David Toews excited to be with big brother

David Toews couldn’t believe his good fortune when he was traded from the New York Islanders to the Blackhawks a week before the start of training camp.

For Toews, the positives of coming to the Hawks far outweighed what some might see as a considerable negative — joining an organization were his older brother Jonathan is well on his way to establishing himself as one of the most important players in franchise history.

His brother’s shadow is formidable, to say the least, but that’s OK with David.

“I’m excited to be here and excited to be with my brother,” David Toews said. “There are obviously going to be some high expectations.”

Maybe from the outside, but the Hawks see David Toews as a prospect fresh out of junior hockey who is still developing at age 21.

“We’re excited about the potential there,” said general manager Stan Bowman, who insisted he didn’t trade for David as a favor to Jonathan. “In fairness to him, he has to be judged on his own. It’s the same last name, but it’s not really fair to make comparisons.

“He’s here to earn a job. He’s still young, still in that group of players, and we have a lot in that age category, trying to establish themselves in that process.”

David is staying at his brother’s place during training camp, just as he did for much of the summer when the two were in town to train.

“We’re brothers when we leave the rink,” David said. “We do stuff together and sometimes we get sick of each other and have those brotherly battles, but we love each other as brothers and family and we’re always there to support me each other.

“That doesn’t change whether people expect me to do this or people expect him to do that.”

Jonathan is thrilled to have his younger brother with the Hawks even if the David’s likely destination this season is Rockford and the American Hockey League.

“I really didn’t see that coming,” Jonathan said of the trade that sent future considerations to the Islanders. “It’s going to be a huge opportunity for him. He’s one of those young players who has a lot of talent who has been through a couple tough years the last few years with injuries, those important years where you have to develop.

“He’s just looking for an opportunity. We worked out and skated together all summer and he was pushing me just as much as I was pushing him. It’s fun having him close by, whether he’s in Rockford or what might happen in the future. It’s nice to have him close by and talk him through some things.”

The brothers both play center, though Jonathan is a left-handed shot while David shoots right.

It was Toews vs. Toews in the first scrimmage of training camp Saturday — with Jonathan’s team winning 3-1 and the captain scoring a goal.

Several times the brothers were matched up against each other on the ice.

“I thought he played pretty good and made some plays and had some energy,” Jonathan said. “He had a good chance in the slot there and I said, ‘I can’t let him have this one.’ He hung onto it too long so I had the time to lift the stick before he got the shot off.

“If he keeps working and keeps making plays the way he did today he’ll get a few chances around the net and hopefully they’ll go in for him.”