Jonathan Toews would be one of the youngest captains in NHL history to raise the Stanley Cup should the Chicago Blackhawks win it Wednesday night in Game 6 at the Wachovia Center.
"We still have to check the birth certificate and make sure he's only 21 or 22, whatever he is," teammate Patrick Sharp said Tuesday. "From day one he entered the league he hasn't changed until now, on or off the ice.
"Maybe he's lightened up a little bit now. Takes things seriously. He prepares to play just as hard as anybody else. He cares about the game and winning. It's been great to see over the years, but he's a great leader if he wins or not."
Toews, who is 22, admitted he has thought about how it would feel should the Blackhawks win and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman places the Stanley Cup into his arms.
"It's been flashing in my head since Game 1 of the playoffs," Toews said. "Any kid growing up in Canada, anywhere as a hockey player, that's the dream. That's the one thing you keep telling yourself, in your heart you kind of know you're going to do it some day.
"I think last year watching the Pittsburgh Penguins come from behind and win that one last year, I think that's when it really first set in that I felt our team and myself personally - never felt closer thinking that this is an opportunity, this is something that can really become a reality.
"It's been a long year, but I think we all knew all along that we can make it this far. Hopefully we can find a way to do it."
It would be the Blackhawks' first Stanley Cup since 1961, which is currently the longest title drought in the league.
"I just think we need to have that same attitude and mentality we have had all series," Toews said. "Just by that win the other night, we knew it was just one step closer. We want to take that last and final step. That's all we need to focus on."
Toews says he is only one of a number of leaders in the dressing room.
"I think different guys say different things," Toews said. "But as a team, we've always had a pretty good conscious of what we need to do as a team in that moment, whether it's be smart with penalties or, you know, not get frustrated by calls that we disagree with or this and that.
"So it comes down to the individual. If you feel you have to say something, whether it's Patrick or Duncan [Keith] or myself, it doesn't really matter. I think that's why we get along so well in our locker room. Guys are stepping up, and it reflects in their play."
Ready for Pronger
Toews doesn't expect Chris Pronger to change anything in his play even after being minus-5 in Game 5.
"We know he's going to come back and be better," Toews said. "That's what makes him a good player and why he's had such a successful career. He's not going to dwell on that game. The series isn't over. He knows that.
"We worked all series to try to get on him and some of their top players. That doesn't change for us. We'll try and be just as hard on him as we were last game."
Speaking of Pronger, the Flyers' defenceman was asked Tuesday if he saw the photo-shopped poster of him in the Chicago Tribune wearing a skirt.
"I don't read what you guys write, good or bad," Pronger said. "I really couldn't care, to be honest with you. I'm worried about playing the game."
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville stayed out of the matter.
"I just heard about it," Quenneville said.
"We still have to check the birth certificate and make sure he's only 21 or 22, whatever he is," teammate Patrick Sharp said Tuesday. "From day one he entered the league he hasn't changed until now, on or off the ice.
"Maybe he's lightened up a little bit now. Takes things seriously. He prepares to play just as hard as anybody else. He cares about the game and winning. It's been great to see over the years, but he's a great leader if he wins or not."
Toews, who is 22, admitted he has thought about how it would feel should the Blackhawks win and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman places the Stanley Cup into his arms.
"It's been flashing in my head since Game 1 of the playoffs," Toews said. "Any kid growing up in Canada, anywhere as a hockey player, that's the dream. That's the one thing you keep telling yourself, in your heart you kind of know you're going to do it some day.
"I think last year watching the Pittsburgh Penguins come from behind and win that one last year, I think that's when it really first set in that I felt our team and myself personally - never felt closer thinking that this is an opportunity, this is something that can really become a reality.
"It's been a long year, but I think we all knew all along that we can make it this far. Hopefully we can find a way to do it."
It would be the Blackhawks' first Stanley Cup since 1961, which is currently the longest title drought in the league.
"I just think we need to have that same attitude and mentality we have had all series," Toews said. "Just by that win the other night, we knew it was just one step closer. We want to take that last and final step. That's all we need to focus on."
Toews says he is only one of a number of leaders in the dressing room.
"I think different guys say different things," Toews said. "But as a team, we've always had a pretty good conscious of what we need to do as a team in that moment, whether it's be smart with penalties or, you know, not get frustrated by calls that we disagree with or this and that.
"So it comes down to the individual. If you feel you have to say something, whether it's Patrick or Duncan [Keith] or myself, it doesn't really matter. I think that's why we get along so well in our locker room. Guys are stepping up, and it reflects in their play."
Ready for Pronger
Toews doesn't expect Chris Pronger to change anything in his play even after being minus-5 in Game 5.
"We know he's going to come back and be better," Toews said. "That's what makes him a good player and why he's had such a successful career. He's not going to dwell on that game. The series isn't over. He knows that.
"We worked all series to try to get on him and some of their top players. That doesn't change for us. We'll try and be just as hard on him as we were last game."
Speaking of Pronger, the Flyers' defenceman was asked Tuesday if he saw the photo-shopped poster of him in the Chicago Tribune wearing a skirt.
"I don't read what you guys write, good or bad," Pronger said. "I really couldn't care, to be honest with you. I'm worried about playing the game."
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville stayed out of the matter.
"I just heard about it," Quenneville said.
