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1. Jonathan Toews
2. TIE Clara Hughes/Alex Steen
3. Cindy Klassen

Locally grown hockey player Jonathan Toews will go for gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, with the goal to make his country proud once again. As a competitor at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the Chicago Blackhawks star won gold with Team Canada, was named the tournament’s top forward and made Winnipeggers especially proud.

Prior to playing in the NHL, the Winnipeg-born athlete played for the University of North Dakota for two seasons, and competed for Team Canada internationally, winning gold medals at the 2005 World U-17 Championship, the 2006 and 2007 World Junior Championships and the 2007 World Championship. Selected by the Blackhawks as the third overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, the now 25-year-old joined the Blackhawks for the 2007-2008 NHL season and was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year.

The young star became captain of the Blackhawks the following season and went on to win the Stanley Cup in 2010, and then again in 2013. Following his first Cup win, Toews won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff's most valuable player.

After that win, a lake approximately 150 km north of Flin Flon was renamed Toews Lake and the Dakota Community Centre in Winnipeg, the rink where Toews first laced them up, was renamed the Jonathan Toews Community Centre. Toews also holds the keys to the city of Winnipeg in honour of his hockey achievements and hard work ethic.

On Saturday, Nov. 2, Toews played his first NHL game in Winnipeg, when the Blackhawks romped the Jets 5-1.

“I think whenever anyone asked me why I wanted to be a hockey player, that’s where it all started, watching the Winnipeg Jets play as a young kid,” Toews told ESPN before the game. 

This year, the Blackhawks are currently the NHL’s top-place team (Saturday, Nov. 30), with Toews tied for 19th overall in scoring with 12 goals, 24 points and a +9 rating through 27 games.

Part of the series: The Uniter 30

Published in Volume 68, Number 14 of The Uniter (December 4, 2013)