A veteran team can get stiff over the grind of an NHL season. Legs go, focus drifts, the room can get heavy. So for the Golden Knights, a little youthful exuberance has done more than add a spark - it’s helped keep the whole operation loose while the wins keep coming.
Vegas has never hidden what it is. Owner Bill Foley wants to win.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon says the franchise is in “the winning business.” And with eight playoff trips, three Stanley Cup Final appearances, more playoff and playoff series wins than any team since entering the NHL, plus a Stanley Cup championship in 2022-23, the Knights have built a track record that backs up the talk.
But even teams that know exactly who they are still need fresh energy.
That’s where this season’s younger additions have fit in. Trevor Connelly, 20, Braeden Bowman, 23, Rafael Lavoie, 26, and Marc Gatcomb, 27, have brought a different kind of juice to the group.
Not chaos. Not a reset.
Just a little more bounce in the room.
“It’s great to have some young guys around. They keep the rest of us young,” said defenseman Noah Hanifin.
Gatcomb, for his part, said the environment has been welcoming, but also made clear there’s no easing into life in Vegas. The standard is the standard.
“Every night there’s a standard to win and the expectations are so high,” he said. “There’s really no room for error here.
It’s the best of the best. And when you look around the room, the guys that are in here, everyone’s so talented and I think the structure of this team is so in place.
Every line and every D pair bring a different element that helps our team in such a unique way. As you guys can see when we play the right way, there’s not many teams that can play with us, which is kind of what we’re looking to build.”
The production backs up that blend of experience and energy. The Golden Knights have 18 skaters with a point, tied for sixth, and 13 skaters with a goal, tied for fifth. They also have two goalies with three or more wins, tied for first, and two goalies with positive xG saved, also tied for first.
The contributions are spread across the lineup, too. Vegas has 14 even-strength points from defensemen, tied for sixth. The first line has seven goals, the second line six, the third line 11, and the fourth line two.
Braydon McNabb and Shea Theodore have been on the ice for 11 goals for and four against, a plus-7 mark that ranks second among all defense pairs. Jack Eichel’s 13 points are tied for third-most in the NHL, while William Karlsson is third in the league in faceoff percentage at 64.5 among players with at least 50 draws.
For a team built to win, the young legs are fitting right in.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Look Built For A Run Thanks To One Big Edge
The Golden Knights have opened the season looking every bit like a club with a deep postseason run in mind, and the early results back that up. A 7-2-0 start has come with Mark Stone and Jack Eichel driving the top of the lineup, but the more telling sign has been the way Vegas has spread the offense across the roster, with 13 different goal scorers through nine games.
That kind of balance has become the calling card for this group, and it is also what makes the team difficult to game-plan against. Ryan Craig and several players have pointed to the value of depth and versatile play as the season wears on, especially with an eye toward keeping key pieces fresh for the stretch run and, ultimately, the playoffs. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Suddenly Need More From Ville Heinola Than A Call-Up
Ville Heinolas recall from Henderson came at the kind of moment that can quickly reshape a blue line picture. With Parker Wotherspoon injured, the Golden Knights turned to a defenseman who has been productive in the AHL this season and has built a case as a reliable depth option, the sort of call-up teams lean on when they need stability more than flash.
For Vegas, the move fits a familiar pattern of juggling roster depth through injuries and patching together the back end with players who can step in without much warning. Heinola now gets a chance to do more than simply fill a spot, and the Knights could use his presence to help steady a defense group that has already had to adjust on the fly. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Are Already Setting The Pacific Pace Again
The Golden Knights kept their Pacific Division grip intact with a convincing 6-2 win over Calgary, the kind of early-season result that can shape the tone of a race before it really settles in. Mark Stone powered the offense with a hat trick, Jack Eichel chipped in three points, and Carter Hart stopped 28 shots to help Vegas keep rolling against a familiar division foe.
Vegas is already looking like the team others in the Pacific will have to chase, and the early division record backs that up. The Golden Knights have started 4-1-0 against Pacific opponents, which gives this latest win a little extra weight beyond the scoreboard, even if the rest of the schedule is still young enough to leave room for plenty to change. [Read more 🡒]