Kane at camp
Kane, 26, was speaking at the Stanley Cup champion Hawks’ training camp at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana on Thursday. He said he could not get into specifics about the case but calmly told media at a press conference there that he is innocent of any wrongdoing.
”I cannot apologize enough for the distraction this has caused my family, teammates, this incredible organization and, of course, our fans,” said Kane. ”While I have too much respect for the legal process to comment on an ongoing matter, I am confident once all the facts are brought to light I will be absolved of having done wrong.’
”I know you guys have a lot of questions,” Kane added. ”I’d love to answer the questions. I’d love to answer them. I’d love to get in front of them and face them. This just isn’t the right time to do it with my respect, the Blackhawks’ respect for the legal process and what’s going on, I really can’t comment about that right now.”
Hawks: serious matter
There had been speculation that Kane might not attend training camp but he is there and partaking in camp. With him at the press conference were his coach, Joel Quenneville, his general manager Stan Bowman and Blackhawks President John McDonough. McDonough said his presence at camp came only after they examined the situation thoroughly.
”We recognize that Patrick Kane is dealing with a very serious situation,” McDonough said. ”Based on our discussions with his legal representatives who are very close to this matter, we have decided to have Patrick join us for training camp here at the University of Notre Dame.”
Team captain Jonathan Toews said the players are focusing on hockey and “on those questions that are relevant to us and our team right now.” He said that any questions about his teammate Kane would be addressed “at another time.”
On Friday at Kane’s first appearance on ice at camp a crowd of some 4,000 applauded and loudly cheered him. He got a second round of cheers when his name was announced over the loudspeaker after he assisted on a goal in a scrimmage.
“That’s a pretty cool reaction, especially given the circumstances,” he said later. “I didn’t really know what to expect, but you know, it’s one of those things where you’re going on the ice, you don’t know what’s going to happen and to hear that reaction from the crowd, definitely gave me chills.
“So it was an exciting moment.”
