By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
October 1 is a rough day in Las Vegas. The tornado of emotions of fear, profound sadness, confusion and anger comes rushing back on this date if you lived through the mass shooting massacre that claimed the lives of 58 people at an outdoor country music concert on the Strip Oct. 1. 2017.
Nine days later in 2017, a new major league hockey team, the Vegas Golden Knights, hit the ice for the first time for a regular season home game. Sports can be a hot button, but in Las Vegas the Knights galvanized a community in a way that few local institutions could.
So Tuesday, the City National Arena practice ice bleachers were packed with first responders and even Gov. Steve Sisolak, who, at the time, was the Clark County Commission chairman in 2017 and was a public face in the post-tragedy healing. Sisolak was also at that Oct. 10, 2107 VGK game, which resulted in a Golden Knights win over the Arizona Coyotes.
Today, the Knights invited several hundred first responders to watch practice from the stands before they walked into the training center’s MacKenzie River pizzeria to have lunch after the 11 a.m. practice. They met Golden Knights players like defensemen Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb in the pizzeria.
Clark County firefighter Chris Revell observed McNabb signing programs and jerseys and said, “It brought the entire community together. It’s a gigantic family.”
Golden Knights practices are typically lively sessions because they’re open to fans, who have been known to stir up quite a bit of noise at the rink. But Tuesday’s session was more subdued, VGK coach Gerard Gallant said. “It’s a tough day,” the coach pointed out.
LVSportsBiz.com interviewed Sisolak for his thoughts on the Oct. 1 remembrance and several Golden Knights players. Those interviews are here:
Ryan Reaves on Oct. 1:
Jon Merrill:
Brayden McNabb:
Marc-Andre Fleury:
LVSportsBiz.com will be reporting live Wednesday from the 2019-20 season-opener when the Knights host division rival San Jose Sharks at the Big Ice House by the Strip. Look for our pregame segment, Top of the Escalator, on Facebook Live Wednesday.
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