Wayne Simmonds making his momma proud! (Video)

The more you hear about Wayne Simmonds, the more evident it becomes that he is truly one of the good guys in hockey. Wanda Simmonds, Wayne's mother sat down with the people at NHL.com to talk about her son both as a young man, and as the Wayne Simmonds we all know and love today. She reminisces about a conversation she had when Wayne was still a young man, an unknown player skating in regional leagues across Canada:

"I said to him, 'There's two things I want to you to do if you ever make it to the NHL,'" she told NHL.com. "'I want you to give back [to your community] and I want you to give to your church.'"

Well Wayne has gone on to make his momma proud in more ways than one. First he was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the 2007 NHL draft, and then he kept the promise he made to his mother all those years ago. In 2012 Wayne Simmonds introduced the world to Wayne's Road Hockey Warriors, an annual summer ball hockey tournament which Simmonds hosts to raise funds for local minor hockey projects like the one he played in as a young man. Simmonds spoke to NHL.com about the charitable work he does within his community:

"We got help from the community growing up to play hockey and it was only right to give back," said Simmonds. "Without the community, we wouldn't have been in the position that we were in," Wayne said. "My mom always told me that if you ever make it, the first thing you have to do is give back to the community because the community gives so much to you. That's how it all started off. ... "Buying gear, registration for teams; hockey is one of the most expensive sports besides golf. It takes a toll on families, and I have a big family: four brothers and a sister. So for me to play hockey was a huge strain on my family and family funds. We needed help and we got help from the right people. The hockey community is unbelievable. There's all these people that are trying to help people out."

It's really hard not to love this guy, great player on the ice, and by all accounts a great man off the ice. You can see some of the work Simmonds has done in the videos below courtesy of the NHL.