As part of TSN's extensive coverage of the 2019 IIHF World Hockey Championship, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger sits down with some of the game's prominent personalities in Slovakia discussing the hot topics of the day.

In this edition of 'Dreger Cafe,' Darren chats with Patrick Kane and James van Riemsdyk of Team United States.

Here is a taste of what stood out:

Kane on his experiences with the World Hockey Championship

“I came after my rookie season and then took a long time off to come back up until last year and had a pretty good time last year. I thought it helped my game, kind of led me into a good season last year and then when it was looking like we weren’t going to make the playoffs you start thinking about the possibility of coming back and playing for US again. I think the biggest thing is that the US hasn’t won gold since 1933 so it would be nice to be a part of that team.”

Kane on what he’s seen from projected No. 1 pick Jack Hughes at the World Hockey Championship

“He has that “it” factor. He wants to be the guy. He wants play hockey and do it well so you can tell how much he loves the game from certain memories he has about a bunch of players in our locker room. He’s a fun kid to talk to.”

Kane on being drafted ahead of van Riemsdyk and the comparisons Hughes is getting with Kaapo Kakko

“It’s good for the game of hockey. These kids are so young. You look at Jack, the youngest player to ever play for the Americans in this tournament. Seventeen-years-old coming in, he’s wearing a cage, he’s switching over to a half shield mid-tournament. I remember in 2007 there was obviously a little bit of the unknown of what was going to happen in that draft and Riemer had all of his buddies there in the crowd, chanting his name so thankfully they didn’t boo me when I got drafted.”     

Van Riemsdyk on new Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault

“I got a chance to say ‘Hi,’ we were eating at the same restaurant the other night, so just a brief little hello. You see his track record and he’s been a part of some teams that have had some good success and made it to the Finals and I’m sure he’s hungry to get back there and hopefully win one this time. We’re excited to get started and go from there."