Vegas Golden Knights: 3 Knights who need a big preseason
There will only be a couple of roster spots up for grabs when the Vegas Golden Knights get back down to business for training camp.
We are only a couple of weeks out from Vegas Golden Knights training camp now and it is only a mere 18 days until the puck drops on the preseason opener against the Arizona Coyotes at T-Mobile Arena on Sep, 15.
After making a stunning run to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural year, the Golden Knights have since made a plethora of aggressive moves in order to stretch out their Stanley Cup window, bolstering their roster significantly with elite talents in the ilk of Paul Stastny, Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone.
Boasting a future Hall of Fame goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury, who is still at the peak of his powers, and the blueline in good hands with defensive lynchpins Shea Theodore and Nate Schmidt, this roster as it is currently constituted is pretty much set for 2019-20.
As such, there won’t be a slew of roster spots to slug it out for during training camp, with the focus for Head Coach Gerard Gallant to revolve around fine-tuning the fundamentals of this hockey team and continue to maximise the potential of every single player on the roster.
Gallant will also look to continue to hammer home how he wants his team to play, which is more heavy metal than a Mozart masterpiece. In other words, this team has forged an identity based around their ability to play a fast, gritty and in-your face type of game.
However, there will be a few roles that will need to be thrashed out throughout training camp, including who will complete the third-line and what rookie defenseman will win a roster spot for opening night against the San Jose Sharks on Oct, 2 at T-Mobile Arena.
We all know that preseason is an opportunity for an unknown quantity to burst onto the scene out of nowhere and make themselves an instrumental part of the team, while it is also a chance for certain players to hone their craft and start building some momentum ahead of the regular season.
We’ve picked out three players in particular, one forward, one defenseman and one goalie, who we think face a big preseason for a number of different reasons. Let’s start in the offensive zone with a player we have talked about a lot in recent weeks…
Brandon Pirri
It is an understatement to suggest that Brandon Pirri will enter 2019-20 with a point to prove once again. He has been in the NHL for a while now but he has yet to really become a consistent force in the majors, only displaying flashes of quality in fleeting moments.
As a result, it was a surprise to many when the forward was re-signed to a new two-year contract with an average annual value of $775,000 earlier in the offseason, given that it seemed almost certain that Pirri was going to continue his career elsewhere, especially given Vegas’ salary cap constraints.
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However, that gives you some idea of the faith Head Coach Gerard Gallant and President of Hockey Operations George McPhee both have in Pirri, and the fact that they clearly think the 28-year-old has a role to play for this franchise.
And you can’t blame them for thinking that. The offensive prowess is there, that is a fact and it is interesting that the two seasons in which Pirri tallied 24 points back-to-back both came under the guidance of Gallant with the Florida Panthers between 2014-15. However, the lack of consistency in the wing’s game has been alarming at times.
Take this little nugget for instance. Since being signed by the Golden Knights as a free agent on Oct, 4, 2017, Pirri has recorded 94 points (47 goals, 47 assists) in 86 games for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL, compared to just 21 points (15 goals, six assists) in 33 games for Vegas in the NHL.
That has been the story of Pirri’s career so far; an offensive juggernaut in the minors but unable to translate that to the majors on a consistent basis. That will have to change if he is to morph into the potent weapon the Golden Knights need him to be this year.
After losing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Ryan Carpenter to free agency, coupled with the trades that sent Erik Haula and Nikita Gusev to the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils respectively, the Knights are in dire need of some secondary scoring and they will look to Pirri to be the main provider of that.
Likely to start preseason on the third line with Cody Eakin as the pivot and Alex Tuch on the right wing, Pirri needs a strong training camp and a fruitful preseason in order to set his stall out from day one and prove that he can be a potent weapon for the Golden Knights in 2019-20.
The good news is that Pirri does have some success with both Eakin and Tuch, albeit in a very small sample size, having helped the Knights outscore their opponents 11-1 during 173 minutes of even strength play alongside Tuch last year, while the trio had one of the best goal-share totals of any line on the team last season.
Pirri, when tuned in, can be a lethal scorer in the NHL and this preseason will be huge for the forward in terms of gaining confidence and momentum ahead of what could be a gigantic and significant year for the forward.
Nic Hague
It is no secret by now that five rookie defensemen will be given the chance to slug it out for one final roster spot on the blueline throughout the training camp and preseason, and we are absolutely all in for it.
There is nothing like heated competition and, given Vegas’ abundance of defensive riches in the farm system, the battle for that one roster spot should be fascinating to watch and it is only a positive for the franchise to have a glut of young defensive studs ready to make the leap to the NHL.
Jimmy Schuldt, Zach Whitecloud, Dylan Coghlan, Jake Bischoff and Nic Hague are the five expected to go toe-to-toe for that one remaining berth on the blueline, and we are most intrigued by the latter in particular.
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Hague is arguably one of the most talented prospects in the Vegas pipeline and he has an extremely high ceiling when it comes to his tantalising potential. The rookie is coming off a career-year for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL and he has all the tools in his toolbox required to morph into a future NHL defensive star.
Despite it being his first full year as a professional, Hague was lights out for the Wolves in 2018-19 and finished the season with 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points, in addition to a superb plus/minus rating of +32. He also tallied 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 22 games in the Calder Cup Playoffs, becoming a vital cog in the Chicago team that made it all the way to the Finals against the Charlotte Checkers.
Boasting intimidating size (6’6″ & 214 lbs), impressive two-way play, a wicked shot release and able to produce offensively, Hague is built similar to Shea Theodore who has emerged as a star in his own right for the Golden Knights.
Having a slight edge over his colleagues due to his physical presence and all-round game, Hague now has a real opportunity to stand out during training camp and the preseason and prove why he should be on the Vegas Golden Knights roster on opening night.
Malcolm Subban
Now, this is an interesting one and some might wonder why Malcolm Subban is on this list. Well, if you think about it, his inclusion is simple really. Like Brandon Pirri, Subban’s game has been ravaged by a lack of consistency at times and that will need to change in 2019-20.
Firstly, Subban is once again entering a career-year after agreeing to terms on a new one-year deal worth $850,000 earlier in the off-season, and it has been said that the 25-year-old has a desire to become an NHL starter in the not too distant future.
If that is to happen with Vegas then he might have to wait a while given that Marc-Andre Fleury is under contract through 2021-22 and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down just yet, or Subban could choose to hit the open market and test the waters of free agency next year.
Either way, Subban is going to need to put together a standout season in 2019-20 in order to either convince the Golden Knights to sign him to a longer-term deal, or to win a contract and the chance of a starting job elsewhere.
Another caveat at play here is the fact that Subban now has some real competition for the backup goalie job in Sin City in the form of Garret Sparks, who was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of a bizarre trade earlier in the offseason that sent David Clarkson‘s albatross of a contract in the opposite direction.
Sparks is a proven commodity in the AHL and, although he’s endured a rough time when given a chance to shine in the NHL, he will be presented with the opportunity to show what he’s made of throughout training camp and the preseason and challenge Subban for the backup job.
That heaps even more pressure on Subban who will need a strong preseason to make sure that he enters the regular season still intact as the heir to Fleury’s throne. He is a goalie that benefits from a run of games and there is no doubt that he will get plenty of reps throughout training camp, in addition to a lot of ice time during the preseason.
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He finished 2018-19 with 20 starts to his name and a record of 8-10-2, posting a .902 Save Percentage and a 2.93 Goals Against Average. He went on an absolute tear at one point last year after winning seven of nine starts, although he was guilty of surrendering a woeful .885 Save Percentage at another stage of the season.
That sums up Subban’s lack of consistency and he will need to try and iron out those wrinkles in his game in order to be a more reliable backup for both Fleury and the Vegas Golden Knights throughout 2019-20. As a result, preseason will be of paramount importance for the goalie ahead of what could be a career-defining year.