Jonathan Toews

Jonathan Toews
Born	April 29, 1988 (1988-04-29) (age 22), Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height Weight	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 211 lb (96 kg; 15 st 1 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
NHL team	Chicago Blackhawks
Ntl. team	Canada
NHL Draft	3rd overall, 2006 Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career	2007–present

Jonathan Bryan Toews^[1] (pronounced /ˈteɪvz/ tayvz; born April 29, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who plays for and is team captain of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Toews is currently the youngest captain in the NHL. He was selected by the Blackhawks with the third overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He joined the Blackhawks in 2007–08 and was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. The following season, he was named team captain, becoming the third youngest captain in NHL history at the age of 20. Toews competes internationally for Team Canada and has won gold medals at the 2005 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, 2006 and 2007 World Junior Championships, 2007 World Championships, and the 2010 Winter Olympics (a tournament in which he was named Best Forward). Toews won the Stanley Cup in 2010, along with the Conn Smythe Trophy for the playoff MVP. After winning the Cup, Toews passed Peter Forsberg as the youngest player to be inducted into the Triple Gold Club.

Playing career

Amateur

Toews was selected first overall in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft by the Tri-City Americans,^[2] but chose instead to play high school hockey, eventually attending Shattuck-St. Mary's, a boarding school in Faribault, Minnesota, during 2004-2005. Toews scored 110 points in 64 games in his only season with the team, before moving on to play college hockey at the University of North Dakota.

Toews played 2 seasons at North Dakota, compiling 85 points (40 goals, 45 assists), a plus-38 rating and a 56.7% faceoff winning percentage in 76 games. He helped the Fighting Sioux reach the NCAA Frozen Four in both 2006 and '07.^[3] Toews registered 39 points as a freshman and earned Rookie of the Week honors twice.^[4] He helped North Dakota capture the Broadmoor Cup as WCHA champions and also was named West Regional MVP after tallying five points.^[4]

Going into the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Toews was ranked 3rd among North American prospects by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau^[4] and was chosen third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Professional

Toews in 2009.

In 2007–08, he opted out of the final two years of college hockey to debut with the Blackhawks after signing a 3-year, entry level contract on May 16, 2007.^[5] He scored his first NHL goal on his first shot in his first game on October 10, 2007, against the San Jose Sharks. He then recorded the second-longest point-scoring streak to start an NHL career, registering a point in each of his first 10 games (5 goals, 5 assists).^[6] On January 1, 2008, Toews sprained his knee in a game against the Los Angeles Kings. Despite missing 16 games from the injury, Toews led all rookies in goal-scoring and finished third in points. Toews finished second in team scoring behind fellow rookie Patrick Kane. Toews and Kane battled all season for the lead in team and rookie scoring before Toews went down to injury. The two were both nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy along with Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Bäckström; teammate Kane was named rookie of the year over Toews.

Following his successful rookie campaign, Toews was named team captain of the Blackhawks on July 18, 2008. At 20 years and 79 days, he became the third youngest team captain in NHL history, behind Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning.^[6] Toews had previously been named an alternate captain in December 2007, during the 2007–08 season.^[7] In the subsequent season, he was voted as a starter, along with teammates Patrick Kane and Brian Campbell, for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal.^[8] He netted his first career hat trick in the NHL on February 27, 2009, in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.^[9] He finished the 2008–09 season with 69 points in 82 games, helping the Blackhawks to their first post-season appearance since 2002. Toews added 13 points in 17 playoff games as the Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they were eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings in five games.

Less than a month into the 2009–10 season, Toews was sidelined with concussion-like symptoms after receiving an open-ice hit from defenceman Willie Mitchell in a 3–2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on October 21, 2009. Toews had just received a pass when Mitchell was just leaving the penalty box to catch Toews with his head down.^[10][11] Toews and fellow teammates Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane agreed to contract extensions in early December 2009. Kane and Toews have agreed to a contract extensions of five years making about $6.5 million each season.^[12]

On May 7, 2010, Toews recorded his second career hat trick along with two assists, leading the Blackhawks in a 7-4 victory against the Vancouver Canucks.^[13]

On June 9, 2010, Toews won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 6 games against the Philadelphia Flyers, becoming the second-youngest captain in the history of the NHL to hoist the cup, behind only Sidney Crosby who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to the cup the previous season. He scored seven goals and 29 points in the playoffs, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.^[14] He is also the youngest player (22 years old) to become a member of the Triple Gold Club (Olympic gold, Stanley Cup, World Championship).

Toews was selected to be the cover player on EA's NHL 11, on June 21, 2010, after winning the Stanley Cup. It is the first time in EA sports history where two players of the same team have been on the cover two years in a row, as Patrick Kane was on the cover of NHL 10^[15].

International play

Medal record
Toews guards the puck from Ryan Suter during the 2010 Winter Olympics
Competitor for  Canada
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
Gold	2010 Vancouver
World Championships
Silver	2008 Halifax/Québec
Gold	2007 Moscow
World Junior Championships
Gold	2007 Sweden
Gold	2006 Vancouver
World U-17 Hockey Challenge
Gold	2005 Alberta

In 2005, Toews captained Canada West at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge to a gold medal. He scored the game-winning goal in a 3-1 win over Canada Pacific in the championship game.^[16] He finished with 12 points, first in tournament scoring, and was named tournament MVP.^[17]

In his draft year, he competed on Team Canada's under-20 team at the 2006 World Junior Championships as the youngest player on the team.^[18] Toews tallied 2 assists during the tournament, both against Norway in preliminary play,^[4] as Canada defeated Russia in the gold medal game 5-0.

In 2007, he earned a second straight World Junior gold medal. In the semi-final game against the U.S., Toews scored three times in the shootout to advance to the final. With 7 points, Toews led Team Canada in scoring and was named to the Tournament All-Star Team with teammate Carey Price. Shortly after his gold medal win, Toews was honored by his hometown AHL team, the Manitoba Moose, on February 3, 2007, as he was presented with an honorary jersey for his tournament efforts.

That same year, Toews also made his senior international debut at the 2007 World Championships and recorded 7 points in 9 games competing against mostly professional players after just his second year of college hockey (at the time of selection, Toews had not yet turned pro). Team Canada earned gold over Finland 4-2 in the championship game. In doing so, he became the first Canadian to win a World Junior championship and a World Championship in the same year.^[19] On June 29, 2007, Toews was awarded the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, an award given by the Province of Manitoba in honour of sporting achievements, for his play in the junior and senior world championships.^[20]

After Toews' rookie year in the NHL, he competed in his second World Championships in 2008.

On December 3, 2009, Jonathan Toews was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He was named to the squad along with Blackhawks teammates Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith.^[21] He ended the tournament with a team-leading eight points. His seven assists tied with Pavol Demitra of Slovakia for the tournament lead. His lone goal of the tournament opened the scoring in Canada's 3–2 overtime win in the gold medal game against the United States. As a result, he was awarded Best Forward and tournament all-star team honours.^[22]

Personal life

Jonathan was born to Bryan Toews, an electrician at the University of Manitoba, and Andrée Gilbert, a French-Canadian from Sainte-Marie, Quebec who was the managing director and finance expert for a credit union in the Winnipeg region before retiring to oversee Toews's media relations.^[23] His younger brother, David, also attended Shattuck-St. Mary's and began his freshman year at the University of North Dakota in 2008–09.^[24] He was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 3rd round, 66th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

In January 2007, Toews and former teammate T.J. Oshie received alcohol-related citations for being minors in a Grand Forks, North Dakota tavern.^[25][26] Toews and Oshie pled guilty to the charges.^[27] The two were later placed on probation, and ordered to perform community service.^[28]

In the spring of 2010, a large mural of Toews visible from the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago received a degree of notoriety.^[29][30] The mural depicted Toews with an abnormally shaped nose and mouth, posed beside a picture of the Stanley Cup (ironically, Toews would end up holding the Cup after winning it later that year).^[31][32] Toews commented on the mural, stating, "I guess it's from a picture and they must have embellished it a little bit. They're not helping me by any means."^[33]

Following the celebration of Toews bringing the Stanley Cup to his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, the province of Manitoba announced that they would be naming a northern lake after Toews in honour of his success.^[34] The lake is located 150 km north of Flin Flon and will be named Toews Lake.^[35] The same day, the Dakota Community Centre in St. Vital where Toews first played organized hockey was renamed the Jonathan Toews Community Centre.^[35] Also, he was given the Keys to the City to honour his achievement and hard work ethic.^[36]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and achievements

Toews (left) holding the Conn Smythe Trophy at the Blackhawks victory parade in downtown Chicago as Patrick Kane holds the Stanley Cup.

• World U-17 Hockey Challenge MVP - 2005 World U-17 Hockey Challenge - 2005
• WCHA Rookie of the Week - twice in 2005–06
• NCAA West Regional MVP - 2006
• World Junior All-Star Team - 2007
• Nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy - 2008
• NHL All-Star Game - 2009 (starter)
• All-Star selection of the 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament^[22]
• 2010 Winter Olympics - Best Forward^[22]
• 2010 Conn Smythe Trophy winner
• Second-youngest to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (22 years, 41 days; only Patrick Roy was younger); youngest Captain to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
• Youngest person to gain entry into the Triple Gold Club (22 years, 41 days at time last component was achieved)
• Named full captain of an NHL team after only 64 NHL games; third youngest full captain (Crosby, Vincent Lecavalier) in NHL history.
• 2010 Stanley Cup Champion
• One of only six players to win Olympic gold and the Stanley Cup in the same year.

References

External links

• Jonathan Toews's NHL player profile
• Jonathan Toews's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Jonathan Toews Brick Tournament Minor Hockey Goal Video
• Jonathan Toews Brick Tournament Minor Hockey Assist Video