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 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a professional ice hockey player who currently plays center and is team captain for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. He was selected by the Blackhawks with the third overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Toews was selected first overall in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft by the Tri-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 the University of North Dakota. Prior to joining the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, he played 2004-05 at Shattuck-St. Mary's, a boarding 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 the Chicago 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 on October 10 against the San 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] On January 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 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 would both be nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy – along with Capitals forward Nicklas 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 the Calder Memorial Trophy - 2008

Personal 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 the New York Islanders in the 3rd round, 66th overall, in the 2008 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, the Manitoba Moose, on February 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 2008

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. 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]