Western Conference Hottie: Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks)

Mr. Toews has the honor of being the MOST requested individual in HftL history. And to top it all off, he's just made a trip to the Stanley (or in the case of some individuals) "Studly" Cup Finals... Anyhow, be that as it may. Here he is.

IMPORTANT HOCKEY STUFF: 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. 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.

Toews was selected first overall in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft by the Tri-City Americans, 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 two 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. Toews registered 39 points as a freshman and earned Rookie of the Week honors twice. He helped North Dakota capture the Broadmoor Cup as WCHA champions and also was named West Regional MVP after tallying five points.

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

In 07/08, 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. He scored his first NHL goal on his first shot in his first game on October 10 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). 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 [Previously on HftL]; 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 Vincent Lecavalier [Previously on HftL] of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the subsequent season, he was voted as a starter, along with teammates Patrick Kane [Previously on HftL] and Brian Campbell Previously on HftL], for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal. He netted his first career hat trick in the NHL on February 27, 2009, is a 5-4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He finished the 08–09 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. [Yes, there was singing and dancing an whoops of joy, emitting from my door]

Less than a month into the 09–10 season, Toews was sidelined with concussion-like symptoms after receiving an open-ice hit from defenseman 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. 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.

REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF: Ok, all the stuff I had to wade through to write this. I mean really the guy practically has a library on the internet. However, I'm only going to give you highlights here, instead of writing a book. Since his hockey career actually is one, and especially when I'm sure all you ladies would rather look at the pictures anyway.

Toews (nickname: Tazer, Captain Serious [you're not fooling me one bit, especially with the boarding school business, the quiet ones are always tigers in bed. hey, that has a nice ring to it, "Toews the Tiger". I can see it now, those intense quiet eyes, all feline, and focused on the prey....]) was born to Bryan Toews, an electrician at the University of Manitoba, and Andrée Gilbert from Sainte-Marie, Quebec who is the managing director and finance expert for a credit union in the Winnipeg region. Toews' younger brother, David Toews, [see girls, there's more where he came from] also attended Shattuck-St. Mary's and began his freshman year at the University of North Dakota in 2008–09. He was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 3rd round, 66th overall, in the 2008 NHL Draft.

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

In the spring of 2010, a large mural of Toews visible from the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago received a degree of notoriety. The mural depicts Toews with an abnormally-shaped nose and mouth, posed beside a picture of the Stanley Cup. 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." I'm sure anyone of you ladies have any number of comments, to assuage his low self esteem in the looks department, am I right?