On Monday morning, USA Hockey announced that Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane would serve as the captain of Team USA for the upcoming IIHF World Championships in Slovakia. The tournament is set to begin on May 10 and run through May 26. This will be Kane’s second year in a row serving as Team USA captain.
Patrick Kane named Team USA Captain
In back-to-back years, Patrick Kane will serve as captain of Team USA at the IIHF World Championships. Coming off of a career-best NHL season, Kane is set to play in his third IIHF World Championship tournament after finishing last year’s tournament as the MVP with 20 points in ten games, leading Team USA to a Bronze Medal over Team Canada. Kane previously played for team USA at the 2008 IIHF World Championships, playing in seven games and scoring ten points as Team USA lost in the quarter-finals to Team Finland.
Sep 9, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Team USA forward Patrick Kane (88) celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal in the first period against Team Canada during a World Cup of Hockey pre-tournament game at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Kane is coming off his best NHL season of his career after posting career-highs in assists (66) and points (110) and finishing with his second-highest goal scoring total his NHL career with 44 goals. In his international career representing the United States, Kane has skated in 50 games across six different levels of play, scoring 70 points. Kane has won a U18 World Junior Championships Gold Medal in 2006, a World Junior Championship Bronze Medal in 2007, an Olympic Silver Medal in 2010 and the World Championships Bronze Medal in 2018.
Other Chicago Blackhawks players that have been rumored or confirmed to be playing for their countries at the 2019 IIHF World Championships are Marcus Kruger (Sweden), Artem Anisimov (Russia), Alex DeBrincat (USA), Brandon Saad (USA) and Henri Jokiharju (Finland). Team USA is expected to announce their roster later this week.