NHL Star Nick Foligno's Family Guide: Meet His Wife and 3 Kids

NHL star Nick Foligno and his wife, Janelle, became advocates for childhood heart health in the wake of their daughter Milana’s diagnosis with a congenital heart disease.

Milana was diagnosed with a heart defect weeks after her birth in 2013, with her two life-saving surgeries inspiring her mom to write the 2018 children’s book, Dear Heart. The Folignos launched their own media platform, Heart’s Playbook, in 2020 to share their daughter’s story and inspire other parents of children with serious health conditions. (The couple are also parents to sons Hudson and Landon.)

“This is us. We’re the Folignos. These kids you see are the driving force behind everything we do,” the couple said via an Instagram announcement in May 2020. “They sure do teach us a lot, each and every day.”

The NHL subsequently announced in October 2025 that Nick was taking a temporary break as the Chicago Blackhawks’ team captain to support his family while Milana underwent another heart surgery.

Keep scrolling for more about Nick and his family, including Milana’s health struggles.

Janelle Foligno

Janelle opened up about her background in a 2021 interview with Northern Heart and Home, revealing that she’d come from a “very small French Canadian family” and “married into a very large Italian family.” (Janelle and Nick tied the knot in 2011.)

“I’m a lover of life, a proud mother of three hilarious and dynamic children, and an inspired wife to the love of my life,” Janelle shared via Instagram in May 2020. “I’m a Sudburian, and a resident Ohioan. I love to plan, celebrate, share, and I strive to live a balanced life. I also enjoy a good cup of coffee (but who doesn’t?⁠).”

Janelle and the NHL star launched their own media platform, The Heart’s Playbook, to share their family’s story following their daughter Milana’s two heart surgeries. Janelle described her advocacy as a “coping mechanism” to help get through a particularly difficult time.

“My family and I have always been passionate about philanthropy in general and giving back to our communities,” she said in 2021. “We are also driven to live healthy and purposeful lives and thought it might be nice for us to share some of that with the world in hopes of fostering positivity. We are typically pretty private people but if we can help people along the way, the way we’ve been helped in the past, then it will all be worthwhile.

In 2018, Janelle wrote a children’s book, titled Dear Heart: A Letter to My Special Heart, inspired by her daughter’s bravery during her surgeries.

“The book, Dear Heart, started out simply as a poem I wrote for Milana after her second open heart surgery that took place on December 31, 2018,” she explained in a 2021 interview. “I’ve always been one to express my thoughts and emotions in writing over speaking them aloud and so I wrote this poem as a way to put myself at ease over her situation, but also to be able to one day share this with her.”

During a 2018 appearance on TSN 690, Nick said it was therapeutic for his wife to turn their family’s traumatic experience into an inspiring story for others.

“My wife, all the while, was going through, any mother would, trying to cope with having a daughter, a child with a heart defect,” Nick said at the time. “She writes out of her emotions. She wrote a poem and then over time … and realizes there’s not a lot of literature for kids to kind of prepare them as they get older for what they about to face.”

The Folignos are ambassadors for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Milana Foligno

Mere weeks after the Folignos’ oldest child, Milana, arrived in October 2013, doctors discovered she had a heart defect. In 2018, Milana was formally diagnosed with endocarditis, which the Mayo Clinic described as a “life-threatening inflammation of the inner lining of the heart’s chambers and valves.”

Milana underwent two open heart surgeries by the time she was 7 years old. After her second successful surgery, the Folignos made a $500,000 donation to Boston Children’s Hospital in 2016 in appreciation of the staff saving their daughter’s life.

“I’m so fortunate to be in a business that provides for our family, but I want to provide for a lot of other families, my wife and I both, we felt it was important to give back to people,” Nick explained to the Columbus Blue Jackets Radio Network.

In November 2020, Janelle reflected on the lasting memories — both positive and negative — from their daughter’s long road to recovery.

“November is the month that reminds us to be thankful. For me, every November since Milana was born, also brings a rollercoaster of emotions,” she wrote. “November 8th, 2013, she had her first life saving open heart surgery at 3 weeks of age. Every subsequent November, we celebrated her valve anniversary with grateful hearts. In November 2015, that valve became infected and she required her second life-saving surgery.”

She went on, “Despite the inevitable anxiousness, Novembers brings me, I remain thankful for everything that has come our way and how it has shaped us. We will forever be thankful for this life.”

Nick’s current NHL team, the Chicago Blackhawks, announced in October 2025 that he was taking a leave of absence due to Milana undergoing another heart surgery.

“Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno is taking a brief leave of absence as his daughter undergoes follow-up surgery related to her congenital heart disease,” the team confirmed. “Nick, nor the Blackhawks, will have any further comment at this time.”

Nick’s temporary NHL break was revealed one day after Milana turned 12 years old.

Landon Foligno

Nick and Janelle’s youngest son, Landon, was born August 25, 2015. The exciting milestone was shared by the Blue Jackets, the NHL team for whom Nick played between 2012 and 2021.

“Congratulations to Nick & Janelle Foligno on the birth of their son, Landon Nicholas,” the team tweeted. “Landon was born at 12:16 p.m. today, 6 lbs., 13 oz!”

Hudson Foligno

The Columbus Blue Jackets once again announced wonderful news in May 2017 that the Folignos welcomed a second son.

“CONGRATS to @NickFoligno & wife, Janelle, who welcomed Hudson Michael Foligno (7lb, 7oz/20.5 in) today,” the team shared via X (then Twitter).