Add another award to the already-enormous resume of former UND star Jonathan Toews.
Toews, a former alternate captain at North Dakota, won the ESPY Award on Wednesday night as the best NHL athlete.
The ESPY’s are a sports award show conducted by ESPN. They were broadcast on ABC.
Toews captained the Chicago Blackhawks to their third Stanley Cup title in six years this season. He became one of 11 players ever to captain three teams to a Stanley Cup.
Toews, 27, also has won two Olympic gold medals, a directorate award as the best forward in the Olympic Games, a Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL Playoffs MVP, a Frank Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward and the Mark Messier Leadership Award as the best leader in hockey.
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Previous hockey players to win the ESPY Award include Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Quick of UMass and Tim Thomas of Vermont.
Stecher, others go camping
A total of 16 past, current and future UND players attended NHL development camps this summer.
Troy Stecher, an undrafted free agent who generated considerable interest from NHL teams after a strong sophomore season, attended camp with the Winnipeg Jets.
The other 15 were all under contract or draft picks of their teams.
The local and area players who attended camps were Paul LaDue (Los Angeles Kings), Luke Johnson (Chicago Blackhawks), Tucker Poolman (Winnipeg Jets), Gage Ausmus (San Jose Sharks), Keaton Thompson (Anaheim Ducks) and Zane McIntyre (Boston Bruins). McIntyre signed with the Bruins after the season.
Incoming freshmen Brock Boeser (forward, Vancouver Canucks), Matej Tomek (goalie, Philadelphia Flyers), Shane Gersich (forward, Washington Capitals) and Chris Wilkie (forward, Florida Panthers) got a taste of NHL action at camps.
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Hockey Canada selects UND players
Three UND women’s hockey players have been invited to participate in Hockey Canada’s national development camp.
Junior defenseman Halli Krzyzaniak and senior forwards Becca Kohler and Meghan Dufault all earned invites. Dufault won’t participate in the camp, though.
Krzyzaniak and Kohler will compete with 40 others at the event in Calgary next month.
Three UND recruits will also attend the Under-18 camp in Calgary. They are defenseman Abby Thiessen and forwards Sarah Lecavalier and Ryleigh Houston.
Briefly
- Former UND star T.J. Oshie has picked out No. 77 to wear with the Washington Capitals. He was traded from St. Louis to Washington earlier this month.
- UND, which previously planned to play in an early-season showcase in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2016-17, will no longer do so. UND has nearly finalized its schedule for the 2016-17 season, including a single game against Boston College at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden.
- Crookston native Mike Hastings recently signed an eight-year contract with Minnesota State-Mankato. It is worth $290,000 annually. Hastings led the Mavericks to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association title last season.
The Trust Project
