ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
It’s been a while.
About 18 months have gone by since Vegas Golden Knights fans sat on the red-topped bleachers at VGK team practices at the training center in Summerlin.
But there they were, about 150 fans with jerseys bearing the names of “Stone,” “Pietrangelo,” and “Marchessault.”
A lot can happen in a year and a half. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the NHL season to a screeching halt in March 2020, only to be continued in the bubble playoffs in Edmonton and Toronto during the summer. And then, there was the 56-game schedule where the Knights played teams only in their own division. In both the unique and strange cases, the Golden Knights lost in the league’s semifinal round the last two seasons.
Now, the fans have returned to City National Arena, the VGK’s home base in suburban Summerlin. Now, VGK coach Pete DeBoer, who went two playoff seasons with the Golden Knights after taking over for former Knights coach Gerard Gallant in January 2020, gets to have his first full training camp before the 2021-22 season. And now so many Golden Knights fans who connected to the team through their adoration for Marc-Andre Fleury will watch Robin Lehner take over as the clear-cut number one goalie.
The team store at City National Arena were selling T-shirts that conjured up Fleury’s memory at half price.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
DeBoer referenced Fleury and Ryan Reaves during his chat when he met the media for the first time in person since March 2020. It was a little strange to see the Golden Knights coach in person again after communicating questions through a laptop and a Zoom setup. Today, DeBoer was in a good mood, optimistic about the upcoming season.
On the ice, familiar players like Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Mark Stone, Shea Theodore, William Karlsson and Max Pacioretty zoomed up and down the ice where the team has practiced since the building opened in 2017.
There was a different vibe to the ice rink, likely linked to the fact that fans were getting to see new players like 23-year-old Nolan Patrick skate for the first time.
But some things stay constant, too.
Flag guy Matt Helfst was back in action at City National Arena, while fellow superfan Christopher Green bellowed out his, “Go Knights Go,” chant to get the crowd going.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Lehner looked slimmer, mentioning that after turning 30 years old he needed to get more in shape. He mentioned his wife liked a trimmed-down Lehner.
The Golden Knights start their fifth season on Sunday with a preseason game against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena at 7PM.
Support LVSportsBiz.com by purchasing Alan Snel’s new book. Email Alan at asnel@LVSportsBiz.com to buy the book for $20