I can’t believe tomorrow is my last day here in Vegas, it’s been such a great week seeing the city and learning what it means to be a Golden Knight.
Yesterday we visited T-Mobile Arena, it’s a super nice place to play. Some of the stuff that the arena has not a lot of other rinks have, and it’s so big. You can tell they spent a lot of money to make sure they could give the players and the fans the best experience possible. We learned about all the different things that go on during games like the dragon which I had never heard of before, it sounds really awesome. I’m sure having different features like that brings even more fans in because it’s so unique.
It was really cool seeing the locker room too, I’m sure the guys had a great time celebrating the Stanley Cup together in there. When we were in the stands it was crazy to think that they had just raised the Cup in there a year ago and now I’m standing here a part of the organization. It was a crazy feeling. I’m sure it was awesome to be here in Vegas and experience them winning the Cup, I’ve heard that the fans are loud and they can get under the visiting teams’ skin.
After our tour of T-Mobile we got back to the hotel and had some downtime. Then a couple of us went out to get some burgers and fries, some good 4th of July food, followed by some ice cream. Probably not the healthiest dinner for me but oh well it’s my one night. I watched some fireworks from my room which was fun at first but then I felt like they just kept coming. They were really loud and went on for probably a little too long for me since I was pretty tired and wanted to get some sleep.
We have one more scrimmage tomorrow and I’m going to keep the same mindset I had on Tuesday to stick with what I’m good at. In the first game, I thought I did a good job of showing my skills, my skating, and my shot. Hopefully this time, maybe a puck goes in the net. I’ve been playing with really good players, some of them are a little bit older than me which has been cool. The older guys have been able to teach me stuff and they talk to me on the ice which has been pretty special.
It’s cool to hear about what their experience has been making the transition from junior to going pro. They’ve said that it was really hard because now you’re not just playing for fun, you’re playing with guys who are in their 30s and 40s and this is their full-time job. The veterans don’t want to lose their spot on a team to a kid, so you have to put in the extra work. Everyone is fighting to be in the lineup and everyone is also fighting to keep their job so it’s extra competitive but you’re also still going to be friends off the ice. That’s been a really interesting dynamic to learn about from the pro guys.
I don’t feel like I’ve had to change too much of my game to keep up with the older guys, I think my skill and skating are still able to work well for me which is a good feeling. I think those are both things I’m naturally good at, but I think it’s just kind of weird playing against ‘02s and ‘01s, but they’re not just ‘01s in junior, they’re ‘01s with pro hockey experience. So, it’s super weird but also a really great feeling because I feel like I can compete with them.
While I’ve been here, I’ve seen a few of the Golden Knights players come in and out to do their summer training which is really cool. I think it’s important to see that they’re still coming to work, even when it’s summer. It’s obvious that they want to come in and keep getting better, they know they can always be better. Some guys might take vacation, but there are also guys going to the gym to work.
I can tell by the guys who are there that they really want to get better because they’re spending every day in the gym, whether it be training or stretching or maybe getting out of the ice to work on stuff. It’s also really cool that I’m in the same gym as them also trying to get better. I think about how someday I can be here and be able to come to the rink whenever I want to skate and work out. So that’s something I really want to work for.
It feels like it just keeps getting hotter and hotter here, I don’t know if I could even golf in this heat. Hoping for an awesome last day tomorrow, this week flew by!
-Lucas
