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"There's 44 guys there," Hughes, a centre for the New Jersey Devils, recalled of that late-August gathering. "And probably like 35 of them, their favourite player growing up was Patrick Kane." 

The three-time Stanley Cup winner and veteran of the 2010 and 2014 Games — always a long-shot for the 2026 event at age 37 — was present for those meetings, but didn't make the final cut when the American roster was announced. 

Kane's influence still will be on full display when the U.S. hits the ice in Italy next month. 

"Special career," said Vegas Golden Knights centre Jack Eichel, set to make his Olympic debut at the Milan Cortina Games with the NHL back for the first time in 12 years. "When you think of USA Hockey, he's one of the first players that comes to mind, if not the first." 

Hughes, also poised to play at the Games for the first time, said Kane's quick hands, flash and flair for the dramatic left a mark on a generation of Americans.

"He's maybe got the best highlight reel of all time," Hughes said. "As a kid, you watch all of his videos, and you're like, 'That's the guy you want to be.' 

"He's 'Showtime' … definitely changed the game."

Kane is also on the verge of sitting atop his nation's all-time scoring list. 

The Buffalo native reached 500 goals — the fifth American to touch the mark — last week and is just four points shy of passing Mike Modano's record of 1,374 for a U.S.-born player. 

Now a winger for the Detroit Red Wings after a stint with the New York Rangers, Kane was a key part of the Chicago Blackhawks' dynasty that hoisted the Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The No. 1 pick at the 2007 draft also helped the U.S. win silver at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

"Just the want to always make a play and to do it was pretty special," Minnesota Wild forward Matt Boldy said. "You don't see it in a lot of guys. He was just always a guy that had the puck."

Red Wings linemate Alex DeBrincat cheered for Detroit growing up in Michigan, but respected what Kane — the 2013 Conn Smythe winner as playoff MVP — brought every night. Now he gets to see it up close on a daily basis.

"Fun as it was the first day we got put together," DeBrincat said of the 2015-16 Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award winner. "The stuff he does is still incredible. I've learned so much, from the way he plays the game to how he treats his body."

Boston Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy idolized Kane, the Calder Trophy winner as NHL rookie of the year in 2007-08 and the league's leading scorer in 2015-16, before getting to play against him in the NHL and with him for the U.S. at the 2018 world championship.

"An incredible … everything," McAvoy said. "As a kid watching Chicago when they were going on a run, you're watching him do stuff that just, at the time, people didn't do. He laid the foundation for the shiftiness in the hands of so many guys."

Buffalo Sabres centre Tage Thompson said Kane's ability to drive play from the wing with a smaller frame shifted views and deployment within hockey.

"Used to copy him, his gear, his celly, just such an iconic player," Thompson said. "It was not normal for a smaller guy to make such an impact offensively. He broke through and, I think, changed that for a lot of kids."

And also set a new standard south of the border.

"An absolute legend," McAvoy said. "And it's great that he's an American."

FIGURING IT OUT

The Toronto Maple Leafs were in big trouble. Among a list of Cup contenders in training camp, they woke up Dec. 22 last in the Eastern Conference with a paltry 35 points from 35 games. 

The under-fire club axed assistant coach Marc Savard — in charge of an inexplicably porous power play — later that day and then surged up the standings and into a playoff spot thanks to an 8-0-2 run that ended with Tuesday's 6-1 road loss to the Utah Mammoth.

It would be unfair to pin the Savard's man-advantage units as Toronto's only issue at the time of his dismissal, but a group that sat last overall (13.3 per cent) in the entire NHL under his watch this season now ranks eighth (28 per cent) in 11 games under new hire Steve Sullivan. 

This report by ºÃÉ«tvwas first published Jan. 14, 2026.