Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Behind the scenes with the first four Golden Knights to arrive in Las Vegas

Expansion draft proved memorable for the select players on hand

Meet Golden Knights Players

L.E. Baskow

Deryk Engelland, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jason Garrison and Brayden McNabb of the Golden Knights gather during media availability for new players in the official team store, The Armory, at the T-Mobile Arena on Thursday, June 22, 2017.

Meet Golden Knights Players

Marc-Andre Fleury of the Golden Knights shops for the family during media availability for new players in the official team store, The Armory, at the T-Mobile Arena on Thursday, June 22, 2017. Launch slideshow »

Without telling anyone other than his immediate family members, Jason Garrison slipped out to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport early Wednesday morning and boarded a nonstop flight to Las Vegas on only a few hours’ notice.

Nearly 3,000 miles away in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Vegas Golden Knights teammate Brayden McNabb pulled off a similarly covert operation that began with leaving his home at 3:30 a.m. The Golden Knights instructed their four players present at T-Mobile Arena for the NHL Awards and Expansion Draft — Marc-Andre Fleury and Deryk Engelland were the other two on hand — to keep their involvement quiet.

“It was an early morning but I was excited to have the opportunity to come,” McNabb said on Thursday morning. “Experiencing last night was pretty cool,”

Las Vegas gave a strong first impression on its first set of soon-to-be-stationed major-league professional athletes to arrive in town. There’s an inherent uneasiness for players coming to a new city to join a foreign franchise.

But the four Golden Knights were unanimous in agreement that meeting Golden Knights owner Bill Foley and general manager George McPhee, and seeing the large fan turnout alleviated many concerns.

“There was a lot of unknown for me with changing a team,” Fleury said. “This was comforting, I think, to know people are looking forward to this team and already very supportive.”

The players received a tour of the arena when they arrived before the awards show commenced. Garrison was already familiar with the building, having attended a Coldplay concert while in town visiting friends last offseason , but he was impressed as he became more acquainted with other areas.

Seeing spots where the team will spend a lot of time during the season also wowed Fleury.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Fleury said. “It was a nice surprise. The rink looks awesome, the locker room looks great.”

Once doors opened to the public, the Golden Knights were sequestered in a private room with each other. Having known each other as teammates on the Penguins, Fleury and Engelland led the conversation as the quartet waited to hear their names called and go out to the stage.

“It was just kind of getting to know everyone, and finding out where everyone is from and where they stay,” McNabb said. “It was definitely nice to be able to get here and meet all the guys.”

McNabb was the first one to come out of hiding as part of the reveal of the initial nine players picked in the expansion draft. Foley’s announcement of his name incited a laugh in the arena, as the overjoyed owner couldn’t help but exclaim, “and he’s here,” while sporting a wide grin.

“Bill was very excited and it can kind of rub off on anyone,” McNabb said.

Foley’s excitement also led him to announce a pick early, Cody Eakin off of the Dallas Stars, during the same stretch. He was eventually able to contain his enthusiasm, but the fans never were.

Each player brought out to address the crowd sounded like they got a louder response than the one before.

“I was surprised by how much support there was,” Garrison said. “There was a lot of cheering going on for us. It was good to feel that, and you know when we’re on the ice, it’s going to be like that tenfold.”

After their introductions, Garrison, Engelland and McNabb retreated to interview and photo rooms backstage, where they surely heard the deafening reception saved for Fleury, the second-to-last pick revealed.

“Maybe there was a question mark about having a hockey team in Vegas, but I think with the season tickets being sold out, and the support last night, they’re ready for it,” Fleury said.

If Fleury and his teammates were drained after the awards and draft from a long day of travel and activites, they showed no such signs at the Golden Knights’ hour-long “round table rally.”

Fielding questions from the new fan base energized them.

“I was really surprised at how many stuck around,” McNabb said.

Garrison had one last order of business when he settled into his hotel room after the festivities. Having abided by the Golden Knights’ request to stay secretive about his new team, Garrison neglected his phone for 24 hours while missed calls and text messages piled up.

Riding a high from the warm welcome, he answered all of them.

“I just sat in bed and did that duty for a few hours,” Garrison said. “I think a lot of friends are already planning their trip, that’s for sure.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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