Every athlete needs the support of the people around them to be successful, and if the amount of support a player gets is directly tied to how far they go in sports then Evander Kane is poised to become a superstar in the very near future. When he was selected as the fourth overall pick at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft on Friday evening in Montreal the crowd around him leapt to its feet and filled Bell Centre with raucous cheers. One family member, who turned out to be cousin Dwayne Provo, pulled out a Thrashers road jersey and put it on as Evander was mobbed by his family on his way down to the stage to pull on a Thrashers jersey of his own.

The outpouring of support didn't end there. After the Thrashers' first-round pick fulfilled his media obligations, got his promotional pictures taken, and signed a variety of collectible items for the NHL and Upper Deck, Kane rejoined his family on the club level of Bell Center. As he walked up the curved staircase a family member caught sight of him and the dozens of cousins, aunts, uncles, and immediate family members exploded in jubilation.

From the way the Kane contingent interacted at the Bell Center it's clear that the tight knit family members lean on each other for support, and that support has led some members to some very interesting places.

There's previously mentioned cousin Dwayne Provo, who played in the CFL for seven years and spent another season with the Patriots where he became good friends with former Falcon Lawyer Malloy. He's now a school health coordinator  and is also the International Council Chair for the American School Health Association- a position that will give him an excuse to travel to Atlanta regularly for meetings at the CDC.

Then there's cousin Kirk Johnson, who boxed for Canada at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and fought John Ruiz in a 2007 WBA Heavyweight title bout.

Uncle Floyd Kane is a lawyer and writer who also works in screenwriting and TV and film production.

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The incredibly close and incredibly large Kane side of the family comes from East Preston, outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Evander's father Perry grew up as one of five children and where his grandfather was one of 18 kids. Perry's father didn't always see the value in him playing hockey when things were tight for the family, but some of his athletic ability has clearly been passed on to Evander, whose mother Sheri and sisters Brea and Kyla are also athletically gifted. Sheri was a talented basketball player before a knee injury derailed college scholarship hope. Brea and Kyla are the MVPs of their respective high school basketball, volleyball and soccer teams according to Perry. Evander used to be a multi-sport threat himself, playing baseball, basketball and soccer while growing up in the multi-cultural city of Vancouver.

Despite being a former hockey player himself (he played for the Cole Harbour Scotia Colts and Dartmouth Arrows in the Metro Valley Junior Hockey League in Nova Scotia) in the  Perry Kane is humbled by the fact that his son has made it this far in hockey and is now a role model for other young players.

"You know what? Coming from a small black community and watching my grandparents struggle to raise 18 children and then seeing my father raise his five children- just to see that evolve to this point. I don't think anyone in our family thought that we would ever be here with hockey. Especially hockey. Hockey of all sports. I can't describe the feeling of how thankful we are to go out and have this opportunity to prove to the world and the people in Atlanta- Evander's going to come down to you and prove that he can play and I can't wait to see it."

Both Evander and his family are cognizant of the fact that as the fourth overall pick he is now the highest drafted black player in NHL history, and though they don't want to make a big deal of it they are aware that it gives Evander new opportunities to sell the game in a city as diverse as Atlanta, and many people in the family had hoped he would end up there. They were so hopeful that as they tried to figure out who would draft him they went out and bought a jersey without telling Evander which jersey it was. He didn't know which one they'd chosen until cousin Dwayne pulled it on the moment Evander's name was called by the Thrashers.

"We looked at some of the prognostications that were out there," explained Dwayne. "At the same time it was a little bit of putting together where we wanted him to be as well as where we thought he would go. At the end of the day we went with the one jersey and it turned out we were right. We were pretty confident with our choice. We went back in the family room and we told him 'Here it is. This is where you're going. We'll bring it out when they call your name.' It worked out pretty well."

Now that the family knows where Evander is headed they can't help but be excited for the opportunities in front of their son, who was named for Atlanta boxing legend Evander Holyfield.

"You never really hope for anything when it comes to the draft," said Perry Kane on Friday night. "You only want to hear your boy's name called, because you don't know what team he's going to go to or what could happen. But the fact that it was Atlanta, that he is in fact of African descent. It's going to make it special. He's going to open a lot of eyes there with his talent and what he brings to the table. I can't wait to see it all unfold. I can tell the people of Atlanta one thing. Evander is determined and the kind of determination he shows when it comes to being the best is second to none."

Video Feature: Behind The Scenes With Kane and Family