"The Exciting Thing is My Body Feels Good": Patrick Kane Debriefs First Full Practice as a Detroit Red Wing
Patrick Kane speaks after his first full practice as a Detroit Red Wing
On Monday afternoon from the locker room at Little Caesars Arena, Patrick Kane spoke after his first full practice as a Detroit Red Wing.
He was the last player to return to the locker room after practice and, of course, the most anticipated—a small swarm awaiting him as he made his way to his stall in the far corner of the room, then traded his helmet for a ball cap, before sitting down to speak.
At practice, he had skated on a line with Joe Veleno and Alex DeBrincat, while also taking reps on the first power play unit for Detroit—playing on his familiar right flank. A power play role in particular suggested that Kane might be poised to make his Red Wing debut in his hometown of Buffalo Tuesday night, but the winger described that as unlikely, with a home game against the San Jose Sharks Thursday his more probable debut fixture.
Kane explained that he feels as though his injured hip and his conditioning are where they need to be and that "The biggest thing is going to be getting up to game speed and NHL speed again."
"The exciting thing is my body feels good, so that's a big step in the right direction," he said, before acknowledging that his return to game action might not be easy. "It might take some games to get up to speed and just playing at this level, so if it takes a couple weeks, that's what it is."
Kane reiterated that he doesn't feel as though his conditioning needs work at the moment but rather that there's an element of "learning the game again" that comes from a roughly six-month stint on the shelf injured.
When asked for his preliminary assessment of his new team, Kane said he sees "a close group," adding "It seems to me like they have a lot of fun with each other, a lot of fun at the rink." Kane said he found that reminiscent of the three Stanley Cup teams he played on with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he found a correlation between how well the group got along off the ice and their collective performance on it.
Of course, Kane is still learning his way around with his new team, and I mean that literally. Before wrapping up Monday, the 35-year-old chuckled as he recounted a story from Thursday night's win over the Blackhawks. Kane was dropped off in front of LCA but didn't quite know where to find the players' entrance. As a result, one Blackhawk fan and quickly 15-20 more descended on him for photos and greetings, before he eventually made his way inside.
So, while it won't be tomorrow night and might take a little while to regain full comfort even once it does happen, Kane's Red Wing debut is imminent, and the winger himself is feeling good.
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