Vegas Golden Knights: Cody Glass must be a lock on opening night roster

When given an opportunity you must be prepared to seize it with both hands and that’s exactly what Cody Glass has done for the Vegas Golden Knights throughout the preseason so far.

Glass has been sensational in the three exhibition games he’s played in and he’s making it extremely hard for the Vegas Golden Knights to not include him on their opening night roster for the start of the 2019-20 regular season.

The Knights are loaded, especially when you consider their top six unit, but after trading Nikita Gusev and Erik Huala in the off-season, they lack secondary scoring and also a genuine playmaker who can wreak havoc with his creativity.

Glass ticks both of those boxes and he is doing his utmost to prove that he could fill both of the holes vacated by Gusev and Huala in abundance, while he is also rapidly showcasing the many other qualities he’ll be able to bring to the table.

The sixth overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft has dominated at every single level he’s played at, including tallying a staggering 292 points (94 goals, 198 assists) in 239 games for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, and he entered Development Camp this summer knowing there was a real opportunity in-front of him.

After catching the eye in Rookie Camp, Glass hasn’t really put a foot wrong in Training Camp so far and his speed, vision and playmaking ability are a joy to behold. He doesn’t seem fazed by the frantic pace of the NHL, either and he looks every inch a mature big leagues player already.

He offers something that no one else on the Golden Knights roster can’t and he’s shown throughout the preseason that he possesses the creativity and the vision to be able to unlock a defense with deadly accuracy, as backed up by his three assists in three exhibition games.

And Glass has also passed his biggest test so far which was to prove that he can be versatile. A two-way center who has the potential to eventually morph into an elite top six center in the NHL, Vegas Head Coach Gerard Gallant has used his young stud on the wing for a large chunk of the exhibition games.

Glass has responded to that task with ease and it is a good thing he has because if he is to be on the opening night roster, then it will be on the left wing of a third line featuring Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch. But Glass has eradicated fears that he wouldn’t be able to play on the wing, instead going on to excel in an alien position.

The young stud has thrived as a center too, as perfectly illustrated in the 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday where he tallied two assists, including a beautiful dish to set up a Max Pacioretty one-timer for Vegas’ second goal.

His playmaking ability and knack for making highlight-reel plays has been eye-catching and he’s perfectly equipped for the NHL. He seems built for the big moments too and he’s ready to make that leap to the majors now.

Glass has recovered from a few minor bumps in the road and he’s shown that he can handle playing alongside elite players after thriving with the likes of Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and Alex Tuch, and he’ll be playing with the latter throughout the regular season if he makes the opening night roster.

The only roadblock in his way to taking that next step in his career is the fact that Brandon Pirri, Valentin Zykov and Tomas Nosek have all made strong starts to the preseason as they also battle for that left wing role on the third line.

However, and no disrespect to the three players mentioned above, but Glass is a better playmaker than his competition and he has the room to become an elite forward in the NHL. His ability to see the ice and make high-level plays is outstanding and you can’t teach that kind of talent.

Of course, you could make an argument that Glass would benefit from spending a full year in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves, but there is no harm at least starting the regular season with the generational talent on the roster and seeing what he can do in the month of October against NHL quality opposition on a night in, night out basis.

He could be the secret weapon the Vegas Golden Knights need in their ultimate mission to win a Stanley Cup and, on the evidence served up so far in preseason, it appears clear that Cody Glass should be on that opening night roster against the San Jose Sharks on Oct, 2.

That is our opinion, anyway.