Top 30 athletes under 30-years-old

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Oct 7, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) controls the puck against New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) in the second period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

30. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks – 26 years old

Look, this isn’t about being a great human being who puts in 40 hours of community service on the weekends. We all know about Patrick Kane’s off-the-ice issues. The guy has gotten himself into a lot of trouble since joining the Chicago Blackhawks, but he has somehow kept it from affecting his play.

He won the Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year) at 19 years old in the 2007-08 season with 21 goals and 51 assists.

In his third year, Kane exploded for 30 goals and 58 assists during the regular season before serving as a vital piece of a Blackhawks team that won its first Stanley Cup since the 1960-61 season.

Since then, yes Kane has hung around the party scene too much, but he’s remained a beast on the ice. He compiled 205 goals in his first eight seasons and matched that with 352 assists during that time. More importantly, he’s helped lead the Blackhawks to two more Stanley Cups. In case you lost track, that’s three Stanley Cups in six years.

Kane is only 26 years old — mind boggling.

The only time Kane saw his points drop below 60 was when he totaled 55 points in the 2012-13 season – a year in which he only played in 47 regular season games because of an NHL lockout and one where he still notched 23 goals. And the Blackhawks still won it all that season.

If Chicago can keep Kane and Jonathan Toews together, the Blackhawks are going to continue to contend for championships. Toews came up with Kane, and it was hard to put one ahead of the other, but those are the breaks.

Next: No. 29 Luke Kuechly