EA Sports cover-boy Kane still a kid at heart

A month ago, some thought there was a possibility Tuesday might never happen for Patrick Kane.

But with the legal problems resulting from his Aug. 9 arrest for that altercation with a cab driver cleared up and in the past, Kane's world took a giant step toward being right again Tuesday with the worldwide release of EA Sports' NHL 10 video game with the Blackhawks' all-star winger as the prestigious cover boy.

Only the NHL's best and most popular players have been selected by EA Sports to grace the cover of its popular game.

"It's pretty sweet," Kane said. "It's one of those things that once it happens, I don't think anyone can ever take it away from you. As a young kid I remember playing the games and always saying I wanted this game with a certain guy on the cover. It's pretty exciting for me."

Kane got an advanced copy of the game and said he has been playing it for up to four hours a night.

"I always give me the puck," Kane joked. "I think I completed a season in two days, simulating games and playing some, too."

Kane was teased by a few teammates for the cover shot chewing on his mouth guard, which has become his trademark.

Tomas Kopecky, who came to the Hawks from the Red Wings as a free agent in July, said that was something he always remembered when playing against Kane - him chewing on that darn mouthpiece.

"He's like a little kid always chewing on something," Kopecky said. "I talked to him about it and told him I'm going to bring him some gum. But that's his habit and that's what makes him special."

Kane zinged some his teammates right back, telling Adam Burish and Jack Skille that he had traded them to Edmonton on the video game in exchange for his buddy, Sam Gagner, and dropping Jonathan Toews to the second line.

Why trade Burish?

"He's from Wisconsin, that's why," Kane said.

"He texted me when he first got the game and told me he traded me," Burish said. "Then he told me I had a real low rating on the game, which kind of ticked me off."

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville doesn't know much about video games, but he has been pleased by what Kane has shown him on the ice in the first three days of scrimmages.

Kane was dazzling in Tuesday's morning scrimmage with a goal and 2 assists in a 6-4 win for his team. Kane made perfect passes to set up goals by Kopecky and Nathan Davis, then later beat Corey Crawford with a stuff shot after a burst out of the corner.

"Kaner had a good day on the ice," Quenneville said. "It looks like he's got a little bit more quickness in his game. We all know that he can handle the puck and make plays and is a special player, but he looks like he's a little bit stronger than he was last year and a little quicker."

Quenneville had no worries coming into camp about Kane and whether his off-ice issues might from the summer might affect him in a negative way.

"We all learn from things we go through in life and it makes you a better and stronger person," Quenneville said. "That should help him as we progress here throughout the year and hopefully he can respond to it as well."

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