It's been mentioned how thankless a job being a fourth liner is. You deal with the dirty work here, delivering punishing hits and slowing down the pace of play. It takes sacrificing the body and more to succeed on this line, which has become the norm for Nicolas Roy and Keegan Kolesar.
These two Vegas Golden Knights stars have carried the line in recent years, providing a yin and yang of sorts. Roy provides an offensive spark, as proven by his 28 assists from last season. He might not hit many people or act as a physical presence. But he's still great on the forecheck, taking the puck away to generate offensive opportunities.
Then there's Kolesar, who's the hard-hitting counterpart. He delivered 277 hits last season, falling two short of his career-high. That was good for fourth in the NHL in 2023-24, providing a physical bite to the Golden Knights. There has also been some offensive element to his game, for he scored eight goals and 10 assists in 79 games.
How will his 2024-25 season look with Vegas? Will he take the next step in his fourth line journey, becoming more imposing as a figure? The Golden Knights will look drastically different, which will factor into how he'll produce this season. Still, there isn't a situation that the native of Brandon, Manitoba can't handle. Here's what the new hockey year holds for Kolesar.
Predicting the 2024-25 season for Keegan Kolesar on the Vegas Golden Knights
One factor that'll determine the 2024-25 season for Keegan Kolesar is who joins him on the fourth line. William Carrier went to the Carolina Hurricanes on a six-year, $2 million AAV deal, leaving a void in the bottom six unit. So who will replace him? Will it be Brett Howden? Will Brendan Brisson make his full-time debut here?
Whoever is slotted in the fourth line will determine what he'll do. If he gets a good offensive piece to compliment him (i.e. Brendan Brisson), his offensive numbers will go up. It's projected that Howden will join him on the bottom unit, meaning there will be more physical aspects to the unit.
What does that mean for Kolesar and Nicolas Roy as they enter the new hockey year? For the 27-year-old, it'll mean scoring seven goals and eight assists this upcoming season. But he should post a career-high in hits with 301. Why? Because he's still young and has plenty of mileage. He'll play into his role more for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2024-25.