The World Junior Championships are happening right now and there's a massive void. There's no Trevor Connelly to represent the Red, White, and Blue. The void I'm talking about is that there are no Golden Knights prospects at this year's World Junior Championship.
You might point at names like Carl Lindbom and Cameron Whitehead and ask, "Well, what about them?" That's not how it works, dear reader. You see, both netminders are playing for the Silver Knights and the Knight Monsters, respectively (too old, anyway). They're on their way to becoming Golden Knights mainstays.
But what about Connelly? Well, there's this little problem that's ailing the wunderkind winger.
That leaves the Golden Knights as one of three NHL teams (the Carolina Hurricanes and the Columbus Blue Jackets) who don't have a prospect participating. Granted, the Hurricanes and the Golden Knights are competitive teams vying for another Stanley Cup. That leaves the Blue Jackets, who've been mediocre throughout their entire existence, to have no excuse.
But let's focus on the Golden Knights for a second since they're the main protagonists. The team has zero participants in this year's tournament, leaving Golden Knights fans to not care about the fun event. And yes, this is a thrilling event that invokes national pride and patriotism amongst its peers (if there's one thing that America's known for, it's the patriotism). So, what gives with Vegas?
The lack of World Junior Championship representatives shows that the Golden Knights don't have much young talent coming along after the current batch
Of course, this is a side effect of being hypercompetitive since "Day F*****g One." You're forced to walk a tightrope between having a healthy farm system, a winning team, and drafting and developing the right way. It's almost impossible to do in any sport, in fact.
But for the Golden Knights, prospects haven't been at the forefront of their success. While names like Pavel Dorofeyev and Nicolas Hague are gentle reminders of how in-house options work, it's also a reminder that the future could look rougher than expected for Vegas.
Obviously, this can be mitigated with the Golden Knights' proven track record of successful unsigned free agents. That includes Logan Thompson and Braeden Bowman, both of whom have excelled with the organization. However, the problem still stands. Who's replacing the outgoing Golden Knights, aside from Bowman and the goaltenders?
The good news for Golden Knights fans is that Kelly McCrimmon cares about winning now
When you have a general manager who knows how to work the salary cap, it makes life easier for the Golden Knights. Oh sure, you have your funnies and ha-ha's regarding cap circumvention and LTIR (oh no, here comes the "Mark Stone faked his spleen injury" conspiracy theorists). But that isn't stopping McCrimmon from filling in the gaps with noteworthy talent.
That's why the Rasmus Andersson rumors and speculation have been flying around for over a year. He's wanted to come to Vegas during that time and it nearly happened. Now that McCrimmon has some room to work with, that could become a reality.
Still, it doesn't hurt to manage the farm system and keep the young talent flowing in. Names like Bowman and Lindbom are expected to have prominent roles on the Golden Knights soon. Who will fill in afterwards? That's what McCrimmon must ask himself, especially after looking at the World Junior Championship rosters.