- Jonathan Toews
Infobox Ice Hockey Player
team =Chicago Blackhawks
league = NHL
image_size = 230px
position = Centre
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 2
weight_lb = 209
nationality = CAN
birth_date = birth date and age|1988|4|29
birth_place =Winnipeg MB, CAN
draft = 3rd Overall
draft_year = 2006
draft_team =Chicago Blackhawks
career_start = 2007|Jonathan Toews (pronEng|ˈteɪvz) (born
April 29 ,1988 inWinnipeg ,Manitoba ) is a professionalice hockey player who currently plays center and is team captain for theChicago Blackhawks of theNational Hockey League . He was selected by the Blackhawks with the third overall pick in the2006 NHL Entry Draft .Playing career
Toews was selected first overall in the
2003 WHL Bantam Draft by theTri-City Americans , [Citeweb|title=2003 WHL Bantam Draft|url=http://www.whl.ca/news/bantam.php?id=1283&showToc=&|publisher=Western Hockey League |accessdate=2008-07-19] but chose instead to play collegiate hockey at theUniversity of North Dakota . Prior to joining the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, he played 2004-05 atShattuck-St. Mary's , aboarding school in Faribault,Minnesota . He scored 110 points in 64 games in his only season with the team.Toews' registered 39 points in his first season in the
Western Collegiate Hockey Association with North Dakota and earned Rookie of the Week honours twice.citeweb|title=2006 Prospects:Jonathan Toews|url=http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/8682/2006_prospects_jonathan_toews/|accessdate=2008-09-21|date=2006-04-29|publisher=HockeysFuture.com] Going into the playoffs, Toews helped North Dakota capture the Broadmoor Cup as WCHA champions and, subsequently, a berth in the NCAA Tournament. North Dakota made it to the Frozen Four and Toews was named West Regional MVP after tallying five points.Going into the
2006 NHL Entry Draft , Toews was ranked third overall by NHL Central Scouting and was chosen third overall by theChicago Blackhawks .In 2007-08, he opted out of his final two years of college hockey to debut with the Blackhawks after signing a 3-year, entry level contract on
May 16 ,2007 . [Citeweb|title=Blackhawks sign 1st round pick Toews|url=http://blackhawks.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=318280&page=NewsPage&service=page|publisher=Chicago Blackhawks |accessdate=2008-07-19|date=2007-05-16] He would score his first NHL goal on his first shot in his first game onOctober 10 against theSan Jose Sharks . He would then record the second-longest point-scoring streak to start an NHL career, scoring a point in each of his first 10 games (5 goals, 5 assists).Citeweb|title=Toews named 34th captain in team history|url=http://blackhawks.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=368758&page=NewsPage&service=page|publisher=National Hockey League |accessdate=2008-07-18|date=2008-07-18] OnJanuary 1 ,2008 , Toews sprained his knee in a game against Los Angeles. 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 rookiePatrick Kane . Toews and Kane battled all season for the lead in team and rookie scoring before Toews went down to injury. The two would both be nominated for theCalder Memorial Trophy – along with Capitals forwardNicklas Backstrom – with Kane beating Toews as rookie of the year.On
July 18 ,2008 , Toews was named team captain of the Blackhawks. At 20 years and 79 days, he became the third youngest team captain in NHL history. Toews was previously named an alternate captain in December 2007, during his rookie season. [Citeweb|title=Practice Notes: Toews, Seabrook Awarded A's|url=http://blackhawks.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=345387&page=NewsPage&service=page|publisher=National Hockey League |accessdate=2008-07-20]Awards & achievements
*
World U-17 Hockey Challenge MVP - 2005
*WCHA Rookie of the Week - twice in 2005-06
*NCAA West Regional MVP - 2006
*World Junior All-Star Team - 2007
*Nominated for theCalder Memorial Trophy - 2008Personal life
His younger brother, David, will follow Jonathan's footsteps and play at
University of North Dakota where he will be a freshman this year. He was drafted by theNew York Islanders in the 3rd round, 66th overall, in the2008 NHL Entry Draft .Career statistics
International play
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. [citeweb|title=West defeats Pacific to win the 2005 World U-17 Hockey Challenge|url=http://www.hockeycanada.ca/1/1/0/9/4/index1.shtml|accessdate=2008-09-21|date=2005-01-04|publisher=Hockey Canada ] He finished with 12 points, first in tournament scoring, and was named tournament MVP. [citeweb|title=Prospect Jonathan Toews Profile|url=http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/jonathan_toews|accessdate=2008-09-21|date=2008-06-24|publisher=HockeysFuture.com]In his draft year, he competed on Team Canada's U-20 team at the 2006 World Junior Championships as the youngest player on the team. [citeweb|title=Team Canada Roster|url=http://www.hockeycanada.ca/1/7/7/7/0/index1.shtml|publisher=
Hockey Canada |accessdate=2008-09-21] . Toews tallied 2 assists during the tournament, both against Norway in preliminary play, as Canada defated 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, theManitoba Moose , onFebruary 3 ,2007 , in front of more than 8,000 people. He was presented with an honorary jersey and later signed autographs during the game.Fact|date=August 2008That 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. 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.Fact|date=July 2008
After Toews' rookie year in the NHL, he competed in his second World Championships in 2008. As Russia defeated Team Canada in overtime in the gold medal game, it marked the first international competition that Toews had not won gold.
International statistics
References
External links
*nhlprofile|8473604
*hockeydb|93829
* [http://brickhockeyhighlights.com/content/view/37/27/ Jonathan Toews Brick Tournament Minor Hockey Goal Video]
* [http://brickhockeyhighlights.com/content/view/38/27/ Jonathan Toews Brick Tournament Minor Hockey Assist Video]
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