Kane Atlanta-bound

Montreal—the Atlanta Thrashers have been looking to draft a power forward for the longest time and may have found the answer in Evander Kane.
 
Kane has been moving up draft boards for the past few weeks and it seemed a natural fit the Thrashers would match up with him with this choice. Unless there is an unexpected deal Kane will have an opportunity to team up with superstar Ilya Kovalchuk, although both players are goal scorers rather than set-up men. It may turn out Kane might turn out to be Kovalchuk’s replacement rather than line mate.
 
“Evander has been a really good player for us. From the blue-line in he really has a nose for the net; he takes the puck to the net very hard and is very competitive in that area,” said Vancouver (WHL) coach Don Hay. “He’s learned over the past year to be more dependable and more responsible killing penalties and playing a two-way game. His biggest improvement is that he always wants to make a difference on the ice. A lot of players that age don’t want to be on the ice, or don’t want to be in that situation when the game is on the line, but Evander wants to be in that situation all the time.”
 
PHN Analysis; The team hopes Kane can mesh with some of the club’s younger players on the roster and bring the club back into the playoffs. This was the perfect pick for Atlanta as he fills a need on the roster and due to his background he could become an important community link for the Thrashers as they struggle to bring fans in, but make no mistake, this is an excellent hockey choice and the community aspects are a pure bonus.