Not Kidding: Patrick Kane Gives Youth Hockey Locker Room Makeover, Turns It into Night-Club

Patrick Kane may have had a chequered past, but he's trying to escape his rep by giving back to hockey's next generation.

Unfortunately, old habits die hard.

Kane made a surprise guest appearance today at the St Jude Knights youth hockey club to help unveil their brand new locker room. To say the kids were shocked would be wrong.

Dumbfounded, more like it.

"It has a mirror ball," said 12-year-old third-line centre, Navi Brar. "And a whole lot of poles ... I don't know what they're for. Maybe to help with stretching, I guess."

"Also, the stuff in the Gatorade buckets didn't smell much like Gatorade. It smelled like Mr Kane's breath."

The two-time Stanley Cup champ seemed oblivious to the confused mugs on the minors.

"The main thing for me is to come back and see the kids' faces and see how excited they are. It's a special day for me to come back and try to help give back any way I can to the kids.

"[The locker room] is a huge part of being a pro athlete. A lot of time and effort goes into the locker room that a lot of people don't really understand. There's recovering after games, or getting to know one another as teammates, or getting prepped before a game -- things like that. To have something like this that's a pro-caliber locker room for the kids, I think is exciting for them."