Trades and Kelly McCrimmon go together like peanut butter and jelly. It's what has made the Vegas Golden Knights a Stanley Cup contender again. You can count the number of trades that made the team Stanley Cup champions in 2023 and are putting them back in that position.
Players like Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Ivan Barbashev were all acquired by trade. In fact, Barbashev was the final piece needed to win that 2023 Stanley Cup, coming over from the St. Louis Blues. That season, he scored six goals and 10 assists in 23 games with his new team. The Russian winger also recorded 50 hits and 15 takeaways in that stint, making him a vital piece of the finished story.
While the trade deadline is quickly approaching like LeBron James's receding hairline, that's not what this article's about. Instead, it's the three best homegrown talents currently playing in Las Vegas. Let's honor those who haven't been used to acquire big names like Eichel, Stone, or Barbashev. Instead, let's give it up for the homegrown players who stayed for the home cooking. Gotta love those tortas and wings in Vegas, eh?
So what constitutes a "homegrown" player? For one, they must debut with the NHL club and have stuck with them throughout their career. That means no brief stints in Anaheim or Columbus (sorry, William Karlsson and Shea Theodore). That also means no rookies who've spent 20 or fewers games in the NHL (sorry, Kaedan Korczak). Here are three players straight from the farm system who are thriving and alivin' with the main club right now.
Pavel Dorofeyev
There's nothing more refreshing than seeing a homegrown player blossom into a superstar. For example, nobody saw Pavel Datsyuk come out of nowhere until he scored 314 goals and 604 assists during his career. Now? He's in the Hockey Hall of Fame and is a three-time Selke winner and four-time Lady Byng winner.
That could be the same career path Pavel Dorofeyev takes with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Russian winger has a team-high 23 goals, with 10 coming on the power play. If he continues scorching the NHL in more ways than one, he'll become a crucial piece for winning another Stanley Cup.
Nicolas Hague
While Nicolas Hague might not be as offensively proficient as Dorofeyev (18 career goals and 61 career assists for the blue liner), the defenseman has plenty going for him. He's 6'6" and weighs 230 lbs., making him an imposing figure on the ice. Considering Vegas doesn't have many 6'6" players roaming around, this is a major plus for an organization needing some bite.
The 26-year-old has shown he has that defensive bite, too. He has 459 career blocked shots and 545 career hits, making him a classic defenseman. Fans have worried about a lack of solid defensive options with the team being close to a glass cannon. However, Hague is proving he can be a reliable piece to build around, putting his body on the line every night.
Keegan Kolesar
Say that you want a player who scores goals like Pavel Dorofeyev but hits hard like Nicolas Hague. You want that player to be a physical presence on the lower lines. He'd be the perfect grind line player, hustling and forecheckin on every shift. Enter Keegan Kolesar.
The native of Brandon, Manitoba, has 10 goals (a career-high) and 12 assists in 2024-25. He also has 164 hits this season, making him a valuable physical player (1,075 career hits). It's no wonder the 27-year-old got a three-year contract extension worth $2.5 million annually. Fans can expect more punishing hits and great play in the bottom six for years to come.