My Las Vegas Hat Trick: Hockey, Bicycling and Red Rock Canyon

By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com

 

As I do most mornings shortly after dawn, I was slowly pedaling up the steep hills of the Red Rock scenic drive outside Summerlin Monday.

 

And as it typically happens, a bicyclist was closing ground on me as I was gasping for air around Mile 2, where I try to focus on the pleasant red rock landscape instead of on my legs screaming, “no mas.”

 

He passed me easily and mentioned, “We signed up for this, eh?”

 

My brain, moving only an eyelash faster than my slow-moving legs, processed the facts: The bicyclist with tree trunks for legs was a super-friendly dude who ended his sentence with “eh” with that signature-Canadian question-mark tone. Plus, there are six NHL rookie squads playing in nearby Summerlin at the Vegas Golden Knights’ training center, so the local area is crawling with Canadians.

 

So, I summoned all the energy I had — which wasn’t much to begin with — and sprinted to catch up with the friendly bicyclist and asked him, “Hey, are you with the hockey league?”

 

He was surprised and answered, “Yes. How did you know?”

 

So, I went on to explain I was a journalist covering the business side of sports in Las Vegas for LVSportsBiz.com and trying to follow the twists and turns of the Vegas Golden Knights.

 

The bicyclist was a former Los Angeles Kings defenseman named Rob Cowie who goes by the nickname, “Cowboy.” He’s now a scout for the Nashville Predators living in Arizona and he drove to watch the Vegas Rookie Faceoff tourney featuring the young prospects of the Golden Knights and five other Western Conference teams.

 

The drive included taking his DeRosa road bicycle, which he pedaled up the steep hills of the popular Red Rock loop road. I saw him take a peak at his cell phone.

 

I asked him what he thought about the Golden Knights acquiring Max Pacioretty from the Montreal Canadiens.

 

Cowie said that’s why he was looking at his cell phone — he was hoping to learn more about the blockbuster trade.

 

I told Cowie I was watching Nick Suzuki only the night before play for the Golden Knights rookies against the San Jose Sharks prospects. The Knights packaged Suzuki, forward Tomas Tatar and a second round draft pick for the prized Pacioretty,

 

One moment I’m watching Suzuki screen the San Jose Sharks’ goaltender on a Golden Knights power play. Then bam — the young promising prospect is off to Montreal.

 

“I know, I saw him too,” Cowie said. “That’s the business.”

 

Indeed, LVSportsBiz.com wrote about that very topic when VGK General Manager George McPhee broke the news to the 19-year-old Suzuki Sunday.

 

As a Nashville scout, Cowie obviously knows Predators President Sean Henry — a fun-loving former food and beverage guy who I got to know in Tampa, Florida where Henry worked as the chief operating officer for the Tampa Bay Lightning. (Henry was the best forklift operator in the Lightning’s front office.)

 

Cowie told me to tell Henry that I had met “Cowboy” on the bike ride. And lo and behold, Henry knew Cowie.

 

“Great guy,” Henry emailed me of Cowie.

 

The Red Rock scenic drive is a little more than 12 miles of pavement that s-curves its way up into the scenic Spring Mountains, with the pavement reaching a peak of 4,771 feet.

 

Not only is it my daily morning spiritual retreat via two wheels, it’s a place where we let our guard down from the “real world” and bicyclists and visitors chat with each other without hesitation.

 

I’ve met splendid friends on the Red Rock loop while we bicycled and chatted.  I met my pal Scott, a former veterinarian and now a close bicycle buddy who also hails from Brooklyn; another terrific former New Yorker, Anthony, who owns Broadway Pizzeria in Las Vegas; and Erik, a talented photographer who has published his terrific work on LVSportsBiz.com such as this photo.

 

I love Red Rock and it’s the inspiration for my own social media hashtag — #NBW (Nature Before Writing).

 

Maybe you’re reading this and we will bump into each other on the Red Rock loop one day.

 

Now it’s off to City National Arena and see what the Golden Knights rookies are up to (minus Suzuki).

 

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