Kris Versteeg on what makes Patrick Kane so special as a player

Gregor: Did you see the greatness right away? 

Versteeg: Yeah. I mean, I remember I missed Spring Camp that year and my one buddy, Adam Berti, I was like, how’s that Patrick Kane? He goes ‘this guy is disgusting. He is incredible.’ So when I got to camp that year, I really got to witness it full hand because I was like, well, first off, I thought I was going to make the team out of camp that year. And then I realized I was competing now against Kane. And then I was like, oh, I don’t got a hope. So that was like the first real time where I got to see Patrick live and how good he could be. The one thing people don’t quite understand about Patrick Kane is how much dedication he does put into the game and how much he actually loves the game. Like I remember I would call him in like July and I’d be like, what’s going on? He’d go, ‘i’m just heading to the rink’ and he’s like, what are you doing? I’m like, ‘well, I haven’t been on the ice like a month,’ you know, like I’m working out. So he was like he was always on the ice all summer. And that doesn’t work for everyone. I’m not saying that works for everyone. It’s just he never had a burnout. He just loves the game. He was always on the ice before working on is whether it be a shot. That’s why I think his shots evolved over time, too, is he just worked on it and worked on it before practice. He would stay on the ice after practice work. And again, it’s not for everyone. I’m not saying what he’s doing is for everyone, but I’ve never seen a guy in the NHL love the game of hockey more than Patrick in your season with Chicago.