A Test For Kane

from Steve Rosenbloom of RosenBlog at the Chicago Tribune, Patrick Kane has been getting time on the penalty-killing unit. Yes, the most offensively magical Blackhawk is hopping over the boards on the most thankless unit. What gives? Here’s what gives: This is Kane’s career at a crossroads. I don’t care if it’s early in the professional life for the kid who’s still not old enough to drink (even if he’s old enough to allegedly beat up a senior cabbie). And I don’t care if Hawks coach Joel Quenneville is underplaying the move by saying it’s just a “way of getting him a little bit more ice time in the course of games.’’ This is a career-defining opportunity that Kane needs to master. Adult skate, kid. At least, it has been that way with players Kane grew up watching, if not idolizing: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Steve Yzerman, Mike Modano and Joe Sakic. The greatest offensive forces took shifts on the most defensive unit. continued