Devon Toews

**Devon Toews** (born on February 21, 1994 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the New York Islanders of the NHL.

## Playing Career

### Early Playing Career

Toews played one season with the Abbotsford Hawks Bantam A1 Hawks, where he helped them win the B.C. bantam Tier 1 title and finish second at the Western Canadians.

However, due to his short stature at the time, standing at 5’2”, he was initially overlooked by teams competing in the Western Hockey League as he was emerging from bantam hockey.

Toews returned to the Fraser Valley Bruins, where he experienced a growth spurt, and led all BC Hockey Major Midget League defencemen with 37 points in 39 games during the 2010–11 season which earned him a roster spot on the Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Hockey League.

Toews played with the Surrey Eagles for two seasons. In his first season, he was named to the 2011–12 BCHL All-Rookie Team and was offered a full hockey scholarship to play at Quinnipiac University.

However, Toews returned to the Eagles for the 2012–13 season, where he won the 2013 BCHL Championship and the Western Canada Cup in Nanaimo. He was named MVP of the Western Canada Cup and was selected for the all-tournament team. He was also a member of the BCHL First All-Star Team.

The Eagles competed in the 2013 Royal Bank Cup, losing to the Summerside Western Capitals in the semi-finals. Toews was nonetheless named Top Defencemen of the tournament's preliminary round.

### Collegiate Playing Career

Toews began his freshman year at Quinnipiac University during the 2013–14 season. While majoring in accounting, he appeared in 37 games and totalled 17 points. He was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team at the conclusion of the season.

After his freshman year, Toews was drafted 108th overall by the New York Islanders at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He had previously been skipped over twice in the NHL Entry Draft as an 18- and 19-year-old.

During the 2014–15 season, he appeared in 31 games for the Bobcats. He played in the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals against Union College, where his two late period assists helped send Game One to triple overtime, which the Bobcats won.

While the Bobcats beat Union in three games, they lost in the semi-finals against Harvard University. At the conclusion of the season, Toews was again named to the ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team.

In his three seasons with the Bobcats, Toews led Quinnipiac to multiple NCAA Tournaments. In the 2015–16 season, the Bobcats competed against North Dakota in the 2016 National Championship, losing 5–1.

He set career highs that season in goals, assists and points, earning All-ECAC Hockey Second Team honours.

Toews was also named a New England Second Team All-Star and was named a finalist for the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman as he ended the season with a +27 while collecting 30 points.

### Professional Playing Career

On April 15, 2016, Toews opted to conclude his collegiate career and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the New York Islanders. He was assigned to the Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Despite ending his collegiate career, he continued to take classes from Quinnipiac and graduated in May of 2017.

In his rookie season with Bridgeport, Toews tied all rookie defencemen in points and finished tenth in amongst all defencemen in the AHL. He also tied Raymond Giroux's team record for most assists by a rookie defenceman with 40.

As a result, he was selected to participate in the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic and was named to the AHL's All-Rookie team at the completion of the season.

During the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic, Toews won the Fastest Skater competition with a time of 13.478.

The following season, he played 30 games and earned 22 points until he suffered a serious shoulder injury which would require surgery to fix on December 30 in a game against the Binghamton Devils. Due to the injury, he was out for the remainder of the 2017–18 season.

On July 16, 2018, the Islanders signed Toews to a two-year contract extension. After attending the Islanders' training camp ahead of the 2018–19 season, he was reassigned to the Sound Tigers.

On December 19, 2018, he earned his first NHL recall after he had recorded 19 points in 24 games, which ranked second amongst Sound Tiger defencemen.

Toews made his NHL debut on December 23, 2018 against the Dallas Stars. On January 3, 2019, in his fifth NHL game, he recorded his first NHL point, the game winning goal, in a 3–2 overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks. He became the 18th player in the modern era to score their first NHL goal in overtime.

The Islanders qualified for the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, where they defreated the Pittsburgh Penguins in four games.

The team then faced the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round where Toews subsequently recorded his first career playoff goal on May 1, 2019. He became the third Islanders rookie defenseman in the last 25 years to score a postseason goal.

## International Play

Toews represented Team Canada West at the 2012 World Junior A Challenge. He played in four games and earned a silver medal.

## Personal Life

Toews was born to parents Werner and Tammy Toews and was raised in Abbotsford, British Columbia, along with one brother. He is of no relation to Jonathan Toews.

In September of 2018, Toews became engaged to his girlfriend, Kerry.