Patrick Kane has been one of the best players in the NHL over the past decades. The 34-year-old forward played his first game in the big league in 2007 and immediately showed the world his potential.
He scored 21 goals and recorded 72 points in his debut season for the Chicago Blackhawks, and it was just the beginning of something special.
Kane’s still a world-class forward, and many believe he’s obvious for the Hall of Fame once he retires. Kane has 31 points this season, so he’s not nearly finished.
Kane gained the attention of hockey fans as a teen as words got around of how talented he was. But a fun fact about him is that he was featured on a hockey card way before making his NHL debut.
If you look closely at Sylvain Turgeon’s trading card from the 1994-95 Pinnacle hockey set, a young kid is sitting in the front row, happy as ever. That kid happened to be Patrick Kane, just six years old.
“You could look at that picture and I’m just a young kid looking up at some hockey players, like any young kid would,” Patrick Kane told the Chicago Tribune.
In the photo, Kane is sitting on his father’s lap, and with wide eyes, he’s starring at Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuck. Hawerchuck and fellow Sabres player Doug Bodger was in a battle for the puck with Sabres player Turgeon, and Pinnacle used it as his hockey card.
“He has a smirk on his face, like he’s laughing because Hawerchuk is tripping me. … He still has that smirk when he’s playing,” Turgeon said.
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The card’s value went up after people discovered that Kane was on it. It wasn’t worth more than a dime for a long time, but soon after Kane’s breakthrough in the NHL, one was sold for more than $70.
“That’s some pretty good value,” Turgeon laughed. “There must be some reason behind it. It’s because he’s sitting in the stands.”
Patrick Kane’s father said he visited a card shop in Buffalo to secure more copies of the card. He actually got the card for free since the owner didn’t see value in it.
Kane Sr. then pointed at his son and said, ”It might have som value one day.”
“This is the first hockey card I was ever on, so it gets a lot of attention,” Patrick Kane said. “I don’t know how many people know about it, but every now and then someone will come up and say, ‘Hey, you know you’re on this hockey card?’
“It’s pretty funny.”
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