My Journey to Vegas Hockey Now

As I begin my journey covering the Golden Knights for Vegas Hockey Now, here is what I am prepared to bring to the table.

Believe it or not, I first fell in love with hockey by accident.

As a little kid growing up in the Boston suburbs, I began watching baseball and football before I could even remember much of anything. However, my first exposure to the sport of hockey did not come until the fateful evening of April 10, 2008.

That night, six year-old Adam went to turn on the Red Sox game on television. However, due to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens, NESN—which televises both teams—bumped the Red Sox game to an alternate channel. Being six years old and not knowing how to find said alternate channel, I decided to watch the hockey game until my dad got home to help me find it.

Although the game was a blowout in favor of Montreal, the sport’s fast-paced action, excitement, and physicality fascinated me. Quickly, I became hooked. The following season, I began watching the NHL on a regular basis.

I was lucky enough to be able attend dozens of games at TD Garden as a kid. In fact, I still have the ticket stub from the first hockey game that I ever attended: Bruins vs. Atlanta Thrashers on December 23, 2010. Given that the Thrashers have not existed since 2011 and physical tickets are largely a thing of the past, it feels like a relic of a bygone era.

The Bruins’ 2011, 2013, and 2019 runs to the Stanley Cup Final will always be special to me. In 2011 and 2013, when my parents made me go to bed before the games were over, I would turn on the alarm clock radio in my room and listen to current Golden Knights television voice call Dave Goucher call the action. (Mom and dad, if you are reading this, I’m sorry.)

However, my favorite hockey memory to this day is being inside the Garden for Game 1 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final between the Bruins—coached by now-Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy—and the St. Louis Blues. Witnessing the crowd eruption after Torey Krug delivered his famous hit on Robert Thomas was an incredible moment, like very few others I have ever experienced.

Three months later, I moved to Los Angeles to enroll at USC, where I studied economics and sports media. Upon arriving in LA, I quickly learned that hockey did not have the same prominent role in the sports landscape there as it did back in Boston. On the bright side, though, this meant that tickets to games were very affordable, even for someone on a college student budget. Thanks to that, as well as the LA Kings playing their home games just two miles from USC’s campus, I was able to attend numerous hockey games during my time in college.

Having graduated from USC this past May, I am now excited to begin the next step in my life and hockey journeys. And I am even more thrilled that this next step will be covering the Golden Knights for Vegas Hockey Now.

In a way, I think that it is rather fitting that my first experience covering an NHL beat will come with the Golden Knights. After all, like me, Vegas is a relative newbie in this business. Being in high school when the Golden Knights debuted, I remember watching their magical run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018, by far the most impressive inaugural season in NHL history. I remember watching their playoff disappointments of the ensuing seasons. And of course, I remember watching them reach the mountaintop of the sport in 2023, led by the same coach whom I watched take my childhood favorite team to the Cup Final four years prior.

A full disclosure: I will very much be learning on the fly with this job. While I have watched hockey for over 16 years and covered college football and basketball extensively during my time at USC, Vegas Hockey Now will be my first time on a regular NHL beat. I fully expect to make mistakes along the way, and I apologize in advance for when they inevitably occur.

However, I am extremely excited for this new challenge. Ever since I first discovered hockey by accident at the age of six, I have loved this beautiful, crazy sport. And now, to be able to watch, write, and talk about it for my job? It honestly feels like a dream.

Most of all, however, I am excited to connect with the Golden Knights’ incredible fan base. Ever since the franchise debuted in 2017, I have been amazed by the passionate fan support that the Golden Knights continue to receive. Whenever I watch a game in Vegas, it seems to have the atmosphere of an Original Six team, not one that has been around for just seven years. I look forward to meeting many of you and talking hockey with you all.

If you want to reach out to me for any reason whatsoever, my Twitter/X/whatever you want to call it is @Adam_Bradford14. My DMs are always open, even if you just want to say hi!

I cannot wait to get started on this journey with all of you. Let’s do this!