Saturday was the final VGK Development Camp scrimmage.

Golden Knights Sell Out Final Development Camp Scrimmage, But VGK Flagman Gets Boot From Arena

By Alan Snel

LVSportsBiz.com

 

It wasn’t even 10 in the morning Saturday but that didn’t stop Vegas Golden Knights fans from slamming back beers and gulping bloody Marys as they watched the final scrimmage of the VGK Development Camp 2019 at the Knights’ training center in Downtown Summerlin.

It was another sellout in the rink normally used by the Golden Knights varsity team, with tickets selling for $25 a pop for season ticket holders and $35 each for the general public.

The Golden Knights cheerleaders were in the aisles during scrimmage breaks as familiar VGK game music tracks filled the stands and rolled-up T-shirts were tossed to fans.

A young happy fan celebrates after catching a free T-shirt Saturday at the VGK scrimmage.

 

VIP ticket holders who sat along the benches next to the scrimmage squads soaked up the experience for $200, too, as they watched potential future big league Knights like forward Cody Glass and defenseman Nic Hague among the 43 players.

VGK superfan Matt “Flagman” Helfst was outside waving two Golden Knights flags on a single pole after security gave Helfst the boot from the development camp scrimmage.

“As much as the team wants to push me away, I’ll still be here,” Helfst said outside City National Arenas as he waved the two flags on the lone pole. “It breaks my heart. I’m just supporting my team.” Here’s Helfst’s story:

“They might be able to kick me out, but they cannot take the flags out of my hand,” the banished Helfst said. “Go Knights Go.”

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Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.