Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel Goes Hat-Fishing in New Tradition

The Vegas Golden Knights scored their first home hat-trick not only of the season but under first-year head coach Bruce Cassidy Sunday. Jack Eichel had a hatty in the VGK's 7-2 rout of the Columbus Blue Jackets. But afterward, he seemingly did something strange, as he took a hat for himself.

Postgame, Eichel explained how he is following coach Cassidy's new tradition of taking a hat from the ice for a collection in the locker room. 

"Butch (Bruce Cassidy) was saying that he wants to start a new tradition that if you get a hat-trick you take one of the hats and put it up… I was looking in the container and it had nice hockey laces on it so I grabbed it. It's not a bad hat… but I'm not going to put it in my house," said Eichel.

The hat-trick was just the second one of the season for the VGK, with Eichel having the other in Buffalo back in November. However this goal came at home, marking the Golden Knight's first home hat-trick since May of 2021, when Reilly Smith scored one.

The Golden Knights aren't a very historic franchise, but having a tradition like this start early in their history will slowly build up their repertoire. 

"I thought they could go choose the one they liked the best and we will find a spot in the locker room or trainers room somewhere to hang it up to be a little bit of a tradition. You can sign it so over the years people can say 'Ah Jack Eichel got one on March 19th.' They had something like that in Boston, I thought it was cool because some of them were very old. We'll get it going and see if it sticks," said Cassidy.

Collecting hats is just nother in the list of fun team-building activities that the VGK are incorporating in their locker room culture. With energizers Mark Stone, Will Carrier, and Logan Thompson all out of the lineup, having these fun incentives and traditions is key to a healthy group of guys.

"I think we have a pretty tight group in here. The guys all enjoy each other's company and little things like that can go a long way. Whatever can bring the group closer makes it a lot more fun to come to the rink and hang out with these guys," said Eichel.

The Golden Knights now embark on a three-game road trip, starting in Vancouver on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.