HERNING, Denmark – It didn’t take long to identify a captain for this year’s U.S. Men’s National Team.
When Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y./Chicago Blackhawks) accepted the offer from general manager Bill Zito (Milwaukee, Wis./Columbus Blue Jackets) to come play at the 2018 IIHF Men’s World Championship, Zito had an extra message for the forward.
“Billy Zito told me that they were going to name me captain right away,” said Kane, who totaled 27 goals and 49 assists for Chicago this season. “To be honest, I didn’t really expect it but I was really excited by that news.”
It marks the first time Kane, a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks who has twice represented the U.S. in the Olympic Winter Games (2010, 2014), including helping Team USA to a silver medal in 2010, has served as captain on the international stage after he was an alternate captain for the U.S. at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
“I haven’t been a captain since I was a little kid,” said Kane. “To be captain for Team USA, especially at a world championship, is a huge honor. There are so many good leaders and players on this team.”
Kane has a goal and four assists through three games in Denmark
After creating numerous chances and picking up a pair of assists in Team USA’s first two contests, Kane found the back of the net for the first time in Monday's win over Germany. He also collected two assists, including one on Blackhawks’ teammate Alex DeBrincat’s (Farmington Hills, Mich./Chicago Blackhawks) third-period goal.
“Playing with Kaner, you’re going to get a lot of chances,” said DeBrincat, who is skating on his second U.S. national team after helping the U.S. earn a bronze medal at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship. “He kept telling me not to get frustrated when some early chances didn’t get buried and he was going to keep finding me. It’s good playing with someone like that because you’re going to get more than one chance each game.”
Kane’s willingness to ‘stick with it’ after some early chances didn’t find the twine stuck out to head coach Jeff Blashill (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich./Detroit Red Wings) as well.
“I thought as the game went along he kept sticking with it,” said Blashill, who has now won nine of 11 games behind the bench for the U.S. Men’s National Team. “He had a couple of early chances that didn’t go but he worked through it and ended up getting a crucial goal for us.”
Kane, U.S. Player of the Game against Germany, and Team USA will look to open the competition with a fourth straight victory on Thursday (May 10) against Latvia at 10:15 a. m. ET. All U.S. games are being televised live on NHL Network.
Date | Opponent | Round | Result | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tues., May 1 | Denmark | Exhibition | W, 3-2 | KVIK Hockey Arena Herning, Denmark |
Fri., May 4 | Canada | Preliminary | W, 5-4 (SO) | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Sat., May 5 | Denmark | Preliminary | W, 4-0 | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Mon., May 7 | Germany | Preliminary | W, 3-0 | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Thurs., May 10 | Latvia | Preliminary | W, 3-2 (OT) | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Fri., May 11 | Korea | Preliminary | W, 13-1 | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Sun., May 13 | Norway | Preliminary | W, 9-3 | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Tues., May 15 | Finland | Preliminary | L, 2-6 | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Thurs., May 17 | Czech Republic | Quarterfinals | W, 3-2 | Jyske Bank Boxen Herning, Denmark |
Sat., May 19 | Sweden | Semifinals | L, 0-6 | Royal Arena Copenhagen, Denmark |
Sun., May 20 | Canada | Bronze-Medal Game | W, 4-1 | Royal Arena Copenhagen, Denmark |