It’s September, which means Pumpkin Spice is back at Starbucks and hockey is around the corner.
If it feels like it was just yesterday the Vegas Golden Knights were two wins away from winning the Stanley Cup, you’re not wrong. Such is the fun of a short offseason after a lengthy playoff run.
The Knights will be back to work soon. Their annual golf classic at TPC Summerlin is Tuesday, marking the first time everyone is together since the end of the year. Soon, prep begins for the 10th season in team history.
Here are some things to look forward to over the next month.
What happens between now and training camp?
Things will start to rev up slowly but surely over the next week. That will begin with rookie camp opening on Friday, followed by the Knights rookies participating in the Rookie Faceoff in San Jose, California, from Sept. 12-15.
Once they return, training camp will follow suit. The Knights don’t have much drama to iron out with the roster, especially with the preseason shortened from seven games to four games.
The NHL roster will mostly remain the same from the group that came close to winning the Stanley Cup before losing to the Hurricanes. Parker Wotherspoon replaces Kaedan Korczak on the blue line, and Marc Gatcomb is the first candidate to replace Keegan Kolesar on the fourth line.
Who plays on the fourth line?
One battle that will be decided during camp is who plays on both wings with Nic Dowd centering the fourth line.
It’s going to be a completely new group following the trade of Kolesar to Detroit and Cole Smith signing with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Gatcomb will be one of the obvious choices. The 27-year-old signed a two-year deal on July 1 after spending the past two years with the New York Islanders. He appeared in 49 games last season, scoring seven points.
It’s possible that the 12th and 13th forward spots will feature competition from AHL Henderson. Tanner Lacyznski, Jonas Rondbjerg and Kai Uchacz will be names to watch after each flourished and developed under new coach Ryan Craig.
Can Trevor Connelly make roster?
Maybe the last roster spot goes to the Knights’ top prospect. It isn’t out of the question that Connelly could compete for a full-time job or, at the very least, for some occasional call-ups.
The Knights’ first-round pick from 2024 has shown flashes that he’s ready to take that next step. The 20-year-old had 49 points in 46 games with the Silver Knights last season that included a franchise record 15-game point streak.
Health is the only thing holding Connelly back. He missed training camp last season with a lower-body injury he suffered during the World Juniors showcase. Connelly had to miss the World Juniors championships with another lower-body injury in December that forced him to miss a month and a half.
Connelly returned in time to help the Silver Knights reach the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time.
“I’m just happy I was healthy for the second half of the year and playing consistently,” Connelly said at development camp in June. “We had such a great group down there. Such a fun year. Just looking at the summer, it’s an opportunity to come into camp, have a real impact on camp, get stronger, work on areas of my game I need to get stronger at.”
What about Ryan Craig’s coaching style?
The easy answer is to expect more of the same of what the Knights have done from the first-time NHL head coach, which is focusing on defending well in front of the net and working their way out.
Craig gets to put his own spin on everything he’s done for the past nine seasons in the organization. There may be things he gets from being an assistant under Gerard Gallant, Pete DeBoer and Bruce Cassidy – and maybe some tidbits from John Tortorella.
The 44-year-old is a former captain in the American Hockey League. He will command the respect of his players. He will also work well with the players that have played under him before. It’s still fair to say it could be a work-in-progress.
“I’m in a different chair now,” Craig said, “but I do know that those guys in the room, there’s a level of respect, I believe, between all of us and there’s also a shared goal of trying to win a Stanley Cup.”
Will the Knights make a big move?
Right now? No. Unless something crazy falls out of the sky, expect this roster to be the same heading into training camp.
Could it change? Always. Especially with a name like Connor Hellebuyck now requesting a trade, the Knights will always try to find a way. The talk of Dylan Larkin has cooled down for now, but one has to monitor that situation with Steve Yzerman no longer the general manager in Detroit.
Any big news before the season could be in the form of contract extensions for captain Mark Stone and center William Karlsson. Both are too valuable to let those situations drag on for long. Expect that steam to pick up once things get going.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
