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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: FLYERS v BLACKHAWKS

May 27, 2010

Jonathan Toews

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Practice Day

Q. (Question off microphone).
JONATHAN TOEWS: Yeah, we were very excited to clean that up and finish in our own building. But, you know, it felt like the longest week ever waiting for this game on Saturday night. But we're looking forward to it. We'll be ready for it, you know. We're just trying to save our energy for now and not get too jacked up and ready to play when the game is not until Saturday night.

Q. When you see all this media here, what goes through your mind?
JONATHAN TOEWS: Well, this is it. Obviously this is the big show. It's gotten bigger and bigger every series. You can tell. The series against Vancouver, playing a Canadian team there's always going to be a lot of media attention in Canada. This is the ultimate thing. The entire hockey world is watching this. These are the type of games you love to play in. It's a fun thing to be a part of.

Q. You guys have won at so many different levels, World Juniors, World Championships. Memorial Cups. Does all that winning help you when you get to the Stanley Cup?
JONATHAN TOEWS: Of course. It doesn't really matter where you're at. When you're there, it's always a huge deal, whether it's the World Juniors or World Championship, if it's something new to you, a new experience, it's so exciting.
You know you don't want to feel the feeling of disappointment if you lose, so you work hard and you learn kind of what it takes to win and how to overcome what your opponent is throwing at you.
All that experience does help you, but this is going to be the ultimate battle, I think.

Q. You're not used to having that disappointed feeling. One of your guys are going to feel it at the end of this.
JONATHAN TOEWS: Yeah, that's the unfortunate reality of it. Right now it's exciting. Just to believe. We got an entire city behind us. We feel like this is the year for us. And we're going to throw everything we can at them.
The support we've had from our family, from our fans, everything has been incredible. We want to win it for them, but most of all, for each and every guy in that locker room.

Q. (Indiscernible) struggled through the first half of the season. There was some debate whether he would make the team, and he did. What did you see at that time?
JONATHAN TOEWS: Again, he's a guy who doesn't take anything for granted. He works for everything. That's what we kind of had going as a line. We had a pretty player in Rick Nash, I guess. Not like the two of us, who are just kind of scrapping around out there. You know, we worked hard and we scored some big goals as a line. We shut down some big lines as well. So you get the sense he's one of those players that's competitive and doesn't matter whether he's playing defense or offense. He's going to make you work for everything you get against him.

Q. (Indiscernible).
JONATHAN TOEWS: It's been a couple of days. So it's definitely sunk in. That's a good thing. Over the hype, over all the excitement, just trying to relax, take a deep breath. Every time you think about the end result, it's still so far away. It's going to be a heck of a series, a heck of a battle.
You just got to take it one inch at a time, one period at a time. And, you know, you win those small battles and you might win the war. That's what we'll focus on. Nothing to get excited about.

Q. They are going to have four (Indiscernible)?
JONATHAN TOEWS: It's pretty much the same thing for both teams. Felt like a long week. I'll tell you that. Just trying to, like I said, get those thoughts out of my head and just prepare for another game on Saturday night. That's all I'm trying to worry about now.

Q. How much do you see this series as a battle between two young Canadian players?
JONATHAN TOEWS: I think that's just a small part of it. You look at our team up and down. There's so many similarities as far as skilled players, defensive players, goaltenders, things that we've been through as far as injuries and adversity as a team. We've both worked very, very hard to get to this place. I think they are feeling equally as confident as a team as we are right now. That's what's going to make it so exciting for the fans to watch this series.
But, you know, it's going to be a battle. We understand that. And it's going to take everything and everyone we got. So we're really excited about that. And it's going to mean more in the end.

Q. Does it bother you that there's so much talk of the two of you?
JONATHAN TOEWS: Yeah, you know, that's the way it is sometimes. The story line could change after Game 1. Everyone seems to want to talk about certain things at the same time. Right now that might be one of the hot topics. I definitely understand that it goes beyond just two players, one on each team. So I'm not letting something like that bother me right now.

Q. Can you talk about why you decided to stay in college when you had the opportunity to enter pro hockey?
JONATHAN TOEWS: I was playing college hockey. I wanted to come in and make an impact as a young player. And Chicago was still a team that was struggling at that time. I really enjoyed my time at North Dakota. And even -- the easy thing is you're so excited, so pumped up about what you can do at the next level when you get drafted that the second they flash a contract in front of you, it's the easy thing to do is to sign it. But just didn't feel I was ready yet. I made the conscious decision maybe I needed another year. North Dakota wasn't a bad place to stay for one extra year.

End of FastScripts

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