Forward Chandler Stephenson has officially made his debut with the Vegas Golden Knights as excitement is in the air for his future growth.
When news broke out that forward Chandler Stephenson was being traded from the Washington Capitals to the Vegas Golden Knights, the change of scenery was needed. Stephenson, a player who has always been known for his speed and ability to rally his teammates, will love life in the Entertainment Capital of the World.
The Golden Knights now have a player that can step in and take care of business as he’s one of the best when it comes to being a penalty killer. This is an area that will help the Golden Knights tremendously as the season progresses. On top of that, he’s fantastic when it comes to faceoffs as so far in his career, he can boast a 51.8 percent faceoff win percentage.
After making his debut this week for the Golden Knights in a 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils, Stephenson contributed immediately with one goal scored. One has to admit, however, everything happened so quickly with his trade and immediate flight to make his debut that it’s great to see him start things off right.
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In an article written by Gordon Weigers of NHL.com, here is what Stephenson said about his new opportunity on the Golden Knights:
"“I’m excited. It happened so fast, I haven’t had much time to sit and think about anything,” Stephenson said. “I’m happy to be here and get things going right off the bat.”"
Considering that Stephenson isn’t known for being an elite scorer or anything, it’s an amazing sight to see that in his first game with the Golden Knights, he’s already having an impact. The most important thing he brings to the team besides his abilities on the ice is the experience he brings to the table.
It’s no secret that Stephenson was indeed a big part of that Stanley Cup championship team with the Capitals back in 2017. Having that experience will undoubtedly be a huge factor to have in the locker room, especially since Stephenson is such a team player and a fun guy to be around.
His ex-teammates on the Capitals always enjoyed the culture he helped build but now, he will bring this to a Golden Knights team that will only continue to build their identity this season. Adding Stephenson to the roster will bring even more excitement to the team but more importantly, growth to continue the momentum of this team from all they accomplished last year.
The Golden Knights will continue to go places and now with Stephenson in the mix adding his energy, charisma, and comradery to the overall culture, this will likely be remembered as a key pickup this season. It’s still pretty early but so far, it looks like general manager Kelly McCrimmon made the right choice in acquiring Stephenson to bolster the team in several positive ways.