Evander Kane has been learning some tough lessons about being a young hockey star in a small city.
Kane is a striking figure around Winnipeg. He’s a good-looking, 20-year-old millionaire who leads the Jets in goals. But he has also become the target of some nasty rumours, none proven and all vigorously denied.
First, there were reports early in the season that Kane wanted out of Winnipeg and that he didn’t get along with head coach Claude Noel. Kane shot down the suggestions and said he had no qualms with Noel.
Then, came recent rumours that Kane had left local restaurants without paying, prompting someone to post on Twitter.com: “Dear Evander: Please stop walking out on your bills. Sincerely, Winnipeg servers and restauranteurs.” Kane replied via Twitter: “Ha, Ha. What a complete lie this is but I really like the colours on the poster.”
The Jets looked into the allegations and said they didn’t stand up.
Compounding all of this has been Kane’s lack of production on the ice lately. While he leads the team with 18 goals, he hasn’t scored since Dec. 29, and had missed seven games because of a concussion. He returned to the lineup Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“All that [off-ice] stuff is false,” Kane said Tuesday. “It’s unfortunate that rumours like that happen. I obviously care about my reputation and want to have a strong reputation in the community, and it’s unfortunate that certain people are creating kind of negative mood around that.”
When asked what it felt like living in such a fishbowl, he smiled and replied: “It’s definitely interesting. This kind media attention is to be expected here. You’re in Canada and all eyes are on you, so it’s fun and I’ve enjoyed it so far.”
Kane has certainly been in the limelight before. He was selected fourth overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009, and immediately became the face of the franchise – in part because he was named after Atlanta boxing legend Evander Holyfield. When the Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg, Kane insisted on continuing to wear No. 9 even though it would lead to comparisons with Jets legend Bobby Hull. (Kane did talk to Hull about it and got his blessing.)
Kane is going through some harsh lessons in Winnipeg, Noel said.
“It’s tough lessons of life in a market that’s small,” the coach said. “I’m sure it’s had an effect on him. I don’t know personally how it has. We’re trying to work with him.”
Noel added the attacks on Kane have been unfair, “but that’s the world we live in and, you know, sometimes you get humbled and it’s a tough lesson. He’s dealing with it the best he can and we’re trying to help him. It’s tough. Who likes to be criticized every time you turn around?”
But at times, Kane doesn’t help his cause. His reply on Twitter only fed the restaurant rumour and he hasn’t been on the social media website much since.
When a reporter asked if he planned to use Twitter regularly any more, Kane replied: “I don’t know. Do you want to be my personal Twitter account supervisor or what?”
