Preseason hockey is here, and with it comes the first real wave of Golden Knights news.
The headline item is the one that matters most for the long haul: Mark Stone is staying in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights captain signed a two-year extension worth $9 million AAV, a deal that keeps him with the team until he eventually retires.
The contract includes a full no-move clause in both seasons, so Stone isn’t going anywhere. Sept. 12 may not usually stand out on the calendar, but for Vegas it now marks the day Stone locked in his place with the franchise.
On Thursday, the other big development was the start of training camp at City National Arena. Sixty-six players are in the mix, all trying to carve out a spot on the Golden Knights’ 23-man roster. The group will be sorted through in three separate units before the numbers get trimmed down as preseason rolls on, with the final roster set for the 2026-27 season.
There was also a notable camp invite for Juho Piiparinen. The Finnish defenseman has already turned heads with his puck-moving ability and his two-way game, and now he gets a chance to show more of it up close.
He’ll spend the next couple of weeks working on his fundamentals and trying to keep building toward becoming a better NHL player. The Golden Knights clearly like what they see, and Piiparinen now gets a bigger stage to keep pushing forward.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Got A Telling Prospect Answer In Saturdays Win
Adin Hill gave the Golden Knights a useful preseason look Saturday, turning aside 17 of 19 shots in a 4-2 win over the Kings. In a game that also featured several younger players trying to make their case, Jackson Hallum and Viliam Kmec supplied key goals, giving Vegas a little more to think about as camp continues.
Trevor Connelly also stayed active with three shots on goal, even if the scoresheet did not follow. For a team that is always balancing immediate NHL readiness with long-term prospect development, these sorts of nights matter because they hint at who is pushing, who is settling in, and which names are starting to separate themselves in the early stages of the preseason. [Read more 🡒]