LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — After skating across the country and winning national championships, Austin Moline hopes to hear his name called in his hometown of Las Vegas.
Following Thursday's NHL Awards, Friday and Saturday's NHL Draft at the Sphere marks the first of its kind to be hosted in Vegas. Another historic first for the city's hockey scene could be a local kid going off the board.
A 6'4" defenseman, Moline is ranked by the NHL Central scouting list as the #181 in the 2024 draft class. Of over 200 players who will go pro this weekend, the Summerlin native hopes to be one of them.
“My size, I have a good stick, long reach. I’m physical, my best attribute is passing," Moline told Channel 13's Nick Walters at City National Arena when asked about his skill-set.
“It feels great to represent this city. I’m sure in the next 5, 10 years there’s going to be a lot of great players that come out of here too, so I can’t wait to watch that too.”
Moline has watched his hometown's youth hockey scene explode since the Vegas Golden Knights' arrival in 2017.
“There’s definitely a lot more little kids," Moline said. "People are a lot more involved in it, which is great to see. Back then there were people involved but just smaller groups of kids.”
Practicing regularly at Las Vegas Ice Center growing up, Moline's hockey journey began at an early age and has spanned from the West Coast to the North.
“I started playing when I was 4 years old for the Nevada Storm," Moline said. "I had a great group of friends back then, great coaches. I played there until the Knights came, so that’s a long time. Played for the Junior Vegas Golden Knights for two years. After that, I went to California with one of my buddies here. After that, COVID happened so I decided to go out to a smaller school in Minnesota called North Star Christian Academy. After that I decided to go to Shattuck-St. Mary’s for three years.”
Moline's time at Shattuck-St. Mary's included two national championship wins, the second of which came at City National Arena in his hometown.
“We won it rink right here," Moline said. "We had a great group of guys this year and we couldn’t have done it without them.”
A recent high school graduate, Moline is slated to play for Wisconsin's top-tier USHL junior team, the Madison Capitals, next season. He is committed to play for NCAA D1 program Northern Michigan afterward barring being drafted.
“I obviously wouldn’t be able to do it without my family, friends support through the years," Moline said. "My mom’s been with me the last two years supporting me in Minnesota. She cooked food for me all the time, folded my clothes and stuff like that, so she definitely helped me out a lot.”
“I’m so proud of him," said Austin's mom Rhonda. "He’s worked hard for many years. He’s been skating for 14 years now. He’s really dedicated, committed, and I’m excited for his future.”
Regardless of what happens in the draft, Moline tells Channel 13 that he plans to help bring in the next wave of Las Vegas hockey players.
“It’s cool to be a role model," Moline said. "Maybe come down here, train young kids when I’m older. Help them out and tell them my story as well. Tell them that you have to work hard when people aren’t watching so it’s going to be great to help these kids out.”