Since being drafted number one overall in the 2007 draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, Patrick Kane has had huge expectations on his shoulders.
These expectations were mainly a result of his great skill set, but his junior linemate Sam Gagner- now an Edmonton Oiler- believed that his drive would make him a success at the NHL when he said this prior to the 2007 draft,”Obviously his skill level is unbelievable, but his vision out there and his scoring touch are something you don’t see very often. But mostly it’s his constant want to be the best and I think that’s why he’ll be good at every level because he accepts every challenge and be better than everyone else, but at the same time he doesn’t bring other people down in the process.”
From the start he has not disappointed, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy and leading Chicago in points with 72 during his rookie year as he proved critics wrong who believed he was too small. Since then Kane has continued to be one of the best players in the NHL- making each All-Star Game since his rookie year, winning a silver medal in 2010 and posting 74.25 points per season from 2008-2009 to 2011-2012- and has become an integral part of an extremely successful Blackhawks team.
Kane has also developed a knack for coming through in the clutch, with 52 points in 51 postseason games prior to the 2013 playoffs and a Stanley Cup win 2010. The team’s Stanley Cup win truly earned him the tag of clutch player, as Kane scored the series winning goal in overtime of Game 6 to bring Chicago it’s first Stanley Cup since 1961.
Despite accomplishing all of this, Kane still showed a desire to improve in all areas of his game and did just that prior to the 2013 season.
He showed up with a much more disciplined approach that led to him posting both the best points per game and the goals per game averages of his career during the regular season. These totals were helped by Kane getting himself in better shooting situations and taking smarter shots which led to him posting the best shooting percentage of his career, at 16.7%. His defensive play also got much better which led to more opportunities on the defensive side of the puck late in games and a +11 plus/minus rating that was the second best of his career. Kane’s improvement was a direct result of his willingness to improve at all costs, which was exemplified as he went to Switzerland during the lockout while many of his peers stayed at home.
During the postseason this approach continued as Kane led the Blackhawks in points on his way to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy and another Stanley Cup. This continued his career of showing up in the clutch and led Scotty Bowman to speak glowingly under his performance under pressure when he said,”He’s the ultimate pressure player. The bigger the game, the better he plays, and that’s a tough thing to do. There are a lot of players who shy away from that.”
With a willingness to improve at all times and the skill set to match any player in the world, Kane will no doubt continue to improve each season. While many believe there is only so high that he can reach, one person who will expect him to come back each year an improved player is Bowman who said of his improvement each year,”Each year, he would kind of work on a different thing, it’s an evolution for him.”
This drive to continue improving should have the rest of the league shaking in their boots with what he can accomplish in his career. Still at the ripe age of 24, he has likely not reached his physical peak and it is hard to bet against him winning scoring titles, MVP’s, more Stanley Cups or really any trophy in the future.
The sky is the limit for Patrick Kane.
24/7 Hockey 