Vegas Golden Knights: Early observations from Training Camp
It feels good to be back doesn’t it? The Vegas Golden Knights are back on the grind and we are on full countdown until meaningful hockey in October now.
It has been like Christmas for Vegas Golden Knights and hockey fans in general over the last few days with all 31 NHL teams reporting to Training Camp and getting back to work ahead of the preseason schedule getting underway.
As a result, we have been treated to a litany of content on social media and we are all in for every single piece of it following what was a long off-season that featured far too much salary cap talk and not nearly enough actual hockey discussion.
However, that will all change now with the Golden Knights back at school and putting in the hard yards ahead of what they hope will be another year competing for the greatest prize in all of sports, while avenging last season’s hugely disappointing and heartbreaking Round 1 exit to the San Jose Sharks.
It has been an intense few days for the 53 players invited to Training Camp and there have already been a couple of cuts, with goalies Jordan Kooy and Jiri Patera both rejoining their junior teams, leaving the Golden Knights with five netminders in camp including Marc-Andre Fleury, Malcolm Subban and Garret Sparks.
For the rest of the Training Camp roster all eyes will now be on the preseason slate, which gets underway today against the Arizona Coyotes at T-Mobile Arena at 1:30 p.m. PT. The Golden Knights have confirmed that 20 players have been designated for assignment today, leaving the rest of the roster to attend a morning skate at City National Arena.
It isn’t clear as of yet who will be taking part in today’s preseason opener, although expect high-end rookies such as Cody Glass, Jimmy Schuldt and Nic Hague to get a lot of ice time as they go out to try to prove to the coaching staff why they should be on the opening night roster.
To get you in the mood for this afternoon’s game we have put together a couple of our observations from the opening few days of Training Camp and what it could all mean for the preseason…