Why The Hockey World Is Fascinated With Patrick Kane

There are at least 4.6 million reasons why hockey fans are always interested in what’s up with Patrick Kane. That’s how many people watched the YouTube video of his Bauer stickhandling drill a decade ago.

The hockey community has long had a fascination with Kane as a player. His is the classic story of a smaller player making a huge impact in an arena where size and strength do matter. It’s his skill. His ability to anticipate what is about to unfold. His competitiveness.

“Incredible career,” Toronto forward John Tavares said. “Very unique player. Knowing Pat a little bit…he really loves to play. Whenever I played against him in minor hockey, junior hockey or now professionally, he just loves to play. ”

There was plenty of Kane chatter around the league Tuesday because as a free agent he chose the Detroit Red Wings, who haven’t made the playoffs for seven seasons. Kane has three Stanley Cups on the resume. Kane played 1161 games for the Chicago Blackhawks. The Red Wings were Chicago’s arch-rivals during his time there.

Sleeping With The Enemy

“It’s going to be weird seeing Kaner in that (Detroit) sweater,”  Blackhawks forward Phillipp Kurashev said.

Chicago’s Connor Bedard agreed that it will be strange sensation for Chicago fans to see him wearing the Detroit Winged Wheel. “It’s probably weird for him too,” Bedard added in a video that made the rounds on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

The hockey world’s fascination with Kane goes back before he debuted in the NHL. The magic of his stickhandling was evident when he was very young.

Kane never was without a stick in his hand and a ball on its blade. Golf ball. Tennis ball. Hard plastic ball. Weighted balls. Whatever was at his disposable, Kane used.

“When we would travel to tournaments, he would stickhandle into the hotels,” his father, Pat Sr. said. “We would go in the back door, and he would stickhandle up the stairs to the second or third floor.”

The Kane Video

The YouTube video with the millions of views was for a Bauer commercial. He moves a puck, at impressive speed, through a ring of four pucks, then 20 pucks and finally 40 pucks with spellbinding precision.

Some of his NHL buddies thought special effects were used. But none were. In fact, it took Kane only 20 minutes to film it. His skates don’t even touch the pucks.

That’s the skill that has allowed Kane to be third-highest scoring American NHLer (1,237 points in 1,180 games). It’s plausible he will be No. 1 by the time he retires. He’s 154 points behind Brett Hull who was born in Canada, but is a dual citizen because his mother is American. Hull committed to U.S. National Team participated when he was a college player.  Michigan native Mike Modano is between Kane and Hull. Modano is 137 points ahead of Kane. Interestingly, once Kane suits up, all three will have played for the Red Wings.

“Everyone was anxious to see where Kaner signed,” Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe said. “Obviously, he’s heckuva player. He’s going to add to wherever he signed. Overall, it’s good for the league when he’s playing. So, glad to see him back out there.”