LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — In this week's edition of Knights in the Morning, we hear from Golden Knights defenseman Kaeden Korczak.
Vegas drafted the Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada native in the 2nd round of the 2019 NHL Draft. Starting play with the Henderson Silver Knights in the 2020-21 season, Korczak debuted for VGK in the 2021-22 season.
In the Knights' Stanley Cup champion 2022-23 season, Korczak recorded his first NHL point. He scored his first NHL goal early on in the 2023-24 season.
After playing a career-high 26 games with the Golden Knights through the 2023-24 season, Korczak signed a two-year extension with Vegas over the summer.
The 23-year-old never would have expected to play hockey in the desert. When asked by Channel 13's Nick Walters how he's adapted to Vegas, he says "it's been awesome."
"I've never really been around here, kind of just playing hockey in Canada for the most part," Korczak said. "Coming down here was my first experience of living in the states. Vegas has been awesome to myself and looking forward to the future."
Like many Canadian NHL players, Korczak's surroundings growing up helped get him into hockey.
"My dad played a little bit of hockey and honestly it just gets so cold there that the lakes freeze up and there's not much to do after school," Korczak said. "You just go on the lake, shoot and skate, and that's where we kind of fell in love with the game."