Blackhawk forward Adam Burish risked being attacked by fellow Chicago tough guy Ben Eager for calling teammate Patrick Kane “embarrassing.”

No, Burish was not referring to the sophomore sensation’s disappointing offensive performance in the Western Conference Finals. Instead, he was talking about the 20-year-old’s playoff beard. If you could call it that.

Burish, whom coach Joel Quenneville throws out on the ice for the sole purpose of hitting anything that moves, has a point.  Patrick Kane, one of the two pillars of the Blackhawk franchise and the 2007-2008 winner of the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year), had better brush up on his beard-growing skills before next year’s spring tournament.

For the uninitiated, hockey’s second-greatest playoff tradition holds that a player must not shave from the end of the regular season until his team is eliminated from the playoffs. Most players manage some serious growth, especially if they make it to the third round or later.  (For the record, the best tradition is the hand-shaking ceremony following each playoff series).

The casual observer may be excused for mistaking Kane and fellow young star Jonathan Toews for pubescent teenagers playing high-school hockey when judged solely by the thickness and length of their facial hair.

But that casual observer would be wrong.

Toews, who has only been able to order a beer legally for a month and a half, was named the third-youngest captain in NHL history last July and he never wavered on the job. In his first year as team leader, Toews skippered the Blackhawks to their first playoff appearance since 2002. After a slow start in the scoring department, he led the team with 34 regular-season goals. Then he carried the Hawks deep into the playoffs with seven postseason tallies and 13 total points. Toews played especially well in the Conference Finals against the evil Red Wings, scoring goals in an ugly manner to keep Chicago close.

Kane, too, made a strong impression in his first postseason. After netting 25 goals in 80 regular-season contests, his output skyrocketed when it counted most. Kane led the Blackhawks with nine playoff goals, although he struggled defensively at times. His ridiculous, late-game, that-kind-of-shot-should-be-illegal third-period goal against the Wings in Game 5 briefly extended Chicago’s season. Kane went right around Jiri Hudler in the neutral zone, then sped down the right side and moved in on Detroit’s Brett Lebda. A left-handed shooter, Kane appeared to run out of real estate as he neared the goal line, but he lifted a terrible-angle backhander just under the crossbar with seven minutes remaining to send the game into overtime.

The Blackhawks, who eliminated two out of Canada’s six teams in the 2009 playoffs, will be looking to do even more damage in the postseason next year. Kane and Toews may not be able to grow a goatee, but look for them to be serious forces in the National Hockey League for years to come.

photo credit: empty_netters