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Patrick Kane will be the 9th Knight to have his number (No. 88) retired in London Jan. 17 vs. Sudbury. Despite playing one season here, GM Mark Hunter called it a no-brainer. Said his individual 06-07 season one of the top "3-4 in Knights history". — Ryan Pyette (@RyanatLFPress) August 30, 2019

Hunter believes Kane deserves exceptional status for his 2006-07 campaign (62 goals, 145 points in 58 games) and called it one of the top “three or four (individual) seasons in Knights history.”

“Everything comes into play,” he said. “Some have played five years here and deserve it for what they did, but he put up 145 points in tough structured hockey. I think he put on a display for the fans and for our organization, then became an integral part of three Stanley Cups.

“It’s well deserved.”

The 30-year-old Buffalo native was a hot-shot scorer in minor hockey but the Knights managed to draft him in the fifth round, 88th overall of course, in 2004. He arrived as an an undersized winger with a lot to prove and left as the top scorer in the country and the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft.

“People didn’t give him his due recognition,” Hunter said. “He put up ridiculous numbers in minor midget, so it didn’t come out of nowhere. He was five-foot-six, maybe 130 pounds and think of what he accomplished with no size, weight and strength.

“He grew here, got bigger and made his case across the Canadian Hockey League and North America as an amateur and went first overall.”

Kane scored the Stanley Cup winning goal against the Flyers in 2010, became the first American-born player to win the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP and remains one of the biggest stars in the game today.

Kane is expected to attend the banner-raising ceremony in January.

“It’s all good and things can change in hockey,” Hunter said, “but right now, he is coming.”

rpyette@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/RyanatLFPress