CHICAGO — Patrick Kane won’t be old enough to legally have a beer at the Billy Goat Tavern, or anywhere else, until he turns 21 Nov. 19.
But the Blackhawks right wing, the NHL’s Calder Trophy winner in 2008 and one of the young stars in Chicago’s NHL renaissance, is old enough to give some sage advice to Avalanche rookie Matt Duchene.
Kane went first overall in the 2007 NHL draft, Duchene third this year. Although Kane is an American who passed through the U.S. national team development program, he, like Duchene, played in major junior in the Ontario Hockey League before being drafted. They never played against each other, since Duchene joined the Brampton Battalion the season after Kane departed the London Knights, but Kane is fully aware of Duchene and his background.
What would Kane say to Duchene?
“Sometimes the stardom kind of gets to you a little bit,” Kane said Friday after the Blackhawks’ practice at the United Center. “It’s fun, it’s all a good time, and especially in a place like Colorado that’s a hockey place now. They’re an up-and-coming team, kind of like us a couple of years ago.
“This is my third year and it seems like I was drafted yesterday. When you’re drafted that high, you’re expected to become a good player, so I’d just say work hard every day and enjoy the ride.”
Kane had 46 goals in his first two NHL seasons, and he still has a stall in the dressing room next to the Blackhawks’ other major young standout, former University of North Dakota center Jonathan Toews, 21. They both were in the NHL All-Star Game last season and were instrumental in the Hawks’ advance to the Western Conference finals against the Red Wings.
“We’re probably expected to get as far as we did last season or further, especially with the team they put together, signing (Marian) Hossa and other things,” Kane said. “We have a lot of good things ahead of us. This offseason was a little troublesome with some of things that happened off the ice, but on the ice, we enjoy each other and we seem to click as a team. We’re just trying to move forward and move on to better things.”
The “troublesome” moments included Kane’s guilty plea to disorderly conduct charges in the wake of an August disagreement Kane and his cousin had with a Buffalo, N.Y., cab driver. Kane and his cousin, James Kane, were given conditional discharges, meaning they won’t be penalized if they stay out of trouble for a year.
They also were required to apologize to cab driver Jan Redecki, who collected $15 for a $13.80 fare, then gave the Kanes $1 in change and couldn’t provide the other 20 cents in change. The underplayed part of that story was that the driver, in a typical strategy in areas with many college students, locked his passengers in the car until they paid, and that the Kanes apparently were offended by that lack of trust.
The lesson he learned, Kane said, was “just how privileged you are to play this game for a living, and how you can be a professional after you get to the top level.
“You have the microscope on you, and you have to watch what you do at all times,” he said. “It was one of those things that I look back on and say it might have been nice to move forward, but it’s going to be with me, something I’m going to have to learn from. A lot of people have said it’s maybe better to have it happen now than later in life. I’m going to try to take a positive from a negative situation.”
Kane has two goals and two assists in four games, having failed to get a point in the Blackhawks’ Saturday night home opener against Duchene and the Avalanche at the United Center. He had one goal in each of the Blackhawks’ season-opening games against Florida in Hel- sinki. Chicago also played a pair of exhibition games against Swiss teams on the way to Finland.
“The fans were different, especially in Switzerland with their home teams,” Kane said. “They were really into the games with their chants and the drums, different things like that. It was pretty cool to see a crowd like that; it kind of reminded you of a soccer crowd with the way they acted. In Finland, it was a different crowd. It didn’t feel like a home game or an away game. They rooted for both teams and I thought we went out there and gave them a pretty good show.”
Spotlight on …
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville
CHICAGO — Joel Quenneville, the former Avalanche assistant and coach, took over the Blackhawks early in the season a year ago, so Saturday night’s game against Colorado was his first home opener as Chicago’s coach.
After the Blackhawks further rekindled hockey interest in Chicago and made the Western Conference finals last season before losing to Detroit — and then signed unrestricted free agent Marian Hossa to a huge contact — nobody needs to tell Quenneville that expectations and pressures both are high for 2009-10.
“We’re lucky,” Quenne- ville said after the Blackhawks’ Friday practice. “It’s great to be here. The excitement in the building and the town is incredible. Everywhere you go, they know who you are, they’re talking Blackhawks hockey.
“They’re excited about the team. The building’s as loud and noisy as any building has ever been. You can get something from that.”
The Blackhawks opened the regular season with a pair of games in Helsinki against the Florida Panthers. They lost the first 4-3 in a shootout and won the second 4-0. They also played a pair of games against Swiss teams on the way to Finland, beating Davos 9-2 and losing 2-1 to the Zurich Lions in what was billed as the Victoria Cup game.
“We were busy,” Quenneville said. “We were disappointed we got beat for the Cup they had there in Switzerland. I think that got our attention going into Finland. We were only there for a couple of days, and I like how we played. We didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but the guys were together a lot and that can help too. We’ll take something out of it, but we’re happy to be back.”
Hossa will be out until at least late November after undergoing shoulder surgery. “It’s going to be fixed and he’ll be ready to go and fine,” Quenneville said. “He’ll be a huge addition when he returns, but we’re comfortable with the depth we have up front. We still can put out four lines that can all score.”
