2017-18 was a special season for the Vegas Golden Knights. It was their first season in the NHL and nobody expected them to do anything of substance.
No predictions of winning the Pacific Division.
No hopes of making the Stanley Cup Final. Or so the experts thought.
That season, they proved everyone wrong and made the Stanley Cup Final. They also won the Pacific Division title with 109 points, shocking the entire NHL universe. How was this group of "Misfits" doing all this? There must be some plausible explanation for this!
Then came 2020-21. The Henderson Silver Knights, fresh off moving from San Antonio as the Rampage, won the Pacific Division with 51 points. Like the Golden Knights, they made the championship round in their respective league, the AHL. They lost to the Bakersfield Condors in the Calder Cup Final, 2-1.
Now? You have the ECHL's Tahoe Knight Monsters, who've also clinched a playoff spot in their first season. Now, the Kansas City Mavericks (99 points) have already clinched the Mountain Division. Therefore, the "Rule of Three" doesn't apply here. However, there's still a good chance the ECHL club follows their Nevada brethren to the championship round.
After all, that "Rule of Three" suggests it. You can't break down the sudden success of professional hockey in Nevada without the Knight Monsters making the Kelly Cup Final. It would go against all logic and knowledge. But is that the case? Will Golden Knights fans see the little bros make it to the championship round?
Why the Tahoe Knight Monsters will make the Vegas Golden Knights proud and make the Kelly Cup Final
One thing that the Vegas Golden Knights could've learned from their little brothers is how to effectively run a penalty kill. The Tahoe Knight Monsters have 175 penalty kills this season, good enough for a penalty kill percentage of 82.5%. That includes nine short-handed goals.
The Knight Monsters also have no shortage of goal-scorers on their team. Take your pick of which player stood out for Tahoe in 2024-25.
Are you a fan of Sloan Stanick? He has 28 goals, 49 assists, and two short-handed goals.
Maybe you like Simon Pinard. He has a team-high 32 goals and 30 assists. He's also been a special teams force, scoring eight power play goals and two short-handed goals.
You could even look at names such as Bear Hughes (21 goals and 31 assists), Logan Nelson (18 goals and 34 assists), and Jake McGrew (19 goals and 23 assists) as shining examples of scoring excellence. It's no wonder the Knight Monsters are close to following the Golden Knights and Henderson Silver Knights in first-year success.
What does the future hold for the Knight Monsters?
The cruel world of minor league hockey consists of the following. You see your best players and prospects get called up to the big leagues, hoping to make an impressive impact. In turn, the team gets left with the scraps, ranging from recent draft picks to tenured minor leaguers who'll never see the NHL.
That was the case with the Henderson Silver Knights, who fell off a cliff after their Calder Cup Final appearance. They're heading toward another season without postseason hockey, where they're mired in the Pacific Division basement with 60 points. That's despite having promising prospects such as Trevor Connelly and Carl Lindbom make their way to the AHL franchise.
Compare that to the Golden Knights, who are on the cusp of their fourth Pacific Division title. They already have over 100 points this season (105, to be exact). Remember what happened when Vegas crossed the century mark.
For the Knight Monsters, their pathways consist of two different roads. One is where they become mired in mediocrity like the Silver Knights. The other? League-wide glory like the Golden Knights. The future will be interesting for the new kids on the block. Who knows? They might add more emphasis on the "Rule of Three" and win it all.