As Jonathan Toews gets set to sign with the Winnipeg Jets, his Steinbach family says they are ready to cheer him on from nearby.
The Winnipeg Jets announced on Friday that Toews, a veteran NHL star, will be joining the team for the upcoming season. While the signing won’t be official until July 1, Toews' cousin, Kurtis Enns of Steinbach, says his family is already celebrating.
“The whole family is very excited that he's healthy enough to play again,” said Enns. “I do feel he's going to contribute a lot to the Jets with his experience and his leadership and all that, so it's going to be a pretty exciting season for sure.”
Family has travelled across North America to watch Toews play
Enns, whose mother is the sister of Jonathan Toews’ father, has followed his cousin’s career closely for years. He says the family made several trips to Chicago to watch him play with the Blackhawks, including attending Stanley Cup final games both in Chicago and Tampa.
“It was crazy,” Enns recalled. “The fan base in Chicago was really good, really fun to watch too. But I'm sure it's going to be even more fun watching him in Winnipeg.”
The excitement extends to the next generation as well. “My 15-year-old boy is super pumped that he's going to be playing in Winnipeg,” said Enns. “There’s going to be a lot of fun this season. It'll be a busy schedule for us, I guess.”
Enns says the family will likely be shopping for season tickets soon and jokes that they'll need to buy some new Jets jerseys. “Hopefully, he’s still #19. We’ll find out pretty soon,” he added.
Steinbach community celebrates local connection
The possibility of seeing Toews bring his championship experience to Winnipeg has created quite a buzz, not just in the family but across the community. “My phone's been ringing off the hook this morning,” said Enns. “Everybody’s super excited.”
While the signing announcement came as breaking news for most fans, Enns admits the family had an idea this might happen. “We knew for a while that it was his first choice to be on the Jets for sure,” he said. “But you never know — it's a business. Agents and different things have an effect, too. But yeah, we all knew that [Winnipeg] was the front runner. That's where he wanted to play.”
Now that the deal is nearly official, the family is looking forward to seeing Jonathan Toews suit up just an hour down the road from Steinbach. “It should be great. Looking forward to it,” said Enns.
And if Toews were to win one more Stanley Cup, this time in Manitoba? “That'd be quite the way to finish your career off, right? That'd be pretty unreal,” said Enns.
-With files from Kenton Dyck.