(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

For the first time since the nightmare at SAP Center, there will be Golden Knights on the ice this week at City National Arena. 2019 Development Camp gets underway tomorrow with practices for the early half of the week and then scrimmages on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

43 players have been invited to this year’s camp including 22 Golden Knights draft picks. Here’s a quick rundown of the roster.

• Draft Picks by Year
  • 2019 – Kaedan Korczak, Pavel Dorofeyev, Layton Ahac, Ryder Donovan, Isaiah Saville, Marcus Kallionkieli, Mason Primeau (Not Attending: Peyton Krebs)
  • 2018 – Slava Demin, Brandon Kruse, Connor Corcoran, Peter Diliberatore, Xavier Bouchard, Jordan Kooy (Not Attending: Ivan Morozov, Paul Cotter)
  • 2017 – Cody Glass, Nicolas Hague, Jake Leschyshyn, Jonas Rondbjerg, Lucas Elvenes, Jack Dugan, Nick Campoli, Jiri Patera, Ben Jones
• Players Under VGK Control
  • Dylan Coghlan, Dylan Ferguson
• Undrafted Players NOT Under VGK Control
  • 17 – Garrett Pinoniemi
  • 18 – Cole MacKay, Cullen McLean, Zak Smith, Mason Lohrei, Kirby Proctor, Zach Uens, Mike Vorlicky
  • 19 – Wyatt Bongiovanni, Taro Jentzsch, Brayden Pachal
  • 20 – Mick Messner, Charles-Antoine Roy, Bray Crowder, Tim Theocharidis
  • 21 – Mitchell Chaffee, Jermaine Loewen, Keenan Suthers, Gustaf Westlund
• Times attending VGK Camp
  • Third Appearance – Cody Glass, Nicolas Hague, Jake Leschyshyn, Jonas Rondbjerg, Lucas Elvenes, Jack Dugan, Nick Campoli, Jiri Patera, Ben Jones, Dylan Cohglan, Dylan Ferguson
  • Second Appearance – Brandon Kruse, Connor Corcoran, Peter Diliberatore, Xavier Bouchard, Jordan Kooy
  • First Appearance – Slava Demin, Kaedan Korczak, Pavel Dorofeyev, Layton Ahac, Ryder Donovan, Isaiah Saville, Marcus Kallionkieli, Mason Primeau, Garrett Pinoniemi, Cole MacKay, Cullen McLean, Zak Smith, Mason Lohrei, Kirby Proctor, Zach Uens, Mike Vorlicky, Wyatt Bongiovanni, Taro Jentzsch, Brayden Pachal, Mick Messner, Charles-Antoine Roy, Bray Crowder, Tim Theocharidis, Mitchell Chaffee, Jermaine Loewen, Keenan Suthers, Gustaf Westlund

What To Watch

• 2019 Draft Picks

Since Peyton Krebs will not be skating, I’ll have my eyes first and foremost on Pavel Dorofeyev. He’s the most offensive-minded of all of the 2019 Draft picks with an impressive ability to hold the puck in the offensive zone. He has an excellent shot with what’s been described as a creative release.

The battle between Korczak and Ahac should be fun to watch as well. They are similar prospects, but Korczak was the one VGK seemed to value more, trading up to get him. But, since both are defense first type defensemen, I’d be surprised if they stand out too much on the ice in drills or scrimmages.

Finally, there’s Donovan and Kallionkieli. Both natural goal scorers with excellent skating and speed, it will be interesting to see how they look against the 2017 and 2018 picks. Can they keep up? Are they there physically? Will they be able to score?

• Slava Demin

Demin missed last year’s camp after being a 4th round pick in 2018. He had a solid freshman year at the University of Denver and it will literally be the first time I’ve seen him play in person. His skating is what excites me the most, would love to see it show up in a big way in camp.

• NHL Ready

In 2017 both Glass and Hauge looked like just regular guys among the bunch. In 2018, Glass started to stand out a bit more with his creativity but still didn’t seem to really drive offense. Hague still looked a little shaky skating, but his offensive game was dominant and he wowed with his toe-drag goals in scrimmages. This year, it’s time for those two to stand out so far beyond everyone else that it almost seems embarrassing they are even at this camp. When Alex Tuch skated with the Golden Knights prospects in 2017, he looked like a dominant force every time he stepped on the ice, that needs to be Glass and Hague, otherwise, I’m going to start doubting they are truly ready to make the big roster.

• Potential Contracts

Last year all of the hoopla was about Jimmy Schuldt, and we all know how that ended up turning out. This year, there’s no Jimmy Schuldt, but that’s not to say there aren’t a few players who are going to deserve a closer look for a contract.

Read More

Brannstrom remains the most exciting prospect in the VGK pipeline, but there’s a ton to look forward to both on and off the roster. (Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

2018 Golden Knights Development Camp is now over and there is plenty to talk about. From the progression of the 2017 rookie class to Zach Whitecloud’s shot at the NHL roster to the recruitment of Jimmy Schuldt, Development Camp leaves us with many questions, but plenty of hints to the answers.

• The progression of the 2017 Draft picks was noticeable
  • Cody Glass and Nick Suzuki both looked more comfortable in camp. Like last season, Glass’ finishing ability and Suzuki’s hands jumped off the page.
  • Nic Hague continues to look like a monster on the ice and his stick is Brayden McNabb like. Still feels like the skating needs a bit of improvement, but his offensive ability is really exciting. Plus, the “Nic Hague toe drag” is real. He pulled it off multiple times in the scrimmages to get from the point to the slot, or the circle to directly in front of the goal. It rhymes too, which is awesome.
  • Erik Brannstrom remains the dynamic superstar in the making we remember. His confidence on the ice is infectious. When he has the puck, there’s almost an aura that makes everyone watching (including the other players on the ice) believe something special is about to happen. It doesn’t always happen, but every once in a while it does, and in those moments it really happens. It reminds me of a home run hitter in baseball, where every time he steps to the plate, even though he only gets a hit about 30% of the time, you feel like this is going to be the one. It’s electrifying. The problem is, like the home run hitter, 70% of the time it doesn’t happen, and for a defenseman in the NHL, that’s way too much. He’s 18-years-old though. He’s not ready for the NHL yet, as much as that pains me to say.
  • Jack Dugan and Jonas Rondbjerg were the standouts among the other draft picks from the 2017 Draft. After about the 8th time saying “oh, nice play Rondbjerg” or “wow, look at Dugan” I realized their good moments weren’t flashes. It’s certainly exciting to see a few non-first round picks separate themselves from the pack a bit.

Read More