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Vegas Golden Knights: Takeaways from DeBoer’s media conference

By Andrew Steele-Davis

SAN JOSE, CA - SEPTEMBER 19: Head coach Peter DeBoer of the San Jose Sharks speaks to the media during a press conference at the Hilton on September 19, 2018 in San Jose, California (Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - SEPTEMBER 19: Head coach Peter DeBoer of the San Jose Sharks speaks to the media during a press conference at the Hilton on September 19, 2018 in San Jose, California (Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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OTTAWA, ON – JANUARY 16: Head coach Peter DeBoer of the Vegas Golden Knights smiles form behind the bench before an NHL game against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on January 16, 2020 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON – JANUARY 16: Head coach Peter DeBoer of the Vegas Golden Knights smiles form behind the bench before an NHL game against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on January 16, 2020 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images) /

1. Three-game dress rehearsal

Peter DeBoer has to win the trust of these players, and vice-versa.

The key to doing that is to take things slowly and the new sheriff in town certainly plans to do exactly just that.

One of the main nuggets to come out of DeBoer’s first press conference as Head Coach of the Vegas Golden Knights was the fact that he plans to use the three games before the All-Star Break as a dress rehearsal.

By that he intends on using these next couple of games to observe his players and find out what he’s got at his disposal.

He would have no doubt liked what he saw from his players against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, including how some of the Knights’ big hitters in Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty stepped up to the plate.

And the players will get two more chances to impress their new bench boss before the All-Star break, with the bye week allowing DeBoer to dissect what he’s seen and then translate that information into his preferred systems.

There won’t be drastic changes but certain players will have the chance to prove their worth to this team to DeBoer, while others will be hoping to stake a claim for a much bigger role down the stretch.

Any tweaks to the system will be subtle given that there is just 32 games of the regular season remaining, and now is not the time to overhaul systems and execute wholesale changes.

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