Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are eager to go head-to-head in Halifax after spending the season as linemates, roommates and friends with the Chicago Blackhawks.
The dynamic duo, announced yesterday as finalists for the NHL’s Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, will face off at the IIHF world championship at the Metro Centre from May 2 to 18 — Toews for Canada, and Kane for the United States.
“I think it will be fun to have a different look at it, see him on the other side,” said the 19-year-old Toews, who was a member of last year’s gold-medal winning Canadian squad. “The fact that he’s going to be on the other side of the rink will add to the fact that we want to play hard in that game.”
The Canadians and Americans have a round-robin showdown scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, at 4:30 p.m., one of the most anticipated games on the schedule.
Kane led all rookies with 72 points, while Toews produced 54 points in an injury-shortened campaign.
The duo is in the running for the Calder along with Washington Capitals young gun Nicklas Backstrom.
Kane and Toews aren’t the only Blackhawks at the world championship. Defenceman Duncan Keith and forward Patrick Sharp will play for Canada, while blue-liners Dustin Byfuglien and James Wisniewski will represent the U.S.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Toews said. “I think the U.S. and Canada will be two strong teams, so we’ll probably run into each other more than once (after the round robin ends).”
