PATRICK KANE: “It’s going to be fun to have some time off and kind of hang out and be a real 19-year-old kid again.”
Kane craves time to chill (and hold the ice, please)
by John Vogl -- News Sports Reporter
Updated: 04/30/08 9:14 AM
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- South Buffalo native Patrick Kane has been busy making hockey relevant again in Chicago.
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FALMOUTH, Maine — Don’t get Patrick Kane wrong. Life is amazing. He’s the cover boy for USA Hockey. He’s the toast of Chicago and the NHL. And he’s only 19.
Therein lies the rub. He spends so much time in the spotlight, he never gets a chance to be a teenager. In a few weeks, that will change.
“I’m looking forward to the summer,” Kane said. “I’m not going to lie, it’s going to be fun to have some time off and kind of hang out and be a real 19-year-old kid again.”
The South Buffalo native is going to help the U. S. team try for gold at the world championships through May 18, then he’s going to put away the skates for a while. He has a couple of ideas planned out. He’ll book a flight and a hotel room. More important, he’ll meet up with the friends who have been texting and calling throughout his rookie season for the Blackhawks.
“I’ll probably take a vacation somewhere and just maybe hang out back in the hometown,” Kane said at U. S. training camp. “It’s always nice going back there and kind of hang out with your buddies. It should be good to get away from the game for a bit, I think.”
The break will allow Kane to finally reflect on the past couple of years:
He made a life-changing decision to leave the U. S. national program, move to Canada and play in its junior league. He went to Sweden for the world junior championships. He came back and was named Ontario Hockey League Rookie of the Year. He was taken first overall in the NHL draft. He threw out a first pitch in Wrigley Field. He played all 82 games for the Blackhawks, simultaneously living up to expectations, answering doubters and making hockey relevant again in Chicago. He was named as a finalist for the NHL’s top rookie award. Finally, he’s back with Team USA for the world championships.
If that sounds like a long list, imagine living it.
“The past year, maybe even two years, have been crazy,” Kane said. “After this it’ll be nice to kind of reflect on what happened the past couple years and sit down and relax and enjoy some time off.”
The frenzied lifestyle could frazzle men much older. But the calmness and poise Kane displays on the ice is what carries him through the mind-spinning events.
“He seems mature about it,” said Sabres forward Jason Pominville, who is Kane’s roommate with the Americans. “He handles himself well. He’s a good guy, talented player.”
There are no questions about the talent. He broke the Blackhawks’ single- season assists record for a rookie with 51. He is the favorite for the Calder Trophy to be awarded June 12 in Toronto. He had the best play for the United States in its 5-1 exhibition win over Sweden on Sunday, pulling a spin-o-rama in front of the net to find an open teammate for a goal.
“He just had that confidence and poise with the puck,” USA forward and West Seneca native Lee Stempniak said. “He never seems rushed. He sees the ice really well. He’s dangerous not only by himself, but he makes other people dangerous.”
The scary thing is, Kane knows he can get better. He wants to improve his shot, get stronger and be more consistent.
“This was a good first year for me. I think I’ve just got to keep building on it,” he said. “I think there’s a step up in my game, another level up that I think I need to get to for next season.”
But, as he said, first he’ll take some time to reflect on this season. There was the shootout goal against the goaltender he grew up watching in Buffalo, Dominik Hasek. It was the first time Kane found the net in the NHL. There was the game in HSBC Arena in which he scored on his second shift to impress his family, friends and hometown. There was a game against Colorado in October.
“Growing up my favorite player was Joe Sakic, and the game I scored my first goal, I was named first star and he was named second star,” Kane said. “Things like that hit you, and after that you’re like, ‘Wow, is this happening?’ ”
They are happening, and they are happening fast. Last fall, not everyone was convinced the 5-foot-10, 160- pounder could excel in the NHL. Now he’s on the cover of the USA media guide, and he’s likely to lead the country into the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
“He’s the future of the game,” Pominville said.
Now Kane just needs a few minutes to reflect on the past.
“Oh, yeah, it was an unbelievable year,” he said. “The years just seem to keep getting better.”
