Read a version of this story in French here.
Jonathan Toews’s first game as a member of the Winnipeg Jets, slated for Thursday night, promises to be a meaningful homecoming for both the star centre and countless Manitoba hockey fans.
“Having the chance to be here at home in front of my friends, my family and the city of Winnipeg and playing for the Jets, it’s a dream,” the Winnipeg-born Toews said in French — which he grew up speaking in a bilingual household — after a training camp session last month.
Toews, who captained the Chicago Blackhawks to Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015, says he feels the community he grew up in has left its mark on his makeup as a hockey player.
“We’re very humble. We’re hard-working. For me, those are two qualities that I think I exhibit every day,” he said in French.
“My ability to work, to score goals, to attain my objectives [are things that] I’ve learned from my parents, but also my coaches and my teachers, all my friends.”
Several Jets supporters who came to a recent team training camp session said having Toews play for the team is a dream come true for them as well.
“It’s very special for Winnipeg,” Jets fan Vinny Gillespie told Radio-Canada at the event, speaking in French.
Gillespie, a university student, says he’s bought tickets for Toews’s first game, and intends to grab a No. 19 Toews jersey for the occasion.
Fan Jessica Bradley said she’s “always been a Jonathan Toews fan, even before the Jets came back [to Winnipeg in 2011].”
“So to see him on home ice wearing home team colours is amazing,” said Bradley.
Toews “could’ve gone to any team in the league,” added Melissa Matthew. “But he came to Winnipeg, so that’s huge.”
Toews, now 37, will soon see his first regular-season action since the 2022-23 season. His absence was caused by chronic inflammation as well as immune system troubles possibly caused by long COVID.
Despite his long absence, Toews said he wants to play a role similar to the one he had as the leader of the Blackhawks.
“My role is still to score, to contribute offensively and also to play well on defence,” he said in French, adding he wants to continue to be a force in the faceoff circle and on the penalty kill.
These skills have won Toews a collection of hardware that include a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2010, the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2013 as the best defensive forward and the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2015.
Thom Gross, who was Toews’s coach and trainer during his days as a minor hockey player, said he’s not surprised to see his former pupil working to return to the sport’s top level, saying the player’s work ethic was apparent from a young age.
“The work ethic, but also the understanding that that’s what was going to be required to be successful,” he said, adding that Toews’s level of devotion to the game stands out even among the hardest-working of players he coached.
The hockey player’s work ethic extends to his commitment to maintaining his French. Despite having played 15 seasons with Chicago, Toews says the French language remains a central part of his identity that also connects him to his home province.
“We learn when we’re young to take pride in that,” Toews, whose mother hails from Quebec, said in French.
“It’s not always easy to preserve our language, preserve our culture, so I work on it as much as I can, even if I don’t often get the chance to speak it.”
Dolorès Beaumont, his former teacher and vice-principal at the Winnipeg schools École Christine-Lespérance and École Lavallée, is still in contact with his family. She agrees that it’s his level of effort that distinguishes him.
“Jonathan was a Grade 7 student, but not like the others,” she said in French, saying he stood apart from his classmates.
The fruits of that effort are visible at Dakota Community Centre, where the two-rink hockey facility Toews grew up playing at now bears his name.
The president and chief executive officer of the centre, Michele Augert, said she appreciates Toews, who made a $1-million donation to the centre in 2016.
“We are incredibly blessed to have Jonathan as part of this community centre and a very championed supporter of this community centre,” she said at the centre, standing in front of a display case showing off Toews-related memorabilia, including a new Jets jersey.
“We’re incredibly proud that he calls this place home, and we’re proud to be part of his family.”
Tyler Riel, the centre’s director of hockey and ice programs, played hockey with Toews as a child. He said the sight of the Winnipegger in Jets blue could help make the sport even more popular locally.
“Especially here at the community centre, I know there’s going to be a lot of people and a lot of kids that are going to be looking up to him and gravitating towards hockey because of him signing here,” he said.
It is uncertain whether Toews will be suiting up when the Jets will start their season Thursday at Canada Life Centre against the Dallas Stars, after he sustained an injury in the pre-season.
