LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The NHL Draft will take place in Las Vegas for the first time from June 28-29. It will mark the first live televised event at the Sphere and the eighth entry draft for the Golden Knights.
VGK is known for its winning ways but not necessarily winning in the draft. General manager Kelly McCrimmon and the 'Vegas Born' front office have been in win-now mode since their inaugural season, often swapping picks for players or selling young prospects for more experienced players.
Of 50 draft selections over the team's seven entry drafts, only nine remain on the roster. The team has a history of swapping, wheeling and dealing, like sending Buffalo a blockbuster package for Jack Eichel in 2021 and trading David Edstrom, the team's first round pick of the 2023 draft, to San Jose last season in a package for Tomas Hertl.
Ahead of this year's draft, Channel 13 caught up with Golden Knights play-by-play voice Dave Goucher to hear his thoughts on VGK's draft track record.
“They’ve done a great job of drafting NHL players over the years and turning those players into established NHL players with all the big trades they’ve made," Goucher said.
The veteran-led Golden Knights leaned into the trade market to help make their 2023 Stanley Cup title possible, acquiring key contributors like Stone, Eichel, and Chandler Stephenson. Nic Hague was the only VGK entry draftee to play on the team when they won the Cup. A healthy scratch for the Finals, VGK draftee Paul Cotter also had his name etched in the Cup.
“When you can add Mark Stone or you could add Jack Eichel, and these guys are stars in the league and in their prime, I think you have to do those moves. You think about it. They had one player they drafted on the Cup team last year and that was Nic Hague. That didn’t bother anybody.”
Goucher points out three of the Knights' most recent draft picks as being impressive with their opportunities in gold.
"A player I thought was good last year for the Golden Knights was Kaeden Korczak," Goucher said. "You think of Brendan Brisson. The other player I'd throw in there is Pavel Dorofeyev who has really had these flashes the last couple years of coming in and playing well.”
“Can Brisson hold up to the rigors of a season? I think he can," Goucher said regarding the team's young guns being built to withstand a long season. "I think Dorofeyev can. He was here pretty much all of last season."
One would think the team holds onto their 19th overall pick this year to have a first round pick in a draft held in their own backyard. It could also be the start to a new chapter of Vegas adding talent through the draft, getting younger after the team's one-and-done playoff outing.
"Now going into year eight," Goucher wonders. "Do they look to some of these younger players and younger blood to have bigger impacts?”
The NHL Draft runs from June 28-29 and you can watch it on ESPN and ESPN+.