Maybe not quite. But Boisvert, the physical No, 18 overall draft pick, is heading to the University of North Dakota, where Toews played two seasons before turning pro.

Before he embarked on what should be a Hall-of-Fame, 15-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2007, Jonathan Toews played two seasons at the University of North Dakota.

Time will tell if that same path will pay off as well for Sacha Boisvert, the second of three first-round selections Chicago had in an 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft. Selected 18th overall in Las Vegas on June 28, the 18-year-old forward will play for the Fighting Hawks as a freshman next season after two productive years with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound native of Trois-Rivières, Quebec scored 36 goals and 68 points in 61 games with the USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks in 2023-24, improving markedly in a second season with the junior club.

“He put up some good numbers in the USHL, which traditionally is not the easiest league to put offense up in,” Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said. “And then just the physical package. You see him and there’s just so much room to fill out and growth.”

Don’t let Boisvert’s boyish face and still-rangy frame fool you. He’s already hard-nosed and projected to be effective, like Toews was, in one-on-one battles in the NHL. Boisvert may not turn out to be as subtle, however.

“He plays with, like, a real edge, and real physicality” Davidson said. “There’s a lot of appeal around both the offensive side and the abrasiveness he plays with.”  See following video.

Davidson didn’t event consider that both Boisvert and Toews have a connection to North Dakota until after the draft. The GM didn’t want to draw comparisons.

“No, we weren’t trying to recreate Jonathan Toews,” Davdison said. “We won’t put that on him.

“It’s a great path. North Dakota’s a great program and Jonathan had a ton of success coming out of there.” See following video.

Mentions Lindros, Tkachuk As Role Models

Boisvert didn’t mention Toews, but did call out former NHLer Eric Lindros and current Florida star Matthew Tkachuk as players he likes to watch.

He said he patterns his style after players “who can play a physical game and also put the puck in the back of the net and make plays.

“I take a lot of pride in being an all-around player,” Boisvert said. “Not only doing the plays and the fancy goals and all that, but winning my faceoffs, going to win battles in the corners and the physical game and every little detail taken care off.”  

Sounds a little like Toews. See following video.

“He’s the guy that brings the combination of skill and physicality, he likes to play that power forward game,” said Dan Marr, vice president of NHL Central Scouting. “He can defend himself, he can win the 1-on-1 battles and he initiates the 1-on-1 battles. This is a guy that when you go into a scrum, he’s going to come out with the puck.”

Boisvert left a francophone environment in Trois-Rivières, midway between Montréal and Québec City, to attend Mount St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island as a 14-year-old. Boisvert learned English in a hurry and accelerated his hockey trajectory as well.

Toews, although from Winnipeg, was bilingual by virtue of his parents.

The Blackhawks had already taken Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov with the No. 2 overall pick before selecting Boisvert in the 18th slot.

Chicago obtained this year’s 18th pick in a trade with the New York Islanders in June. The Blackhawks sent an existing second first-round pick (20th overall) and two second-round picks (54th and 61st overall) to the New York Islanders. Chicago also got the the 50th overall pick, in the second round from the Isles in the deal..

The Blackhawks had originally acquired the No. 20 pick in 2024 from the Tampa Bay Lightning as part of the trade for forward Brandon Hagel on March 18, 2022.