Kaner Takes The Next Step:

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Kaner takes the next step

by viper staff Added 2010-05-31

He’s the kind of player you’d like to see stay one more year, but Cory Kane will spend his 20-year old campaign with the Ferris State Bulldogs in Michigan.

Known variously as “Kaner” and “Danger Man”, the 6’3, 190 lb. speedster from Irvine, California has thrilled Viper fans with his rushes and powerful shot in his two years with the local club. Observers fully expected him to be drafted by the NHL last year, and were surprised when Cory’s name wasn’t called.

In a recent conversation, he had a sense of wonder in his voice when he said, “I came up here to play a little hockey, and we win two national championships. Amazing!”

To some extent, his arrival in Vernon was the product of a happy accident. As he describes it, “Ferns and Willie saw me at a showcase in Anaheim. They were actually there to scout Chewy (Steve Weinstein). I asked them for a tryout … I wasn’t promised anything, but I made the team, which I really wanted to do when I saw how the Vipers do things.”

He adds, “It’s been a blast. It’s not just living here, or playing for the Vipers. It’s everything; I mean, this is a real hockey town. Everyone seems to love the game, so I feel right at home. Back in L.A., it’s baseball, it’s football. Those sports are O.K., but I love hockey.”

He got hooked on hockey in the Los Angeles area when he was just “5 or 6.” He watched his older brother Chris play and said, “Get me out there!” (By the way, Chris played college hockey at Merrimac College in Boston, where Mike Collins will be re-united with Kyle Bigos this fall. Chris made the trip to Dauphin to see Cory play in the RBC Cup this May.)

Cory played most of his minor hockey in L.A., for the L.A. Wave and the L.A. Selects. Then he spent a year and half in the Boston area playing Jr. “B” and Jr. “A” for the Boston Jr. Bruins.

Since coming to Vernon, Cory has worked hard at becoming a complete player. He became one of the Vipers’ fiercest body checkers, a part of the game that he really enjoys. His size, strength, and shot prompted the Viper coaches to play him at left wing, including a lengthy stint with the Jones brothers earlier this past season. He had some success at that position, most notably against Trail. He notched 6 goals and 3 assists in four games playing on the wing against the Smoke Eaters in the early going.

However, his natural position is centre, where he can wheel and deal coming out of his zone. “Yeah, I loved playing with Connor and Kellen. Who wouldn’t? But I have to admit that I have more fun at centre, playing the full length of the rink, and having more room to move.” A classic example of the Danger Man’s ability to create plays from his zone came in this year’s RBC final game, when he opened the scoring. He picked up a loose puck in his zone, wheeled around, out- skated his check to the Dauphin zone and unleashed a shot from the right faceoff circle to beat the goalie on the stick side.

He collected 28 goals and 43 assists in the regular season and playoffs this year. He had expected more goals, but he says that his shot had lost some velocity compared to last year, when he had 26 goals. This year he went to a shorter stick in order to improve puck control, but he “switched back to a longer stick in the Powell River series and started to shoot the puck better. I had some goals down the stretch, so I think it worked.”

He admits to having mixed feelings about leaving Vernon. “I guess I have to move on, but this was a great place to be. We were treated so well.”

When asked about the opinion, expressed by many, that he has all the tools to make it to the NHL, he replies, “We’ll see. Of course, that’s what you want, but there have been a lot of good players here in Vernon. I hope we all make it. In the meantime, I have to work on a lot of things, like my shot and my hockey smarts.”