By Alan Snel
LVSportsBiz.com
He’s part of the outdoor landscape of a Vegas Golden Knights hockey game at T-Mobile Arena and he’s so popular in the most understated way and so committed to the Knights that he gets free ticket offers to go inside the Big Ice House to watch the VGK home playoff games at no cost.
Yet, Matt “The Flagman” Helfst has his standards. The rail-thin 33-year-old, who runs a chess website from his Las Vegas home when not waving a Golden Knights flag back and forth endlessly, has declined all ticket offers except one time. (When I say Helfst waves the flag endlessly, it’s no hyperbole. Helfst literally flies the Golden Knights colors ceaselessly before games and during games and during all practices at the team’s practice facility in Summerlin.)
Helfst said he was offered a $300 Game 6 Sunday ticket by a fan who admired his flag-waving ways. But Helfst said he respectfully declined the offer because he is not allowed to bring his flagpole and VGK flag into the arena. LVSportsBiz.com chatted with Helfst Saturday during the Golden Knights practice about why he won’t accept free playoff tickets that normally would be gobbled up by any VGK fan.
LVSportsBiz.com posted part of this video interview and it drew some fun comments. Take a peak.
It should be noted that Helfst did attend his first playoff game Tuesday when he stopped to chat with LVSportsBiz.com at our “Top of the Escalator” preview segment on Facebook Live. But though he had his VGK flag, he did not have the pole and was not in the position to go into flag-waving mode for Game 4 Tuesday. You can tell Helfst just isn’t being true to himself if he has a flag but is without a pole to wave it. That’s why the man with the highest flag-waving standards in the biz now declines free VGK playoff tickets.
Helfst’s commitment to his flag-waving ways is unquestioned. He waved the flag through a wintry wet snow mix in February and shows up at all VGK events such as watch parties. Will the Golden Knights let him wave his flag inside the arena one day?
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Would you like a muffin with that beer?
Golden Knights tough guy Ryan Reaves is known for his boxing skills on the ice and his Seven-Five Brewing Company, with local brewer Able Baker making Reaves’ “Training Day” day beer.
Well, after Reaves and his San Jose Sharks adversary Evander Kane traded punches during Game 3 in Las Vegas, Kane quipped that he thought he was fighting the “Muffin Man.”
Reaves ran with that crack and changed his Twitter profile pic to this.
After Saturday’s practice, LVSportsBiz.com asked Reaves about pairing muffins with his Training Day beer. He smiled and quipped that he’ll think about that idea after Sunday’s Game 6 at the Big Ice House by the Strip.
LVSportsBiz.com also chatted with VGK goaltender Malcolm Subban about the muffin and Reaves beer pairing and he suggested Reaves create a banana or chocolate chip muffin-flavored beer. I’ll pass on that thought to Reaves after Game 6.
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Flower pulling more pranks?
Golden Knights prankster goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury just may have pulled another funny stunt, this time with a few hockey sticks at practice Saturday. Fleury laughed and said he could neither confirm nor deny the hockey stick shenanigans.
LVSportsBiz.com also caught up with VGK forward Jonathan Marchessault after today’s practice.
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LVSportsBiz.com will be back at the Top of the Escalator before Sunday’s VGK-SJS game. We will also be on the plaza before the doors open to T-Mobile Arena. See you there.
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