Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Henderson Silver Knights: AHL hockey in town gains an identity

Silver Knights

The logo of the Henderson Silver Knights.

Updated Thursday, May 28, 2020 | 9:30 p.m.

It’s only fitting that the Golden Knights will develop their prospects in silver.

The Golden Knights announced Thursday that their new American League Hockey affiliate, set to begin play in the valley next season, will be called the Henderson Silver Knights.

The Silver Knights will serve as the top minor league team for its parent club and will play their home games at Henderson Event Center beginning in 2022. Until that time, they will play at Orleans Arena.

The Silver Knights will train and be headquartered at Lifeguard Arena in Henderson, a new facility scheduled to open later this year. The downtown arena on Water Street will be to the Silver Knights what City National Arena in Summerlin is to the Golden Knights.

“Home is Henderson for us,” Golden Knights and Silver Knights owner Bill Foley said. “I’m thrilled with our partnership with Henderson and I really appreciate their help in bringing this all together because it made it possible, frankly. Just couldn’t have done it without Henderson.”

The Silver Knights logo takes its lead from the parent club. The armored war horse is in the shape of an ‘H’ for Henderson, mirroring the negative space of the Golden Knights logo forming a ‘V.’ Same with the shape of the background shield. The golden eyes of the logo represent the drive to become a Golden Knight, and the 20 links of chainmail and 21 rivets are for the inaugural season of 2020-21.

Foley was determined to have an armored war horse as a logo, even as other possibilities were bandied about. He also said other names were discussed, but everything kept coming back to Silver Knights.

“What a great combination of having the knight and the war horse,” Foley said. “We’re thrilled about it and I’m wearing my logo proud right now.”

Merchandise is available now at VegasTeamStore.com as well as at the team store at City National Arena. Jerseys are finalized, and Foley said those will be revealed in a few months.

Vegas and Henderson will become the fifth set of NHL-AHL affiliations to reside in the same metro area. NHL teams use the AHL to develop their prospects and make many roster transactions involving the two throughout the season. Just this year, Golden Knights center Nicolas Roy was assigned to or recalled from AHL Chicago 29 times. Having the AHL team in the same area provides the NHL team with flexibility, and the players with certainty knowing they will spend the full season in the same area.

Tickets to Silver Knights games will be significantly cheaper, with season tickets starting at $10 per game. Practices at Lifeguard Arena in Henderson, like Golden Knights practices, will be free and open to the public.

The Silver Knights are expected to spend two seasons at Orleans Arena before moving into the newly built Henderson Event Center, a 6,000-seat, multipurpose venue that is replacing the Henderson Pavilion on Green Valley Parkway.

“Honestly if the fans are half as passionate and half as driven for Henderson as they are for the Golden Knights, it’s going to be a pretty great fanbase,” said prospect Ben Jones, who figures to play for Henderson next season. “Even before tonight, you can tell you’re part of something extraordinary.”

The Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate for the past years had been the Chicago Wolves, which won the Western Conference and advanced to the Calder Cup Finals last season. The Golden Knights purchased the AHL San Antonio Rampage in February with the intent of moving it to the valley.

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