‘Best part of our work’: Golden Knights bring smiles to young hospital patients

By Justin Emerson

Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018 | 2 a.m.

The Golden Knights have made a habit of making supporters in Las Vegas happy. Fans come to see them at T-Mobile Arena, and more times than not, they go home with a smile on their face.

Instead of having fans come to them, the players on Friday went to see some of their youngest fans. After practice, they headed to Summerlin Hospital Medical Center to distribute gifts and bring smiles to children in the pediatric ward.

“It’s fun in a way because you get to be able to bring joy to these kids,” forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said. “But in other ways it’s difficult because some of those kids are so young. They don’t deserve to be in here.”

Most of the team was there, many wearing their home sweaters and Santa hats, popping into kids’ rooms to play games and visit. They signed autographs, took pictures and joked about how often they were asked to wash their hands — before entering a room, visitors have to sanitize their hands as part of hospital safety protocol.

The players were thrilled to take part in the community outreach.

“It’s the best event of the year, that’s for sure,” forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “I like giving back more than receiving gifts, for me. It’s so fun. The faces of those little kids when you come in, and even teenage kids. It’s just awesome to see them have fun and put a smile on their face today.”

Marchessault even saw a girl he recognized from an event earlier this year. She called him her boyfriend, to which Marchessault joyously played along.

“We have an ongoing relationship,” he joked. “I met her before. It was our second date today.”

The hospital staff loved having the team there, with employees and volunteers crowded around to glimpse the players.

“You’re a small kid and you’re stuck in a hospital, and that can’t be fun,” said Robert Freymuller, the hospital’s CEO. “You probably sit here, watch them on TV and here they come, someone you idolize or saw or wish you could meet walks into your room. I’m not sure how you can describe that.”

The players considered it part of the job not just to play hockey in Las Vegas but to be stewards of the community. Bellemare echoed Marchessault’s thoughts about loving it and gave a touching answer when asked what it meant to him.

“You work your entire life to be good at something and try to help your team and suddenly by playing on this team you become something a little bit more than just a hockey player,” Bellemare said. “You become somebody that can, for five minutes, walk into a room and make somebody forget about their daily problem or their daily injuries or their disease or whatever negative there is their life, and instead you can turn it into a positive feeling for the whole day and maybe more.

“They can be like, ‘Remember when the Golden Knights came?’ This is the best part of our work, to be able to use the logo that the organization put on us to affect people's lives.”