I was driving to my local Sprouts, getting myself delicious grub for the week. I had to get myself some ingredients for a nachos supreme meal. After all, you can't celebrate the NFL returning without a meal made for the gridiron (yes, it's preseason, I get that).
Along the way to potentially tearing open my insides with ground beef and greasiness, I came across a thought. Which Vegas Golden Knights stars need to prove themselves in 2025-26? Who's potentially on the hot seat in terms of expectations and play?
This is where this article comes into play. First, I found a couple of players who fit this description. Then, I came across a third. Ironically, I came across the fourth while writing this exact article.
Can you guess which one is which? Can you tell which of these four superstars was brought up initially? Regardless, these four have the world on their shoulders for the upcoming season.
It doesn't matter if they're in a contract year or underachieved. These four Golden Knights must prove themselves. Otherwise, they'll pass through like undercooked ground beef in the skyline chili in Cincinnati.
1.) Pavel Dorofeyev
I know, dear reader. It sounds like a crazy concept, especially after Dorofeyev scored a team-high 35 goals in 2024-25. It sounds far-fetched to think he must show himself worthy in 2025-26. And no, this isn't me telling him he underachieved last season. In fact, he overachieved in a sense.
But the Russian winger does have a contract year ahead of him. He's set to become a restricted free agent after this upcoming season, which will determine his price tag. If he wants a lucrative payday, now's the time to duplicate his 2024-25 performance to get more money.
2.) Akira Schmid
The expectation heading into this upcoming season is that the Swiss goaltender will back up Adin Hill in net. He had a solid showing in a small sample size (five games played) with a GAA of 1.26 and a save percentage of .944. But that's the catch.
Five games don't necessarily tell us where Schmid stands as a goaltender. That starts in the preseason, where he must fend off a surprisingly deep prospect pool. On top of that, there are rumors that the Golden Knights are looking at a backup goaltender to carry them throughout the season. Now's the time to show you're worthy of carrying the torch.
3.) Kaedan Korczak
Korczak will get a full season with the Golden Knights after a nice 2024-25 campaign. In 40 games, he scored 10 assists, proving why he earned his four-year extension. But can he show he's worth his $3.25 million AAV deal with a full season?
The pressure's on the 24-year-old to fill the shoes of key defensemen like Alex Pietrangelo and Nicolas Hague. However, his gritty style and competitive nature will ease the pressure off of him.
4.) Ivan Barbashev
Before he suffered a terrible injury against the Minnesota Wild on December 15, Barbashev had 15 goals and 15 assists. Sounds good, right? The only issue was he had problems consistently scoring afterwards with eight goals to show.
On top of that, last season was the first time since 2021-22 that he scored more than 20 goals. The 29-year-old was brought in to act as a complementary goal scorer for Jack Eichel, yet he hasn't exactly done that. The pressure's on him to show he can light the lamp or be forever exiled from the top line.