Opening night is hurtling into sight now and the Vegas Golden Knights still have some major roster decisions to contend with.
After losing 4-1 to the Colorado Avalanche in the fifth game of the preseason on Wednesday, the Vegas Golden Knights still haven’t made their mind up on how their blueline will be constructed heading into the regular season.
We do know, however, that Dylan Coghlan won’t be on the opening night roster despite tearing up the preseason, after the rookie blueliner was reassigned to the Chicago Wolves in the AHL along with Reid Duke on Thursday.
Zach Whitecloud is still on the Training Camp roster but he could be set for another year in Chicago after suffering an injury in the second period of the defeat to the Avs. He is rated as week-to-week and that could be enough to rule him out of contention.
That leaves Jimmy Schuldt, Jake Bischoff and Nic Hague battling it out for the one remaining roster spot on the blueline, although there is some suggestion out there that the Golden Knights could opt to carry eight defensemen into the regular season, meaning that two out of the three prospects would remain.
However, for the purpose of this assignment, let’s just focus on the one spot that is up for grabs on the lineup card come opening night against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena on Oct, 2.
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Personally, I was surprised that Coghlan was sent down to the minors given his dominant performances in the Rookie Camp coupled with the fact that he was the pick of the five rookie defensemen throughout Training Camp and the preseason.
But, now Coghlan is out of the running, it allows either one of Hague, Schuldt or Bischoff to come out on top with just two exhibition games left, one against the LA Kings tonight before the San Jose Sharks visit T-Mobile Arena on Sunday as a warm-up to the season curtain-raiser.
Realistically, the three prospects left will only have tonight to prove a point to Head Coach Gerard Gallant, who is well-known for preferring to use the final two games of the preseason as dress rehearsals for the regular season.
As such, tonight’s matchup against the Kings is going to be huge for Hague, Schuldt and Bischoff, and they can ill-afford to choke on the big stage again as they did during that sloppy defeat to Colorado on Wednesday night.
Hague was arguably right behind Coghlan in terms of leading the race to lock down that final roster spot, and he certainly brings something to the table that his competitors can’t, mainly huge offensive upside, outstanding reach, imposing physicality and a high compete level.
He also showcased his slick mitts during the win against the Avalanche on Sep, 17 after deking around the goalie and scoring the only goal of the preseason by a rookie blueliner. It was a highlight-reel play and that kind of ability in the offensive zone could force Hague over the finishing line.
Schuldt was considered the favorite to complete the makeup of the defensive unit prior to Training Camp, and he still has a chance to move to the front of the chasing pack and begin the year as an NHL defensemen.
He will have to bounce back, however, after enduring a woeful night at the office against Colorado on Wednesday, where he was guilty of pinching too early and allowing 1-on-2 rushes as a result.
Schuldt and Bischoff are both more reliable in their own zone and won’t provide much offensive upside, but you can expect them to be tidy in the defensive zone in addition to battling hard in the corners and not creating too many turnovers.
Bischoff in particular can be relied upon to log monster minutes, as demonstrated by the 23:46 minutes of total ice time against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, including an impressive 4:56 on the penalty kill.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to what Gerard Gallant and the rest of the Vegas Golden Knights coaching staff want from their sixth defenseman and maybe even their seventh or eighth blueliner.
Hague without doubt has the highest ceiling of all the rookie defensemen and will contribute offensively, while Schuldt and Bischoff are both more polished players in their own zone.
Tonight’s game against the LA Kings will be fascinating just to watch this three-way battle unfold, and we should be more the wiser before the Knights’ preseason finale on Sunday when it comes to which rookie defensemen is going to clinch that final roster spot on the blueline.