Takeaways From VGK Rookie Games In San Jose

The Golden Knights rookies return from San Jose with a shootout win, a shutout loss, and a few injuries after a couple of hard-fought games against the Mammoth and Avalanche. Special teams played a large part in both games as VGK allowed all three goals on the penalty kill to Utah and then scored a few on the power play, including a late one to tie the game against Colorado.

These games are about much more than results, though. The key storyline as the Golden Knights rookies return to Vegas will be the health of Trevor Connelly and Ben Hemmerling, but here are a few other takeaways as well.

Connelly and Hemmerling injured

In the first game, Trevor Connelly was boarded viciously and illegally by Utah 4th round pick Gabe Smith. Connelly was down on the ice for a while before walking off under his own power. He returned to the bench in the 3rd period but did not take a shift in the game.

Being a long layoff, we didn’t want to jeopardize anything with him, so we pulled the reins on him a little. It was good to see him back. He got good clearance from our staff so we wanted to take it easy for Game 1. -Joel Ward, Silver Knights head coach

Connelly did not dress in the second game.

Hemmerling was injured in the 1st period of Sunday’s game against Colorado after taking a big open-ice hit from Gustav Stjernberg (a 23-year-old defenseman who played 11 games in the AHL last season after finishing up his career at Bowling Green). Matheau Cataford immediately stepped up to fight the big defenseman. Hemmerling did not return to the game. Ward did not speak about the injury postgame.

Trent Swick’s arrival

The 6’7” power forward, selected by the Golden Knights in the 6th round of the 2024 Draft, had a big weekend in San Jose. He made a few excellent plays on the forecheck in the game on Saturday, including one in which he pickpocketed a defenseman on a breakout and then nearly scored. On Sunday, he posted three points, including two goals and an assist, and did most of his work directly in front of the goal. Ward lauded the fact that Swick is not just a big body but has a lot of skill, especially in small areas, which is not typically the case for the bigger guys. He signed a three-year entry-level contract in March of 2025 and dominated the ECHL last season. It’ll be interesting to see how he’s able to transition into the AHL (and maybe beyond) this year.

To a lesser degree, Swick’s linemate Alex Weiermair did the same. He was probably VGK’s best player in the game on Saturday, despite the Golden Knights being shut out. His ability to hold the puck in traffic is exciting. It’s a skill that’s incredibly hard to teach; either you have it, or you don’t, and it appears Weiermair has it.

Mixed bag for young defensemen

This was the first chance for 2026 Draft picks Sean Burick and Will McLaughlin to wear Vegas gold, and it was an up-and-down experience for each of them. It started out pretty rough for Burick as he was blown by a couple of times on an early Utah power play, leading to two goals. He recovered nicely as the game went on, though, and appeared to begin to adjust to the speed of the game. On Sunday, he looked much better recovering pucks and using his long reach to keep better gaps. He probably won’t look back too fondly at these two games, but it’s always a tough ask for an 18-year-old without much practice time to keep up with guys who have been playing pro hockey for a few years.

McLaughlin really stood out when the Golden Knights were on the power play. He’s a swift skater with excellent vision through the neutral zone. Time and time again on VGK entries, he’d carry the puck up and either skate it in himself or make the right play to get the Golden Knights an easy entry. He looked confident as the PP QB up near the blue line as well. At 5-on-5, it wasn’t as good as his decision-making wasn’t up to the necessary speed. Add in that physicality being a lot higher than what he’s probably used to, and there were some mistakes that need to be eliminated.

For both Burick and McLaughlin, it’s a good introduction to the pace and power that come with these games. They both have plenty of time to adjust, and they both showed enough to remain excited about their futures.

Kmec and Stanick could be next up

Before the games were played, I mentioned there was a group of about eight players who could position themselves for an NHL call-up this season. The two who took the biggest strides towards that over the weekend were Viliam Kmec and Sloan Stanick.

Kmec looked like the grown-up on the blueline for the Golden Knights. His gap control was strong all weekend, he was quick and smart with his first touch deep in the zone, and his positioning was solid in front of the goalies in both games. He also wired a shot to the corner on Sunday (he hit a post on another shot too), standing as the only defenseman to score for VGK in the two games.

Stanick was Ward’s choice to step in for Connelly on the top line and he proved that decision right, playing a direct, hard game. He’s very good along the walls and is willing to get to the front of the goal in the offensive zone. Plus, he’s reliable backchecking and reloading defensively, which will go a long way towards earning minutes at the AHL level this season.

Don’t expect either of these guys to make a serious run at making the NHL roster out of camp, but they’ll both be in the Silver Knights lineup regularly and a big start to the season could have each of them on the precipice quickly.