Profile of Patrick Kane, the NHL's 1st Pick Overall in 2007

The era of Patrick Kane has officially started in Chicago. The NHL's 1^st pick over all signed a three year contract with the Blackhawk's on July 25, 2007. Dubbed as a "young and exciting player" by Chicago's GM Dale Tallon, this eighteen year old had an outstanding season last year for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. Kane scored an electrifying 62 goals in just 58 games for the Knights, and added 83 assists to his offensive totals. His performance earned him Rookie of the Year honors, and he was runner up for the league's MVP Award as well.

While big things were expected from Patrick when the Knights took a chance on him with a 5^th round selection a year earlier, not even the team's front office could foresee that he would come in and lead the OHL in scoring. Helped by having great chemistry on the Knight's line he played on, and getting a big boost of confidence from his outstanding performance at the World Junior Championship, Kane took off in January and never looked back.

Despite his fantastic season in the OHL, one might wonder how this 5-10, 160 pound American born player will perform in the rough and tumble world of the NHL. Yet, while he may be small by NHL standards, one only needs to look at the career of another American born player of similar height, build, and name, Pat Lafontaine, to gain a proper perspective on what Kane may go on to accomplish in the NHL. Like Lafontaine before him, who played for the U.S. Olympic team, Patrick Kane honed his skills playing for the United States National Team Development Program.

Kane who grew up in Buffalo watching the Sabre's team that Pat played on in the late 90's, is blessed with some of the same skills and attributes on the ice as Lafontaine. He combines dazzling puck-handling abilities and great vision with amazing quickness and a knack for finishing an attack by putting the puck in the net. Patrick also possesses the ability to slow down the tempo of a game and patiently wait for a scoring opportunity to open up before him. Like Lafontaine, he anticipates the play well and is able to get the puck to the open man.