

This coming season, Nick will be a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets, as he was traded by Ottawa to Columbus this offseason.

Finally, rounding out the Foligno clan’s hockey history is the younger son, Marcus.

If this sounds familiar – and it should – don’t be surprised. Following in both his father and brother’s footsteps, Marcus began his OHL career with… *drum roll* the Sudbury Wolves.

Also a Buffalo native, like his brother, he has dual citizenship due to both of his parents being Canadian – but unlike Nick, Marcus never got into Team USA hockey and instead joined Team Canada. (But more on that in a minute.)

After playing with Sudbury in the NOHA, he joined the Wolves of the OHL in 2007 and would spend the next four seasons there. In 245 games, he scored 53 goals and 85 assists; during that time, he was also drafted by his hometown Buffalo Sabres, 104th overall in 2009.

Last season, Marcus made his debut in both the American and National hockey leagues. With Rochester, he played 60 games and scored 16 goals and 23 assists; with Buffalo, six goals and seven assists in 14 games. It’s likely that he may even make the Sabres team out of training camp this year, continuing to further the family’s hockey legacy.