Blackhawks: Kane is still the best American-born hockey player

With the NHL inching closer to their season, and the World Junior Championship in the books, I think it is important to revisit the legacy of one of the Chicago Blackhawks.

The United States took home the gold during the World Junior Championship, beating out Canada in the gold medal game. One of the Blackhawks’ own prospects, Landon Slaggert, took home a medal in the event.  A lot of the players on that team will go on to have promising NHL careers, but at the end of the day, the best American-born hockey player resides in Chicago.

Patrick Kane has done it all in his career, and he is not done yet. Capturing three Stanley Cups, one Conn Smythe, the Calder Trophy, an Art Ross Trophy, the Hart, and the Ted Lindsay Award. Every season of his career, he was a lock for the all-star game, and he led the Blackhawks year in and year out.

Kane is one incredible hockey player, and when it comes to American born hockey players, he is near the top. Different sites might put other players above Kane when it comes to the best American, but in my opinion, Kane is the best.

Throughout the first 13 years of his NHL career, Kane has put up 389 goals, 633 assists, and 1022 points over the course of 973 games. While the years Kane was winning the Stanley Cup were great, it was what came after that has amazed me so much.

From 2016 on, Kane has put up incredible point totals even on some bad Blackhawks teams. While he is now 32 years old and might be entering his decline, the Blackhawks number one draft pick can still be effective for a long time to come.

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The players in this year’s World Juniors grew up watching Patrick Kane play. They grew up modeling their game after Kane and hoping to one day play in the NHL. While every generation has their greats, I do not think it is out of the question to say Kane will be the best American Born hockey player of all time when all things are said and done. Hopefully, he will be able to add to his legacy this coming season.