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(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

While we wait with uncertainty on the specifics of the 2020-21 NHL season, there’s plenty of VGK hockey being played. Currently, 17 Golden Knights prospects are either already playing or getting ready to play this season.

Here’s a list of all Vegas prospects in action and how to watch their games.

Layton Ahac (2019, 2nd)
NCAA – Ohio State

Entering his sophomore season, Ahac’s Buckeyes are expected to be very good this season, already ranking in the Top 10. Ohio State games can often be found on NBCSN, Big 10 Network, or Big 10+.

Brendan Brisson (2020, 1st)
NCAA – Michigan

Brisson has played in his first two collegiate games and is already on the board with two points. Michigan games can often be found on Big 10 Network and Big 10+.

Nick Campoli (2017, 6th)
NCAA – Clarkson

Campoli is entering his Junior season as a Clarkson Golden Knight. He has been more of a checking forward to this point in his career. Maybe this is the season the offense starts to come through. It needs to or his time as a VGK prospect will be limited. Clarkson’s schedule begins on November 22nd with many games airing on ESPN+.

Lukas Cormier (2020, 3rd)
QMJHL – Charlottetown Islanders

Cormier is a big-time point collecting defenseman that is a lot of fun to watch. He’s in the running to be a part of the Team Canada World Junior roster for the tournament beginning on Christmas Day, but in the meantime, the QMJHL rolls along with a few games a week. All QMJHL games stream live on their website using the All Acess subscription.

Peter Diliberatore (2018, 6th)
NCAA – Quinnipiac

Diliberatore had an excellent sophomore season and should be expected to be a huge part of a very good Quinnipiac team. The Bobcats first game is scheduled for November 24th with a few games streaming on ESPN+.

Ryder Donovan (2019, 4th)
NCAA – Wisconsin

Donovan scored a pair of goals in the Badgers’ second game of the season. He’s currently playing on the 4th line as a wing. Many games air on Big 10 Network or stream on Big 10+.

Behind The Scenes Look At Golden Knights and Stars Series From “We’re Not Going Home”

By Jason Pothier

On November 14, 2020

In Team Ops

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Playoff “Photographer” @BadSportsArt)

It’s always interesting to get a behind the scenes look at an NHL playoff series, especially from this year’s playoff bubble. Although the Golden Knights last played 60 days ago, this week we got some visual details from their series with the Dallas Stars.

The Stars released an “all-access journey” through their 2020 postseason run, and spent time focusing on the Western Conference Finals (the entire show is embedded below). In “We’re Not Going Home,” Dallas sounded extremely confident heading into their seven-game series with Vegas. The Stars were vocal about the Golden Knights’ easy path to the Conference Final.

They haven’t played a fucking team like us boys. Their first two rounds, it was pretty fucking easy. Send a fucking message early. They played two light teams, they’re in for a rude awakening.-Jamie Benn, Stars captain in “We’re Not Going Home”

Of course, Dallas’ Captain was confident at the time after his team beat Calgary in six, and Colorado in seven. It wasn’t just the players either, Dallas’ coaches felt comfortable with the matchup after watching and studying Vegas’ previous series.

Dallas assistant coach, and former LA Kings head coach, John Stevens questioned if Vegas had been pushed enough by Chicago or Vancouver. Stevens believed if the Stars played physical, and their rugged brand of hockey they would advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Golden Knights Post-Expansion Draft Trade Grades

By Ken Boehlke

On November 13, 2020

In Team Ops

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

The Golden Knights have never failed to keep things interesting when it comes to the trade market. From the offseason to the deadline, Vegas is always looking to get in on the action. Since the Expansion Draft (where they made 15 trades), George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon have made 17 NHL level trades.

I went back and put three grades on every single one of them. The first grade is the short-term grade which is intended to judge just the season in which that deal was made. Mid-term grade looks two to three years into the future, and long-term grade is four years and beyond. Here are the grades.

October 6th, 2017
Calvin Pickard for Tobias Lindberg and 6th round pick (Peter Diliberatore)

Short-term grade: F
Mid-term grade: D
Long-term grade: B
Salary Cap Driven: NO

Literally a week after the deal went down, Marc-Andre Fleury suffered a concussion and the Golden Knights had to turn to a goalie they had just declared “not ready to play in the NHL” in Malcolm Subban. Then he and Oscar Dansk got hurt and suddenly the net was Max Lagace’s with 19-year-old Dylan Ferguson as the backup. This is on a team that would eventually win the division and reach the Cup Final. The goalie injuries could have derailed the season and Vegas had traded a useable NHLer for peanuts just weeks earlier. Luckily it didn’t, and the pick they got out of it might actually turn into a useable player in Diliberatore, but boy was this a bad trade in the moment.

February 23rd, 2018
Tobias Lindberg and $2 million retained salary (Derick Brassard) for Ryan Reaves and 4th round pick (Slava Demin)

Short-term grade: B
Mid-term grade: C
Long-term grade: D
Salary Cap Driven: NO

It’s well-documented my feelings for the player the Golden Knights acquired in this trade, which is why the grades are so low. If the deal is never made, do they ever sign him to the ludicrous $2.75 million deal? He did score a game-winning goal in the Western Conference Final and then another goal in the Cup Final which makes that short-term grade look good.

February 26th, 2018
Brendan Leipsic for Philip Holm

Short-term grade: F
Mid-term grade: C
Long-term grade: C
Salary Cap Driven: NO

Our sources say this trade was a precursor to an Erik Karlsson deadline trade that fell through. Once it didn’t happen though, Vegas had given away a useable player for an unusable one on a team headed to the playoffs. The only saving grace on this trade is that Leipsic ended up having some off-ice stuff that occurred on Washington’s watch instead of Vegas’.

February 26th, 2018
1st round pick (Joseph Veleno), 2nd round pick (Robert Mastrosimone), 2021 3rd round pick for Tomas Tatar

Golden Knights Keep Up With 2020 NHL “Oddity”

By Jason Pothier

On November 12, 2020

In Stats

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

In a year where strange is normal, the NHL was no exception and did their part to add to the madness. Unusual statistical occurrences happened over the 2019-20 season, and the Golden Knights were one of those teams in on the action.

There were 125 multi-goal comeback wins, the most in NHL history through 1,082 games (the amount of games played this season instead of 1,271). This is my favourite stat here today because I came across some commentary this season about “hockey today” being less entertaining (less physical, too fast to follow, copycat styles), yet the game itself gave us great drama. The most multi-goal comeback wins EVER. When your team is down in today’s NHL, they aren’t necessarily out.-Justin Bourne, Sportsnet

It really is a remarkable statistic. Just over 1,000 games played and 125 instances where a team comes back to win from a two-plus goal deficit. Early multiple-goal leads in this league won’t always ensure a victory. I guess that’s why we’re constantly told by coaches and players the need to “play the full 60.” Damn, I miss hockey cliché speak.

To add to the oddity, the Golden Knights achieved the feat twice in the regular season, both against the same team.

VGK Comeback Wins Trailing By 2 Goals

1/4 vs. STL: VGK wins 5-4 in OT/Trailed 3-0 in 1st Period
2/13 vs. STL: VGK wins 6-5 in OT/Trailed 4-2 in 2nd Period

Then, in the playoffs, Vegas did it again to St. Louis!

Examining Each Golden Knights Quality Of Competition Faced

By Ken Boehlke

On November 11, 2020

In Stats

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

One of the most powerful tools to measure a hockey player’s importance to a team is by examining how often his coach puts him on the ice. The simple idea is that the coach will play his best players for the most minutes, against the toughest competition, and in the most important situations.

There are all sorts of variables that affect different players’ overall numbers which makes breaking down time on ice very challenging. It’s easy to see who plays the most overall, at even-strength, or on special teams, but who plays against the opposition’s best players, that’s a lot tougher to spot.

Luckily, there are incredibly smart people in the hockey community that dedicate insane amounts of time to figuring it out. One such person is Patrick Bacon (@TopDownHockey). Patrick derived a complex mathematical formula to calculate the quality of every NHL players’ competition using opponent’s ice time. (Here’s the formula if you are interested.)

To dumb it down, this formula uses the fundamental concept that the best players play the most. Thus, the more ice time the players you share the ice with see, the better the quality of competition you’ve faced. For example, if a player plays a majority of his shifts against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who both average nearly 22 minutes a night, his TOIQoC% will be much higher than his teammate who saw most of his ice time against Jujhar Khaira and Sam Gagner, who each average around 14.

The reason these numbers can be so interesting is that they give a peek into the minds of the coaching staff making the decisions. NHL coaches don’t always have the ability to match lines and pairs with the matchups they prefer perfectly, but they are able to get them more often than not. Despite Pete DeBoer’s weird infatuation with starting the 4th line every night, both he and Gerard Gallant were meticulous in setting up the matchups they preferred over the course of the Golden Knights first three seasons.

The numbers speak for themselves, but I’ll do some talking for them after you see the chart. You can sort each season by double-clicking the year at the top. The higher numbers indicate stronger quality of competition.

**For the entire league, check out Patrick’s Tableau page.**

Henderson Silver Knights Unveil Jerseys

By Ken Boehlke

On November 9, 2020

In AHL

The Henderson Silver Knights have revealed their first jerseys. The jerseys are available at Lifeguard Arena (Livery), as well as at City National Arena (Arsenal), and T-Mobile Arena (Armory).

*All images are courtesy of the Vegas Golden Knights.*

5 Knights To Sparkle In Silver This Year

By Ken Boehlke

On November 9, 2020

In Team Ops

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.

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

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.

Alex Tuch Tells Spittin Chiclets How He Improved His Speed

By Jason Pothier

On November 7, 2020

In Team Ops

One of Alex Tuch’s most noticeable skills is his speed. Arguably one Vegas’ fastest players, Tuch revealed that he wasn’t always quick on his skates. The 24-year-old forward had to develop a more effective way to use his stride to gain advantages on ice.

I wasn’t that fast in Minnesota. I worked with a guy out of Rochester, Francois Methot. We broke down my stride completely. Tore it down, everything was different. If you want to go technical, it was the crossover or the lateral crossover. –Alex Tuch on Spittin Chiclets Podcast

Learning how to improve any element to an NHL players game isn’t shocking, but training to skate faster is something that most players can’t successfully achieve. Tuch was built with high-level talent but clearly felt the need to work on his wheels to secure a spot on an NHL club. Which he’s cemented in Vegas.

I would call them quick starts, like when you start from a stop position. He would show me the angle that I needed to be at, how straight your legs got so you push. We kind of broke it down, and after you get it down it’s all about repetition so he bagged me for two months straight. I completely retrained… I continue to do stuff like that in the summer so I’m trying to get faster. –Tuch on Spittin Chiclets Podcast

Tuch clearly knew he needed to become a faster, more powerful skater in order to be a successful pro, and he fully dedicated his entire offseason to doing so, using the same methods studs like Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel use in their offseason training.

When you have that full extension you try to get the biggest strides possible. By getting those big strides you’re really going faster. I know McDavid has that speed, McKinnon and those guys but if you want to see a guy who has probably the longest, smoothest stride you like at my former teammate Jack Eichel. His stride is insane. –Tuch on Spittin Chiclets Podcast

Even after his hard work paid off in developing new skating techniques, #89 further worked on his stride. To be one of the fastest players in the league, Tuch realized he has to stay vigilant and use the tools he learned from his skating sessions in Rochester, NY.

I wasn’t only doing it on the ice. Whenever I was doing sprints or any off-ice workouts were all about the full extension, were all about that angle of acceleration. I continue to do stuff like that in the summer, so I’m trying to get faster. –Tuch on Spittin Chiclets Podcast

Golden Knights fans see Tuch’s speed and skating ability on full display every game. His long strides cut through traffic with grace and power finding open space to breakout or cut behind the net. What seems like god-given talent, is actually hard work paying off.

If a 1st round talent like Tuch can improve his skating after being drafted then it’s possible the guys in the local men’s league can as well. So, tell Fitzy and Sully not to give up their ECHL dreams just yet.

SinBin.vegas Podcast #211: The Livery

By Ken Boehlke

On November 6, 2020

In Podcast

We try to stay focused on hockey while wandering off into jousting, Halloween, horses, among other topics. Hosted by Ken Boehlke and Jason Pothier.

The Henderson Horsie practice pen is opening soon
Jousting
Improving on the team through top six/top four additions
Stamkos FTW?

And much more…

We are on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Play. Subscribe now!

Line/Pair Deployment In Playoffs Under Gallant vs. DeBoer

By Ken Boehlke

On November 5, 2020

In Team Ops

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

One of the bigger changes expected with Pete DeBoer taking over for Gerard Gallant was a little more reliance on top players as opposed to rolling four lines and three pairs.

We expected to see a lot more Mark Stone, Shea Theodore, and William Karlsson, while less Nick Holden, Ryan Reaves, and Tomas Nosek. In the regular season, we saw just that with the defensemen, but the forwards actually saw their TOI decrease slightly after the coaching change.

The playoffs are a different animal though, one where coaching decisions are magnified. The largest of coaching decisions is deployment, which players play when and for how long. The expectation was there would be more of a hierarchy under DeBoer than Gallant, while in reality, there were slight changes, but not what you might expect.

	2019 (Gallant)	2020 (DeBoer)	Difference
1st Line	31.0%	31.0%	0.00
2nd Line	29.3%	27.9%	-1.46
3rd Line	24.6%	25.1%	0.52
4th Line	15.1%	16.0%	0.94

1st Pair	36.0%	37.9%	1.91
2nd Pair	35.7%	36.4%	0.78
3rd Pair	28.3%	25.6%	-2.69

Both DeBoer and Gallant used the Pacioretty/Stone line (which was centered by Stastny in 2019 and Karlsson in 2020) for exactly 31% of the game. That’s a little less than 19 minutes per night.

Praise Be To Foley, Vegas Golden Knights Hockey Website

Page 2 of 272

Where Are VGK Prospects Playing Right Now And How To Watch

Behind The Scenes Look At Golden Knights and Stars Series From “We’re Not Going Home”

Golden Knights Post-Expansion Draft Trade Grades

Golden Knights Keep Up With 2020 NHL “Oddity”

Examining Each Golden Knights Quality Of Competition Faced

Henderson Silver Knights Unveil Jerseys

5 Knights To Sparkle In Silver This Year

Alex Tuch Tells Spittin Chiclets How He Improved His Speed

SinBin.vegas Podcast #211: The Livery

Line/Pair Deployment In Playoffs Under Gallant vs. DeBoer

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