It’s a twofer this week! Cue Katharine Lee Bates, Francis Scott Key, Bruce Springsteen, et al. The torch is about to be passed between these two fellas.
It’s no secret that hockey is the national sport of Canada. Most of game’s superstars through the early years hailed from cities big and small from all over Canada.
The American’s were a little later to the party and in this week’s Fan Teaser we honor a pair of the modern-day U.S. NHL superstars.
Mike Modano was born in Livonia, MI, not too far from Detroit, and learned to play the game as a means of channeling his mischievous behavior. It certainly worked! He was just the second American-born player to have been selected first overall in the NHL Draft (Brian Lawton was the first) and went on to play 21 seasons, 20 of which were with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise. He played 40 games in his final season (2010-11) with his hometown Detroit Red Wings.
It was with Detroit – in Detroit – that Modano scored the final of his 561 goals and 1,374 points of his career on March 30, 2011, against the visiting St. Louis Blues.
For the past 15 seasons, Modano’s career points mark has stood as the standard for American-born players.
Mike Modano, left, is a Livonia, MI, native who established the record for most NHL points by an American-born player (1,374) while playing for his hometown Detroit Red Wings during the 2010-11 season. Patrick Kane is a Buffalo, NY, native who’s closing in on Modano’s record (1,373) and, ironically enough, will break the record as a member of the Red Wings. (Modano photo by Detroit Red Wings/Kane photo by Dan Hickling)
Now, another No. 1 overall draft pick (2007) and current Detroit Red Wing, Patrick Kane (Buffalo, NY native), is on the precipice of surpassing Modano.
Kane pulled even Modano earlier this week with an assist against the Los Angeles Kings and then surpassed the former Stars’ legend with an assist on a teammate’s goal against the Washington Capitals. Heading into Sunday’s game with the Colorado Avalanche, Kane now has an American-record 1,375 NHL points.
Currently playing his 19th NHL, spent the majority of his first 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, the team that took him with that top pick back in 2007. Shockingly (to Chicago fans, at least), he was traded to the New York Rangers in advance of the 2023 trade deadline as part of a 3-team trade. A year later, after rehabbing from hip surgery, Kane signed with the Red Wings as a free agent, meaning that the American-born Kane has spent his entire career (to date) with three of the four U.S. Original Six teams (the Boston Bruins being the other).
Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.