Vegas Golden Knights: The 3 biggest needs to address via the Draft

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Jack Quinn of the Ottawa 67’s skates during an OHL game against the Oshawa Generals at the Tribute Communities Centre on January 19, 2020. /

It is a well-known fact that if you want to be successful in any of the major American sports, let alone the NHL, then drafting well is key and that’s the mission awaiting the Vegas Golden Knights this off-season.

Building through the draft in a hard-cap sport is key and it takes on even more importance for an expansion team such as the Vegas Golden Knights.

All in all, the Golden Knights haven’t done a bad job when it comes to building and then replenishing their pipeline.

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Of course, they have stripped their farm system of some considerable blue chip talent in order to widen their Stanley Cup window, most notably sending stud defenseman Erik Brannstrom to the Ottawa Senators as part of the blockbuster Mark Stone trade and center Nick Suzuki to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Max Pacioretty.

Trading away two high-end prospects in the ilk of Brannstrom and Suzuki isn’t normally the done thing, especially for an expansion team, but that is just testament to the sterling work done by the Golden Knights front office to craft a Stanley Cup contender so quickly.

And, despite giving up two blue chip prospects so early on, the Knights haven’t really been hurt by that.

After all, they have an absolute stud in forward Cody Glass who looks set for a bright career in the NHL despite a tough rookie year, while the likes of Peyton Krebs, Jack Dugan, Pavel Dorofeyev and Kaedan Korczak are all on the cusp of making the leap to the NHL.

However, there are some notable holes that need plugging in the Vegas farm system, and we looked at the three biggest needs the Golden Knights need to address at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, whenever and however it may take place…

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