This isn't the first time that Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews has been compared to Hall of Famer and current Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman.
The similarities in their game are hard to miss. Both became captains at a young age. Both embodied the ideal of the tough, gritty-but-talented two-way forward. Yzerman won three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings - Toews is currently courting his third Cup at the ripe old age of 27.
The fact that Toews has drawn comparisons to Yzerman is not surprising, but the latest person to endorse the comparison is - the man himself, Steve Yzerman.
In fact, according to Yzerman, whose hungry young Bolts team is set to square off with Toews' been there, done that Blackhawks squad Wednesday night in Game One of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, Toews is actually better than he was.
"The reality is that Jon is bigger, stronger ... better. He just is. Tremendous all-around player, great person," Yzerman said, via Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports.
Yzerman has gotten some up close and personal looks at Toews in recent years, as he was the general manager of the last two gold medal-winning Canadian Olympic teams. Toews was an important part of both groups.
"I got to meet him at the world championships in person for the first time in 2007, in Moscow. He played for us right out of North Dakota. Fit in on the team, one of our best players," he said.
As Wyshynski notes, Yzerman did not always play the same hard-nosed, two-way style, which Toews no employs and which invites the comparisons.
"Over the course of my career, my play evolved and became, through [coach] Scotty Bowman and the way he wanted our team to play, we became more defensive-minded players. More well-rounded players," he said. "And Jonathan's been that since Day One when he came into the League. Just a complete hockey player."
As for the ever level-headed Toews, he refused to agree with Yzerman's assertion of his superiority.
"I think Steve is very complimentary person. I think everyone here knows that's pretty much untrue."
