Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Deryk Engelland returns to Orleans Arena as coach long after Wranglers days

VGK vs San Jose Sharks

Wade Vandervort

Vegas Golden Knight Deryk Engelland (5) skates on the ice during a NHL season opener game against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019.

The last time Deryk Engelland was on the ice at Orleans Arena, he was skating for the Las Vegas Wranglers in 2005. Needless to say, filling in at Silver Knights practice as a coach on Thursday brought him back in time.

He retired as a player late last year, but is still part of the Golden Knights organization. With Silver Knights coaches not allowed on the ice for practice due to virus protocols, Engelland pinch-hit and ran practice at the same barn where he started his pro hockey career.

“To get out there and help out as much as I can, run practice with the circumstances was great,” Engelland said. “To come back here and be around the locker room where it all started was pretty special. Not much has changed in there, so brings back a lot of good memories."

Silver Knights coach Manny Viveiros and his staff filled in on the NHL bench for Tuesday’s Golden Knights game, and by rule were not allowed near their own players in order to reduce close contacts. Thursday’s Vegas game was postponed, but the Henderson coaches are at the ready with the Golden Knights coaches in quarantine.

That left the Silver Knights without coaches for two practices. Veteran forward Patrick Brown filled in as player-coach at Wednesday’s practice while the Henderson coaches watched from a distance. The organization asked the recently retired Engelland to fill in on Thursday.

“This was his first practice as a coach, so it was new for him, but I thought he did a terrific job,” Henderson defenseman Carl Dahlstrom said. “We’ve had practices earlier without coaches, so the guys knew what they were getting into, but it’s obviously nice getting a new voice and a new face out there.”

It was the first time Engelland was back at Orleans Arena on skates since he played for the Wranglers for two seasons and more than 100 games. He dropped the puck for a charity game since then, but Orleans Arena is not always configured for hockey and besides, he was occupied being a player.

Getting back on the ice was special for Engelland. The Golden Knights redefined what hockey in Las Vegas meant, but the Wranglers were a personality of their own a decade before the NHL arrived. Engelland recalls playing in goofy minor-league jerseys and midnight start times and everything that was part of the Wranglers experience.

“The Wranglers kind of did, not on the level of the Golden Knights, but it was a big show, it was Vegas,” Engelland said. “Looking back now you can appreciate what they did for the team then and just being in the (ECHL) they put on a show.

“Just being in that coaches’ room, I can picture Gully sitting there by his desk,” he said in reference to former Wrangler coach Glen Gulutzan.

If it was odd for Engelland, it was odd for players too. Many Silver Knights have been in the organization for some tim and remember Engelland as a veteran leader for Vegas. Forward Ben Jones was drafted in 2017 and skated at training camp with Engelland in the past, so seeing him in a different role took some getting used to.

“Without the gear he looks a little bit different,” Jones joked. “He was awesome and it was great to be out there in a different setting.”

Viveiros said Wednesday he expects to coach tonight’s preseason game against San Jose, but that is still up in the air. Engelland said he does not know if he’ll be asked to fill in for the game, but said he’s ready if he is.

And maybe that itch to be around the game doesn’t go away. Many of speculated that Engelland could coach in the future, though he wasn’t willing to talk about it just yet.

“Leaving all doors open,” Engelland said. “It was fun to be out there and around the guys again. The coaching staff here has been great, so in the future if I can give them a hand or whatnot, you’re happy to help and get out there and help those guys out.”