First Look: Phil Kessel Arrives In Las Vegas, Joins Golden Knights

You’re going to love Phil Kessel Las Vegas.

The two-time Stanley Cup Champion nice guy who tries hard and loves the game, officially joined his new team, the Vegas Golden Knights, on Tuesday. It was an informal team skate at City National Arena that was closed to the public. So not much was revealed. But it still gave us a look at the newest Golden Knight in his new team colors.

Not only this, but if you look closely, you can see the new number that Kessel picked out for himself, given that his no. 81 was already taken by Jonathan Marchessault. Kessel will rock no. 8 for the 2022-23 season. He is techically the second player in franchise history to wear the number for the Vegas Golden Knights as Jonathan Dugan wore the number in 2022, but never played an NHL game.

The Thrill pic.twitter.com/k3Hiht64nG

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) September 13, 2022

On August 24, Kessel signed a one-year $1.5 million deal with the Golden Knights. He greatly improves the team’s depth at wing after they decided to get rid of Max Pacioretty, Evgenii Dadonov, and Mattias Janmark in the offseason. Last season Kessel scored 52 points in 82 games with the Arizona Coyotes.

We are gearing up for the 2022-23 NHL season here in Las Vegas. Rookie camp starts tomorrow for 28 Golden Knights prospects. Here’s everything you need to know.

Then on Wednesday, Sept. 21, the Golden Knights will start their 2022 Training Camp, which will lead into preseason action and eventually regular season play.