Golden Knights Goalie Coach In Waiting?

The Golden Knights have a “new” goaltending coach, and he’s a familiar name to GM George McPhee. Mike Rosati accepted a position as an amateur goaltending consultant in Vegas… possibly as long ago as August.

According to a newspaper article in Barrie, Ontario, Rosati has been working with Golden Knights goalie coach Dave Prior for quite a while.

Rosati will work under Golden Knights director of goaltending and goalie coach Dave Prior. “We maintained a friendship and relationship over all these years and we always talked about working together one day with an NHL club, so when he got hired by Las Vegas his first phone call was to me to be an assistant,” Rosati added. -Gene Pereira, Barrie Examiner

Rosati was drafted 131st overall in 1988 by the New York Rangers and only played one game in the NHL during his career. It was for the McPhee managed Washington Capitals in 1998 in a game the then starter Olaf Kolzig had to miss due to injury.

Rosati has been the goaltending coach and an assistant coach for the Barrie Colts of the OHL. He also owns a goaltending academy in Canada. He announced via Twitter his position with the Golden Knights the same day the team unveiled their name (November 22nd), but could easily have been on board well before that. The team has yet to announce him as a member of the Golden Knights staff.

Proud to be part of it. #vegasishockey pic.twitter.com/Zr3mINGl6J

— mike rosati (@RosatiMike) November 23, 2016

His job with the Golden Knights will ultimately be as Prior’s assistant. He’ll work with goalies in the Golden Knights farm system, junior prospects and report directly to Prior. -Gene Pereira, Barrie Examiner

Rosati worked both jobs as goalie coach for the Barrie Colts and goalie consultant for the Golden Knights during last season of the OHL. He says he’s not sure if the Golden Knights will have enough goalies to force him to leave Barrie, but does expect to make plenty of trips to Chicago to work with the Wolves (and maybe Mallards) goalies.

Could we have just found the first coach on the Chicago Wolves new Golden Knights affiliate led assigned staff?