LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Vegas Golden Knights are continuing to spread holiday cheer as part of their "12 Knights of Giving" initiative.
On Thursday, nine players, including Brett Howden, Alec Martinez, Shea Theodore, Jack Eichel, Brayden McNabb, Zach Whitecloud, Mark Stone, Jonathan Marchessault, and Jiri Patera stopped by University Medical Center and visited pediatric patients at the Children's Hospital. They were joined by mascot Chance and members of the Vegas Vivas dance team.
Marchessault and Eichel said it meant a lot to bring joy to kids and their families.
"Coming here makes you sit back a little bit and think how health is important and you want to put a smile on a kid's face," Marchessault said.
"They're in a tough spot, obviously," Eichel said. "If you're able to make a short, quick connection with someone and hopefully, give them something to remember, I think it goes a long way."
While this group was visiting UMC, other players and members of the Vegas Golden Knights organization were at Three Square Food Bank and distributing meals to families at the Desert Breeze Community Center.
"Giving out food yesterday was really fun," Nicolas Roy said on Friday. "I know some guys went to the hospital to see some kids. We try to help as much as we can in the community. We get so much support from the community. I saw a lot of smiles yesterday. It was just fun."
We’re with Roy, LT, Hague, Stephenson, Cotter and Kolesar handing out food with @threesquareLV to families in need!🥫 pic.twitter.com/SXOlGysI4F
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) December 14, 2023
This holiday season, the Knights have also visited local schools, hosted youth hockey clinics, a toy drive, a food drive, a blanket drive, and are selling special shirts to benefit UNLV student services.