Top Players To Watch During Golden Knights Rookie Camp

Last Thursday, the Vegas Golden Knights revealed their rookie camp roster, which featured 28 prospects from the team’s system. Today marked the first day of camp with players doing off-ice training and medical testing.

Most of rookie camp will be away in San Jose, as the Golden Knights will compete in the Rookie Faceoff Tournament from September 16-19. Tomorrow at 10:00 am is the only time you can catch these prospects in action at City National Arena.

The VGK will then hit the road to play against the prospects of the San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, and Colorado Avalanche.

Here’s the VGK’s schedule. You can tune into all games on OX Sports Las Vegas 98.9FM/1340 AM.

9/16- VGK v ARZ 4:30 pm, Orange Rink, Sharks Ice at San Jose.

9/17- VGK v LAK 2:00 pm, Tech CU Arena.

9/19- VGK v ANA 12:30 pm, Orange Rink, Sharks Ice at San Jose.

Prospects to Watch

Brendan Brisson

Easily the biggest prospect the Golden Knights have not only in this camp but in their entire organization is Brendan Brisson. The 2020 first-round pick has the best chance of cracking a roster spot this season for the VGK after he signed his ELC.

Brisson is a dynamic offensive scorer who has played for Team USA at the Olympics, alongside other top NHL prospects at the University of Michigan, and most recently with the Henderson Silver Knights.

He can play both center and wing, and his skillset makes him the biggest highlight of rookie camp. Expect Brisson’s path to the NHL to not only be a story in this camp but in standard training camp next week.

Lukas Cormier

Now a 2022 World Junior Gold Medalist, Lukas Cormier is an offensively-gifted Canadian defenseman who has shown flashes of greatness in his junior career.

He has won the Emile Bouchard trophy the past two seasons in the QMJHL, which is essentially the Q’s Norris Trophy, signifying the league’s best defenseman.

With the Golden Knight’s defense set and Kaedan Korczak currently being higher on the depth chart, it is unlikely that we will see the 20-year-old defenseman this season in the NHL.

But as Senator Palpatine once said, “We will watch your career with great interest!”

Zach Dean

Another first-round pick, Zach Dean, has a bit more development to go through before he can be considered ready for the NHL. At just 19 years old, the centerman Dean is coming off a 52-point campaign in 47 games with Gatineau in the Q.

He’s another solid prospect the Golden Knights will look to develop at this year’s rookie camp and into the future.

William Riedell

I wanted to include William Riedell because he is currently the only player signed to a professional tryout with the Golden Knights.

He is an undrafted 25-year-old two-way defenseman who recently made his professional hockey debut with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL after five years in college.

I’m curious to see what management sees in Riedell and why he, of all players, was given a PTO. Again, the Golden Knight’s defense is set, but he could be a solid add to the HSK.

Isaiah Saville

Logan Thompson has the red carpet layed out for him to become the starter for the Vegas Golden Knights this season. So this means the Silver Knights will need a new permanent starter.

Isaiah Saville signed a three-year ELC with the Golden Knights in March of 2022. He is a 21-year-old American goaltender coming out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

With Thompson, Adin Hill, Laurent Brossoit, Michael Hutchinson, and if you want to include him, Robin Lehner, making up the Golden Knights goalie depth, Saville will likely not play in the NHL this season either.

But his development could be key to the Golden Knight’s goaltending in the near future, with Thompson making the likely permanent jump to the NHL.