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Vegas Golden Knights: Why William Karlsson Will Win The Seventh Player Award

By Richard Cardinale

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 14: William Karlsson #71 of the Vegas Golden Knights walks down the tunnel prior to the game against the New Jersey Devils at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 14: William Karlsson #71 of the Vegas Golden Knights walks down the tunnel prior to the game against the New Jersey Devils at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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William Karlsson is the only choice for the Vegas Golden Knights Seventh Player award.

As the Vegas Golden Knights inaugural season comes to a close, the team announced some cool events on the final homestand taking place next week. The Golden Knights advertised some cool giveaways featuring flags, car flags, a commemorative photo and more. Not only will the team give those items away, but they will also be giving away the jerseys off their backs at the final home game of the year.

Additionally, Vegas will provide some end of the year awards such as the Vegas Golden Knights First Star Award. That award is determined by stars of the game voting at home games. Another award is the Vegas Strong Service Award, and that goes to the player who’s involved the most in the Vegas community.

However, the award I want to talk about today is the seventh player award. The player that has exceeded everyone’s on the ice expectaions will receive the honor. The team gave the fans four choices on who should win this prestigious title.

After mulling over options like Reilly Smith, Deryk Engelland and Marc-Andre Fleury, the player that should win the trophy is William Karlsson. Sure, those guys are great players, but it’s not even close. Karlsson has not only stepped up to the plate this year, but he’s also been an instrumental part of the success of the NHL’s newest franchise.

Just look at his stats from previous years. In his rookie season in 2014-15, he scored only three goals, two assists, and five points. He climbed up to nine goals, 11 assists, and 20 points in his sophomore season. He then declined in 2016-17 where he scored a lowly six goals, 19 assists and 25 points in 81 games played.

At a crossroads in his career, he came to Vegas in the expansion draft, and the rest is history. In the 2017-18 campaign, the Marsta, Sweden native busted out for 39 goals and 27 assists and 65 points in 73 games played.  He also has a +40 rating which is best in the entire NHL. He’s seen increased ice time, expanded responsibilities, and he has become a power play machine overnight.

I believe another reason why Karlsson is having so much success is because of the coaching of Gerard Gallant. After years of learning from John Tortorella’s  Blue Jackets hard-nosed style of game, Gallant may have given Karlsson a breath of fresh air. Gallant is a players coach, and perhaps that may have helped Karlsson to get through some early season adversity.

Opportunity has been the story for the Golden Knights this season, and William Karlsson is the best example on this team. If anyone saw this coming from the 25-year old, you’re lying to yourself. He’s grown into the Golden Knights best player, and he also could be up for the Selke and Lady Byng trophies.

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All in all, William Karlsson is the best choice for the Vegas Golden Knights Seventh Player award. You can make a case for any of the other three candidates, but Karlsson is on another planet. His play should only continue to go above and beyond, even in the playoffs.

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