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ATLANTA -- The Vancouver Giants were hoping to get him back, but it's not going to happen.
Ilya Kovalchuk may be the one who stirs the drink, but rookie Evander Kane is giving Atlanta Thrashers fans another reason to get excited.
"I's happy with the ways things have gone so far this year," Kane said. "It was my goal coming in here to make the team. And as much as Vancouver is a great place to play and a great organization, I didn't want to go back other than in the summer to prepare for training camp."
With a pair of goals in a 7-0 pounding of the Los Angeles Kings on Friday, Kane, 18, heads into this afternoon's game against the Edmonton Oilers with 11 points, putting him sixth in rookie scoring.
He's becoming more popular by the day in Atlanta as the skills he displayed as junior in Vancouver transfer to the NHL level.
"He's getting better every game," said Thrashers head coach John Anderson. "He started off real good, then he had a little bit of a lull and now he's picked his game back up again. We're really excited to have him and we're really excited for him, we'd love to see him get going as far as scoring is concerned, then maybe his role will change just a tad."
Kane was the fourth overall pick in last summer's NHL Entry Draft.
The Vancouver native had 48 goals and 48 assists in 61 games with the Giants last year.
As is the case with any teenage player trying to make the jump from junior, there were some doubts as to whether Kane would stick with the Thrashers this season.
"He's a very level-headed young man and he has a very grounded personality," Anderson said. "He just wants to be a part of this team and loves being in the National Hockey League and loves being part of the Atlanta Thrashers.
"He still has a tremendous respect for where he is and that's what's keeping him on the ground."
Unlike some other rookies around the league who are put up with veterans in their first season in order to learn the ropes, Kane is living on his own in Atlanta. It's just another adjustment he's had to make.
"It's the first time I've lived on my own, it's definitely a change but I feel I'm ready for it and it's an exciting time," he said. "Atlanta is a great city. It's a flashy city a little like Vancouver, so it's been good.
"I think in the preseason I was maybe a little bit in awe and it took some time to get used to everything. But since the regular season started I've just been focused on trying to play my game and not try to change anything making that jump to the NHL."
DEREK.VANDIEST@SUNMEDIA.CA
WHO TO WATCH
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THESE TWO PLAYERS IN TONIGHT'S GAME
SHAWN HORCOFF
The Oilers centre will be back in the lineup tonight. Horcoff had missed the Oilers previous four games with a shoulder injury. While a big key in the face-off circle and penalty-killing, he has yet to hit his stride offensively with five points in 15 games.
ILYA KOVALCHUK
One of the elite offensive players in the league, Kovalchuk has seven points in two games since returning from a foot injury. In the Thrashers 7-0 win over the L.A. Kings on Friday the Russian sniper had two goals and a pair of assists.