With Hawks' training camp finally here, Kane can shift focus to hockey

To Patrick Kane's critics, Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman wants them to remember one important thing.

Kane still is only 20 years old.

Kane will be one of the centers of attention on Sunday when the Hawks open training camp at Johnny's Ice House, but that would have been the case even if his arrest last month for an altercation with a taxi driver never happened.

This is a big year for Kane, who is certainly considered one of the NHL's star players after racking up 46 goals and 142 points in his first two seasons with the Hawks.

Kane must work to repair the damage his image took from the arrest. His contract is up at the end of the season. And he needs to continue to develop as a two-way player, not only for the Hawks to succeed but to earn a coveted spot on the U.S. Olympic team.

That's a lot to handle for a kid who won't turn 21 until November.

"It wasn't an easy summer for him and he'll be the first to tell you that," Bowman said. "He grew up a lot and learned a lot. The thing is people make mistakes in all walks of life, and it's what you do from that point on.

"The only thing he can do is move forward from here and that's what he said he's going to focus on. When training camp starts he wants to go out and prove what he can do on the ice and let that be the most important thing.

"The one thing about him is he's a pretty focused kid in terms of wanting to prove what he can do on the ice."

There likely will be more questions about the arrest, but for Kane it's all about hockey starting today.

"It happened and I've got to live with that," Kane told reporters Thursday at press conference for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and I've got to look at the positives that came out of it."

Kane is a marvelous offensive talent, a natural scorer who has a nose for the net. He might be a better passer than scorer with 96 assists in his first two seasons.

What the Hawks want to see is Kane become more of a complete player. He had 9 goals and 5 assists in 16 playoff games last spring but was minus-9.

"I think the thing with both he and Jonathan (Toews) is they've only been in the league two years and they get compared to players, whether it's (Henrik) Zetterberg or (Pavel) Datsyuk or other guys who have been in the league 10 years," Bowman said.

"It took those guys a little bit to become those great players. I think Patrick is going to evolve into that player. To become the type of all-around player that's one of the best in the league, it's a process."

Bowman believes Hawks coach Joel Quenneville made great strides with Kane last season in terms of being more responsible in his own end.

"He's always been a gifted scorer every level he's ever played at, and I think where Joel has worked with him is to be an all-around player," Bowman said. "You don't want to stifle their offense and make him into a checker, but the coach has to be confident they can play both sides of the rink, and when that happens they're going to be even more valuable to the team and they're going to be more dangerous."

Added Bowman: "It's not going to happen overnight. Because he's been such an elite offensive player for so many years at other levels, he's never had to develop that part of his game.

"I think if you look back to when he was a rookie, last year he was better than his first year, and next year he'll be better again, but is he where he'll be when he's 28? No, but he wants to be a go-to-guy and in order to be a go-to guy you have to be a well-rounded player. If you look around the league those top players are the one who can play in every situation, and I think he'll get there."