Patrick Kane, set to make his Rangers debut tonight, expects to bring more offense, and most importantly, a wealth of playoff and Stanley Cup experience, to a Blueshirts group hoping to replicate some of the success Kane had with the Blackhawks.
For Kane, he expects to see plenty of high energy from his new teammates, particularly the young core that the Rangers hope can build some semblance of what Kane helped build in Chicago in the 2010s, when his team raised the Stanley Cup three times in six years.
“The youthful enthusiasm,” Kane said when asked what excites him about his new teammates. “These guys are high picks and have had great careers so far.
“You look at [Filip] Chytil, he's really taken off this year. He’s having a great season. I really respect the way [Alexis] Lafrenière and [Kaapo] Kakko play. They play a physical, grinding style of play. For high picks, you don’t really see that too often.”
Chytil is having a career year at 23 years old, already well over his previous career high with 37 points on the season. The same goes for Kakko, who at 21 years old has a career-high 31 points so far this season, while fellow 21-year-old Lafrenière is just two points shy of his career high (31). All three earned valuable playoff experience last season, and while they will look to Kane’s experience should the Blueshirts make another deep run, Kane expects to be learning from the youngsters just as much.
“I’m excited to learn from these guys too,” Kane said. “I think these young guys coming up are so good nowadays, so excited to take a couple things away from them too.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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