Patrick Kane

For Patrick Kane, hockey was a lifelong calling, and he proved to be one of the NHL's most impressive talents in the new millennium. Born on November 19, 1988 in Buffalo, NY, Kane's hockey career began when he was just fourteen years old, with a stint for the USA Bobcats, which earned him an MVP title, the first of many. Kane spent the next two seasons with the Honeybaked AAA hockey club in Detroit, where he roomed with former NHF player Pat Verbeek. From there, Kane joined the United States U-18 National Team Development Program, leading the team in scoring with 102 points. Kane spent his last two pre-NHL seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights. He again established himself as a leading scorer, with 145 points in his first season, enough to crown him the OHL rookie of the year. In the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Kane was selected first overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. On his first season with the team, Kane was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy for best rookie player. He lived up to the hype by taking his once lowly team all the way to the playoffs next season, where they were eliminated in the Western Conference Finals by the Detroit Redwings. Kane would personally make up for that loss during the next season, on June 9, 2010, when he scored the game-winning goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime during game six of the Stanley Cup finals. It was the first time the Blackhawks had won the Stanley Cup in 49 years. Kane would go on to lead the Blackhawks to Stanley Cup victory again in 2013 (where he won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoffs MVP) and 2015. During the 2015-2016 season, Kane won both the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP, and became the first American-born player to win the Art Ross Trophy for league scoring champion.