Patrick Kane's Hart Trophy win helped him make NHL history. Getty ImagesPatrick Kane's history-making season ended with one more piece of hardware. After becoming the first American-born player to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league's scoring champion, he is now the first player born and raised in the United States to capture the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player.
The first American-born player to win the Hart was actually Billy Burch, who was born in Yonkers, N.Y., and won the award in 1925. Burch moved to Canada at a young age, however, and identified himself as a Canadian. Additionally, Brett Hull, who won the Hart in 1991 represented the United States internationally, but was born in Ontario. Kane was born and raised in Buffalo, playing every year of his amateur hockey in the United States, save for his pre-draft season in the Canadian junior ranks.
His victory comes at a time when American players are making their presence known in a bigger way in the NHL. Three of the six players named to the NHL's All-Rookie team were American-born, including Calder Trophy finalist Shayne Gostisbehere. Additionally, Scottsdale, Ariz., native Auston Matthews is expected to go No. 1 in this year's NHL Draft. He'd be the first since Kane in 2007 to go No. 1.
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