The Henderson Silver Knights take center stage this week with the unveiling of their jerseys today, the opening of Lifeguard Arena tomorrow, and an open house at The Orleans on Friday and Saturday.
The current plan is for the AHL season to start on February 5th with the Silver Knights playing in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference (the Wolves were in the Central).
There’s still a lot to be determined as to exactly how the Henderson roster will look when they play their first game at Orleans Arena, but here are five lesser-known Silver Knights to keep an eye on.
Jonas Rondbjerg
Rondbjerg was impressive in Development Camp in 2019 and followed it up by playing well early in training camp before being re-assigned. The Danish forward only played one game in the AHL before breaking his arm and missing the rest of the year. This year, he’ll look to rebound and put up the season that was expected from him last year. He’s a two-way forward who is an excellent forechecker and has enough finishing ability to turn defensive errors into goals. As long as he’s not a different player following the injury, he should push to become the yo-yo player this year at the bottom of the VGK depth-chart.
Ryan Murphy
Returning from a season in Russia, the former 1st round pick (12th overall in 2011) boasts an NHL resume matched by no one on the projected Silver Knights roster. Murphy has played 175 NHL games, just 20 short of his 195 AHL games. He was an alternate captain and played nearly 20 minutes per night for Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. He’ll have a lot of younger defensemen to hold off for playing time in Henderson, but there’s no way Manny Viveiros will be able to keep Murphy out of his lineup. He was a sneaky good signing by the Golden/Silver Knights, and it’s not out of the question he comes into VGK camp and pushes for a spot on the big club.
Dylan Sikura
Now that the AHL team is in town and more Golden Knights fans will be attending, the outcomes of the games will be a bit more important. Sikura is going to be one of the players who helps the Silver Knights win games because he’s a point producer. His size, coupled with the crowded top-six of the Golden Knights will probably keep him out of the NHL this season, but he should be expected to make an impact for the Silver Knights. It wouldn’t be surprising if Sikura pushes a point per game pace in his first season with Henderson.
Danny O’Regan
The German-born O’Regan is another guy like Sikura that will rack up points at the AHL level. In 244 AHL games, O’Regan has scored 67 goals and amassed 154 points. His best season came with the San Jose Barracuda in 2016-17 where he led the team in points. This was a DeBoer-system team including players such as Barclay Goodrow, Marcus Sorenson, Tim Heed, Joakim Ryan, and Ryan Carpenter. Similar to players like Daniel Carr, T.J. Tynan, Paul Thompson, and Curtis McKenzie, O’Regan will likely put up solid numbers at the AHL level helping the Silver Knights win games at the Orleans.
Brayden Pachal
Normally when we talk about the group of young defensemen in the Golden Knights system, Pachal’s name is left out. The main reason for that previously was age, he’s at least one year younger than each of Zach Whitecloud, Jimmy Schuldt, Jake Bischoff, and Dylan Coghlan. Pachal’s first season in the AHL was solid for a rookie and many players take major steps in their second professional season. Pachal is a right-hand shot who plays the game with an edge. His offensive game is not his calling card, but I think with more live viewings fans will appreciate his game a lot more.
Dean
This is all fine and dandy, but do you really think there will be an AHL season this year? Its tough enough to make the NHL work without fans (or at 10% occupancy). I don’t see how you make this work for the AHL with no big money TV deal.
Richard Rice
I agree. I live in Illinois where our governor is running amok closing every thing down. No way can the Wolves survive with only 10 people in the stands .
Daryl
Not to bring politics into this but with Biden winning the election there is a very good chance he will do the best he can to shut down the US again. He even said so during one of his speeches. It will be very interesting what happens the start of 2021
Davester
Agree Daryl. Biden says he will base his decision off what the scientists and medical professionals say. Well scientists don’t make decisions based on economics. We need to also consider what the economists say. Keeping economies open so that people can make a living is just as important.
Janna Rodriguez
Keeping people alive so they’re able to work and make a living is also important.
Daryl
True, but during the full lockdown, suicides went up over 200%. That’s not keeping people alive. Look at how many businesses folded and what it did to people who lost their jobs/businesses. The cure (lockdown) cannot be worse than the problem.
Mikegron32
Looking forward to watching some of these guys play! Can I get a spell check/pronunciation in this team? “ Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk.”
This is such a huge step in the continued evolving of hockey in Vegas. Another great practice facility filled with youth hockey, a brand new arena, and the opportunity to watch VGK prospects play meaningful games in person. I think it’s going to be an amazing family/locals atmosphere at these games, especially once the new arena in Henderson is completed. I’m hoping these jerseys are electric silver. A bunch of those blended with gold at the VGK games will look awesome and totally Vegas
Richard Rice
I agree. I live in Illinois where our governor is running amok closing every thing down. No way can the Wolves survive with only 10 people in the stands .
VGK2018
Nevada isn’t any better…actually it is worse.
Davester
Agree Daryl. Biden says he will base his decision off what the scientists and medical professionals say. Well scientists don’t make decisions based on economics. We need to also consider what the economists say. Keeping economies open so that people can make a living is just as important.