Vegas Golden Knights to reveal identity of AHL Franchise on Thursday

The Vegas Golden Knights will officially welcome a new member into the family on Thursday.

Lost among all the noise generated by the NHL’s Return To Play Plan, the Vegas Golden Knights announced that they will reveal the logo and team name of their AHL Franchise on Thursday.

Now, let’s be honest, the proposed name has been out there for a while with both SinBin and Jesse Granger of The Athletic reporting that the team will be named the Henderson Silver Knights.

I have no problem with that name by the way, it keeps things on brand after all.

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Nevertheless, it will still be a special moment for the Golden Knights who have come a hell of a long way since entering the NHL in 2017.

Having their own AHL Franchise will only allow the Knights to continue their dominance as a hockey hotbed, and hockey fans in Vegas now have another team to watch which is incredibly exciting.

Of course, there will be plenty of intrigue over the logo and the uniforms and the Golden Knights will stream the one-hour event live on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Twitch.

Granted, it would have been better if Vegas could have done this with a glitzy event with fans present, but such are the times we currently live in.

Instead, we will have to settle by watching the Live Stream which will be hosted by Golden Knights broadcasters Daren Millard, Gary Lawless and Stormy Buonantony, with special appearances from Vegas Owner Bill Foley and Golden Knights Prospect Ben Jones to name just a couple.

Thursday’s reveal is just another step closer to the Golden Knights having their own AHL Franchise though, and that can’t be understated.

It offers up so many advantages including having prospects right on the doorstep that the front office can keep a close eye on.

Plus, it eradicates any unnecessary travel when it comes to AHL call-ups and having an AHL Franchise in Vegas should only help the continued growth of hockey in Nevada.

It has been a rapid process for the AHL Franchise in Henderson too, who will play the 2020-21 American Hockey League season at Orleans Arena while work on a purpose-built facility in Henderson gets underway.

The Henderson City Council approved the $84 million funding for the construction of that arena last week, with completion of works expected prior to the 2022-23 season.

Again, things have come a long way quickly since the Golden Knights purchased the rights of the San Antonio Rampage, which was approved by the AHL on Feb. 28.

It means the Henderson franchise will take over from the Chicago Wolves, who was the AHL affiliate of the Golden Knights since 2017, making a run to the 2019 Calder Cup Final only to lose to the Charlotte Checkers.

All in all, this is an exciting step for Vegas Golden Knights fans and it will be brilliant to see what the identity of the Henderson AHL Franchise exactly looks like on Thursday.