The Toledo Walleye roster has gone through major upheaval over the last two weeks, but forward David Toews has provided at least one consistent presence in the lineup.

Toews, a rookie forward, has played in 16 of Toledo’s 19 games this season. The Walleye’s roster has been altered by 29 transactions over a 17-day stretch through Sunday.

  Toews has emerged as the team’s fifth leading scorer with one goal and six assists for seven points.

“It’s not an ideal situation when you’re trying to come together as a team,” Toews said. “Guys are getting shuffled in and out. It’s a challenge for us to fill roles every night. But you know what you have to do to be a successful team. We might not have known how to handle it at the start of they year. But we’re getting on the right path even with the guys getting called up.”

After getting off to a 2-7-0 start Toledo is now just one game under the .500 mark at 9-10-0. The Walleye went 2-1-0 last week and have won seven of their last 10 games.

“Everyone is willing to play with anyone on this team,” Toews said. “We have a tight knit group. Having those roster changes maybe helped us find chemistry that we would not have found otherwise.”

Walleye coach Nick Vitucci said he has never experienced such roster turnover, which has included injuries and trades, in his seven seasons as an ECHL coach.

“Every time my phone rings I cringe right now,” Vitucci said. “The toner on our fax machine is blinking right now with toner needed. It’s been crazy. This is way more than I can remember.”

Nine Walleye players have been called up to the American Hockey League, including the team’s top four leading scorers and top two goalies.

“We’ll see what our lineup looks like on Friday,” Vitucci said of Toledo’s home game against Cincinnati.

Toews said it was tough to see goalie Carter Hutton, who had started 12 straight games, get called up to Rockford. He added Ryan Zapolski stepped up nicely in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Chicago.

“Hutts had been playing well for us before he got called up,” Toews said. “It’s tough as a team when you lose a goaltender that had been playing that well. But Zapper played really well the other night. He couldn’t have looked any better.”

Toews also said it was tough when his linemate Joey Martin signed a tryout agreement with Houston of the AHL. He said he was developing a flow with the fellow rookie forward.

“But you fill spots and adapt,” Toews said. “I had to move to center the last game. It’s always been the little things that make a successful team. It’s part of the job to be ready to play every day, no matter who you’re playing with.”

Toews said he learned those lessons early on when he played every day growing up with his brother Jonathan, who is now an NHL all-star.

Jonathan Toews is the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks. The center helped Chicago win the Stanley Cup in 2010 when he was named the playoff MVP. Jonathan Toews also helped lead Team Canada to an Olympic Gold Medal in 2010.

David said the siblings played daily while growing up in Winnipeg.

“A lot of the times it was just me and him,” David said. “We’re only two years apart. He always had that hard working attitude. That helped me a lot. We pushed each other as kids to be the best we could be.”

Now that he is a part of the Blackhawks’ minor league system with Toledo, David Toews said the scouts are taking an even closer look at him.

“The expectations are high,” he said. “People are watching me being in the same system.”

Toews said being the younger sibling of an NHL star has much more upside than pressure.

“Having my brother as someone to talk to helps a lot,” David said. “He is a pro. He can give me pointers and ideas of what I can do to get better and have success.”

Toews followed his brother’s footsteps to college at North Dakota where he played for two seasons.

In 2008, he was selected in the third round of the NHL draft by the New York Islanders.

“It felt unbelievable to be drafted. That was a huge step in my career,” Toews said.

Last year he played for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League. Toews posted 48 points (20 goals and 28 assists) in 60 games last year in the major junior league.

Toews described his transition to pro hockey as a work in progress.

“I take it day by day. There is always something I learn or need to work on,” he said. “‘The goal is to be called up. But I’m in a good place here. It’s been great. The support in Toledo has been unbelievable.”

Toews, who scored his first pro goal on Nov. 19 in a 5-3 win over Reading, said his development as a pro has mirrored the team’s improvement.

“At the start of the year being a first year pro I have a lot to learn,” he said. “The start had been slow and the pucks were not going in. But I’ve learned and have gotten better. The last eight games I have had more success on the score sheet.”

Toledo has won five of the first seven games of a current season-high, eight-game home stand that wraps up on Friday. After hosting the Cyclones Friday, Toledo goes to Cincinnati to complete a home-and-home series game on Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, the Walleye will return home to face Kalamazoo.

Toledo is in third place in the ECHL North Division in front of Cincinnati and behind first-place Kalamazoo and second-place Chicago.

“At the start of the year we were just trying to find our identity as a team,” Toews said. “It took longer than we wanted. Every day we’re making strides.”

PLAYER APPEARANCE: Meet the team events will be held Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Wendy’s locations throughout northwest Ohio. There will be a free team photo giveaway and player appearances at most locations. For more information go to toledowalleye.com.

Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354 or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.

First Published December 7, 2011, 5:00 a.m.