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CCM Goaltender Olaf Kolzig Receives King Clancy Trophy Montreal, Quebec (Canada), June 27, 2006 - CCM would like to congratulate Olaf Kolzig of the Washington Capitals on winning the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his leadership and humanitarian contribution. Olaf Kolzig was honored during the NHL Awards Ceremony this past Thursday for his work with autistic children and more specifically through the creation of two foundations: the Carson Kolzig Foundation, named after his son, and Athletes Against Autism (Triple A). Under Olie's leadership and influence, a group that includes professional athletes, Congress members and local celebrities have combined their efforts to support research, education and awareness programs for children with autism. As a highly respected NHL goaltender and a father of a child with autism, Olie felt it was important to become a voice for young people with this disability. In 1999, he created the "Olie's All-Stars" program in association with the Children's National Medical Center, which allowed young patients to obtain tickets to Capitals games in a special section of the Verizon Center. Other initiatives such as Olie's and Elliot's Great Saves and The Olie Kolzig Children's Hospital Golf & Tennis Classic have helped raise more than $650,000 for charities. "One exceptional quality that is often common in hockey players is their enthusiasm to give back to their communities", commented Len Rhodes, Vice President of Global Marketing at CCM Hockey. "Olaf's tireless effort towards his cause and his ability to rally key influencers towards it set a great example for his peers. We are truly inspired by his work and are proud to have him on our elite team of CCM players." Devoted father and philanthropist, Kolzig has also had a very distinguished career as a goaltender. Kolzig is one of only 36 goalies in the history of the NHL to record at least 250 wins during their career. He has been the starting goalie for the Washington Capitals for the past eight seasons, highlighted by the 1999-2000 season in which he was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. Olie is a two-time NHL All-Star and is routinely among the league leaders in saves having recorded at least (1900) saves each of the last six seasons. Kolzig is the Capitals record holder in almost every major goaltending statistical category including: wins, ties, games, save percentage, shots, saves, shutouts, and assists. About The King Clancy Memorial Trophy The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community. The Clancy Trophy was presented to the National Hockey League by the Board of Governors in 1988 to honor the late Frank "King" Clancy. |