writes and performs children\u2019s songs<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\nBut when it comes to connecting with members of Tennessee Kids Belong, a non-profit that finds forever families for foster children across the state of Tennessee, the veteran centerman has an unfair advantage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never get as big a laugh from a kid on film as when Ryan pops out his tooth,\u201d Tennessee Kids Belong Executive Director Kristin Allender said. \u201cWe always have a camera on a kid when he does that, and the pure joy and laughter is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Small moments like those add up to one clear reason why O\u2019Reilly is once again Nashville\u2019s nominee for the 2026 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, an accolade presented annually by the NHL “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2026 nomination – including back-to-back nods with the Preds – marks the fifth time O\u2019Reilly has been considered for the award across his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The alternate captain has become a consistent presence in the Nashville community during his three seasons with the Predators, and he may be best known for his 90\u2019s Mighty RO\u2019R program, which is an initiative that provides young community all-stars from the Middle Tennessee area who display core character traits with an unforgettable Preds game experience.<\/p>\n
But the endeavors don\u2019t stop there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Reilly\u2019s childhood experiences included his parents raising nearly 50 foster children in the family home. That background has shaped O\u2019Reilly into the person he is today, and so it\u2019s only natural he continues to give back to those who simply need a safe place to land.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am so thrilled that he was nominated again,\u201d Allender said of the Clancy recognition. \u201cI think his generosity and his heart for kids in foster care, and for anyone navigating the foster care system, is so huge. He not only serves the kids that we work with who are in need of forever families, but he’s become a voice that is very, very helpful. We often get asked, \u2018How will this impact my [biological] kids?\u2019 And that’s one of the biggest hang ups or fears that prospective foster families have. With him being able to talk about his experience with just about anybody, and what that was like for him as the bio kid, has been so helpful to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once per year, the organization spends time with the Preds and brings foster children to Bridgestone Arena following a team practice to not only film videos of the children and teens interacting with the players to build awareness, but also to simply have fun.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And while a number of the Preds take time out to get to know the visitors when they\u2019re in the building and go beyond what\u2019s expected, O\u2019Reilly still manages to stand out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRyan’s intentionality and follow through; he stays much longer than he needs to,\u201d Allender said. \u201cHe takes all the time with the kids. He doesn’t just do a quick appearance and leave. He\u2019s spent a significant amount of time with them and stays and talks to anybody and shares his story. He’s always willing to come to any events we have to talk about his story, and that helps inspire more people to open up their homes. He just goes above and beyond all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Reilly displays that kindness elsewhere, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Martha O\u2019Bryan Center, which aims to empower children and families in poverty to better their lives through education, employment and fellowship, has had a relationship with the Preds for years – but O\u2019Reilly\u2019s recent connection with a young man is unlike anything Marvin Muhammad has seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRyan, he’s such a genuine person, and when you have a conversation with him, it\u2019s not about him being a celebrity or him being a hockey player,\u201d Muhammad, a Site Director with Martha O\u2019Bryan Center, said. \u201cIt\u2019s really about helping someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mindset has been on full display since O\u2019Reilly met Anthonez Woods at a game earlier this season. After Woods and his family enjoyed the full game experience, Woods and O\u2019Reilly connected\u00a0at the conclusion of the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Muhammad, who says he\u2019s never met a student like Woods, revealed the young man started asking the hockey player questions about his life as an athlete, but also as a human being.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRyan was so taken aback by it,\u201d Muhammad said of the meetup with Woods. \u201cHe was like, \u2018Man, I need to follow up with this kid.\u2019 Ever since then, they\u2019ve had a relationship that’s like they\u2019re best buds. Ryan has invited him over to his house for dinner, he\u2019s taken him shopping and is just spending time with him. He wants to invest in his future. And Anthonez, when he came back from the first time that they spent time together, he was like, \u2018I just can’t believe this, man. I can’t believe it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Muhammad says Woods can now put more of his focus on just being a high school student instead of other obstacles in his life thanks to the confidence O\u2019Reilly has helped to instill – especially when it comes to what\u2019s ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see his swagger,\u201d Muhammad said of Woods. \u201cBefore, he would come in and be kind of, subtle, quiet, and now he’s coming in, he’s more proud and excited and just smiling all the time. He was still a bright kid, but now it\u2019s almost like, \u2018Man, my future is really possible.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u2019Reilly has been considered for the Clancy in previous years, but his impact has seemingly never been greater in a city that has become more than just his NHL home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nashville is certainly better off thanks to the man with a missing front tooth – and that\u2019s never been more apparent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe National Hockey League should recognize his ability to connect with the community,\u201d Muhammad said. \u201cTo have a white man, a professional athlete from Canada, and a young black man from Nashville, and they connect – they\u2019re best buds, and you can\u2019t get a better story.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ryan O\u2019Reilly has plenty of talents.\u00a0 He scores goals. He puts up points. He even writes and performs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554799,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5119],"tags":[5,2409,231,5281,4,2410],"class_list":{"0":"post-554798","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nashville-predators","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-nashville","10":"tag-nashville-predators","11":"tag-nashvillepredators","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-predators"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116422186506277936","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}