The Vegas Golden Knights have dealt with with some terrible situations this season. Given the fact that we are only about a quarter of the way through this season, you’d think that injuries wouldn’t be as much of a factor as they are. On the contrary–Injuries have taken over the Knights roster. However, for some players, no matter how selfish it is of them, they are okay with it.
When you are trying to make your mark with a team and find a place in the National Hockey League, you are going to have to go find opportunities for yourself. Those opportunities generally come when players are injured and a team needs to find a replacement. That’s where Michael Amadio comes into play.
Over the course of the season, the Vegas Golden Knights have lost some of their best players due to injury. After attempting to fill those holes with prospects in their system, the Knights decided to make some moves on the waiver wire. Little did they know that one of them would do as well as he’s done.
The Vegas Golden Knights pulled multiple people up from the Henderson Silver Knights, but at some point it gets to be too much. The purpose of having an AHL system is to help develop your prospects in order to make them into potential NHL caliber players. There are a couple reasons though why calling them up is bad.
First, when you call them up, your giving them a taste of the NHL, but they not be ready just yet. So with that being said, your forcing someone into a situation when they might not be ready. Not to mention when they are young, they can sometimes make some bad decisions with the puck that lead to Grade-A chances for the opposition.
Second, When you have a NHL team as well known and as talented as the Knights, there comes a point where you simply just can’t rely on your prospects. The key to a truly talented roster is finding a combination of youth and experience to balance them out and create a solid foundation.
So with that being said, that was exactly what the Vegas Golden Knights realized and they made the adjustment. So after giving multiple players a chance such as: Jake Leschyshyn, Jonas Rondbjerg, and Paul Cotter, they did what they had to do; Hit the waiver wire.
After center, William Karlsson went down with a broken foot, the Vegas Golden Knights went and claimed Michael Amadio off of waivers. Amadio, the former Toronto Maple Leaf, has never really been the most productive player, but seems to fit in really well with the Knights.
Yesterday, Amadio mentioned how he feels himself growing each and every day as a player. As pre-mature it may be to say that given the fact he only has two goals and two assists in 14 games. Not to mention the fact that one of those goals came against the Stars yesterday to make the score 4-3.
Amadio’s game is a lot like the guy he was filling in for, William Karlsson. He plays with a great deal of speed, has a very quick shot, and is pretty good in moving the puck in the offensive zone as well.
The production, although it’s not there quite yet, will come. It’s noticeable how much he’s grown as a player in his limited time here and it’ll be fun to see how he continues to grow.