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COLUMBUS -- Patrick Kane and James van Riemsdyk are forever linked as the top two picks in the 2007 NHL Draft.

Come Saturday, the two will also add to their League-leading totals among skaters to play in outdoor games when the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium (6 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, Disney+, TVAS-D, FX-CA).

Kane, the Detroit forward who was the No. 1 pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2007 NHL Draft, will play in his seventh such game, breaking a seven-way tie for second all-time. Van Riemsdyk, the No. 2 pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007 and current Columbus forward, will extend his record to eight outdoor games.

"They're all special and unique in their own way," van Riemsdyk said. "They're always fun, because I think it brings a lot of people in your support circle that helped you a lot along the way. So I know I have a bunch of family and friends that are coming that have been in [my] corner all the way through, and that [helped me] a lot along the way, especially now I'm older and have kids."

Van Riemsdyk has played in the Winter Classic three times, the Stadium Series twice, and the Centennial Classic and NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe once each; four of those games having come with the Flyers and three with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He's 3-3-1 in those games and has three goals and six points.

"Getting a chance to go to some college football games over the years, (I've) been to some at The Big House (in Michigan), been to one here this year," he said. "It's a special environment, atmosphere, and this is obviously one of the premier ones with how good their program is here. So for us to kind of be able to share with that and get a taste of that's going to be pretty special."

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      NHL Now: Mike Rupp and LG preview the 2025 Stadium Series

      Kane has three points in six outdoor games, but just one win, going 1-5-0. He's played in the Winter Classic four times and the Stadium Series once, but this is the first time he’s gotten to experience it with his 4-year-old-son, Patrick.

      "I remember the first time I took him on the ice and skated with him, everyone was like, 'Watch bending over so much and picking him up,’" Kane said. "... So I kind of let (my wife) Amanda do all the work today and just sit back and enjoy just being out there with my parents and Amanda and Patrick and my sisters as well. I think that's the cool part about these events. It's an important game. It's a fun atmosphere. Obviously it ties in with the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, too, and you can enjoy your family."

      It's been nine years since Kane scored his lone outdoor game goal, in the 2016 NHL Stadium Series against the Minnesota Wild at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis when he was a member of the Blackhawks. He last played in an outdoor game in the 2019 Winter Classic, also with the Blackhawks.

      "The first one was really exciting (2009 Winter Classic), especially for us, the Winter Classic and the outdoor games, weren't really super popular at that point in time; there had only been a couple of them," Kane said. "For a while there, it seemed like [the Blackhawks] were playing an outdoor game every year. … But it's been, like, five or six years since I played in one. So it's exciting to get back outside and see that feeling of just like walking into a rink in the middle of a football field and seeing the lights and how many people the stadium can fit. Should be a fun day tomorrow."

      That 2007 draft took place at Nationwide Arena here in Columbus, another full-circle moment for Kane and van Riemsdyk, who won bronze with the United States at the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden, and were also teammates at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, 2016 World Cup of Hockey and 2019 World Championships.

      "It's a cool moment," van Riemsdyk said. "It's crazy to think it's almost 20 years ago now but it's amazing how time can fly and the different kind of ups and downs of your career to get to this point but it's all fun, all part of the journey."

      Kane, 36, has 1,319 points (485 goals, 834 assists) in 1,279 NHL games over 18 seasons. Van Riemsdyk, 35, has 657 points (325 goals, 332 assists) in 1,063 NHL games during 16 seasons.

      "It's always fun for me to play against him," van Riemsdyk said. "He's a great friend. We've been through a lot of cool events and things in our careers together. So he's definitely someone I think I've learned a lot from over the course of my career, and happy to call him my friend. We've been doing this for a while, so I don't take that for granted. Every chance you get to do something cool like that, and we get to do it against each other, it makes it even more special."

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