Jonathan Toews: A Profile of an All-Star Captain
By Fatima Younis
Sports Writer
Jonathan Toews was born on April 29, 1988, and it seemed encrypted into his fate to become a hockey player from a very young age. He first put on skates at age three and was a beast on the ice. His father, Bryan Toews, has said about him, “Jonathan could see things you’d show him and then go right out there and do them much better than I’d describe them. I remember I had him on the lake when he was four. He had such a natural stride. I remember several parents coming up to me and asking, ‘How old is that kid?'” Upon hearing that from his dad, Toews had to answer, “It wasn’t that natural for me. I never was one of the biggest kids, but I kind of found myself thinking of ways in my mind to beat them,” he said. “I’d use my skating, my stickhandling, my wits to visualize ways to win.” When Toews was eight or nine, his father built him and his brother David a rink in their backyard, and they skated all day long.
The long hours of skating paid off, as Jonathan Toews was drafted first overall by the Tri-City Americans but instead chose to play NCAA in high school. In his senior year, he played at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minnesota, and earned 110 points in 64 games. He played at the University of Dakota for the next two years and scored 85 points in 76 games, had a plus 38 rating, and led the Fighting Sioux to the Frozen Four in 2006 and 2007.
In the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Toews was drafted third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks, and started playing in the NHL in 2007 at age 18. Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, and he led the Blackhawks to their first playoff appearance since 2002 in 2008. Soon, Toews was made assistant captain at age 19, and became the third youngest person to become captain (after Vince Lecavalier and Sidney Crosby) at age twenty. He signed a six-year contract extension with the Blackhawks in 2009.
Toews plays for the Canadian national team and has won gold medals at the 2005 U17 Championships and at the 2006 and 2007 World Junior Championships, and at the 2008 Men’s World Championship. He has also been an Olympian twice, competing in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He won gold medals at both Olympics, leading the tournament with seven assists.
Toews summed up his success as a hockey player in just a few words: “I don’t have a special quote, but more a philosophy or a belief: ‘You become what you think about and focus on the most. See yourself attracting the things you want to accomplish. Thoughts and desires in your mind can become a reality.’”
Source:
Hunter, Kevin. "JONATHAN TOEWS: The Bio." The Hockey Writers. N.p., 10 May 2010. Web. 18 Jan. 2015.