Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson, center, runs a drill with campers during the Logan Thompson Street Hockey Camp at the VGK Ball Hockey Rink in Lorenzi Park Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023. About 60 boys and girls took part in the camp made possible by a donation from The Howard Hughes Corporation and put on by the Mayors Fund for Las Vegas LIFE.
Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Six stations circle around the ball hockey rink at Lorenzi Park. About 60 kids are getting lessons from Bishop Gorman’s junior varsity and varsity hockey teams, and an unlikely teacher who hasn’t played forward in about 10 or 15 years.
Anything for the kids, at least in the eyes of Logan Thompson.
The Golden Knights goalie held a street hockey clinic Saturday for kids aged 8-14 years old, giving pointers on their stickhandling and shooting — while taking it easy on the drills in the crease.
That time will come in the next few weeks when the Golden Knights open training camp and begin the defense of their Stanley Cup championship.
“The excitement of hockey, it’s been here all summer,” Thompson told the Sun at his camp. “We’re going to have fun around here pretty soon.”
Related content
Last season was up-and-down for Thompson. The 26-year-old netminder was set to capitalize on his first taste of NHL action at the end of the 2022 season and be the No. 1 goalie for the Golden Knights.
He proved capable of that workload. Thompson went 21-13-3 in 37 starts and was named an All-Star for the first time. He was a vital reason why the Golden Knights stayed atop the Western Conference heading into February.
Then, the injuries came; a lower-body injury in his first start after the All-Star break in Minnesota on Feb. 9, then re-aggravated that injury March 23 in Calgary, ending his season.
Thompson didn’t need surgery and he says he’ll be 100% for training camp. Thompson said his competitive nature might have pushed him to return from injury much earlier than he should’ve.
“It’s part of the game,” he said. “You’re a competitive guy and you’re trying to get back into the swing of things. It was unfortunate, but luckily we had four other guys able to step in and carry us to the Cup.”
The Golden Knights became the first team to have four goalies engraved on the Stanley Cup. Each of them — and rookie Jiri Patera, who won both of his NHL starts last season — were instrumental in Vegas winning 51 games in the regular season and going 16-6 in the postseason en route to the first title in the franchise’s six-year history.
Thompson, Laurent Brossoit, Jonathan Quick and Adin Hill each played a role, with three of them going down with injuries at some point. Ultimately it was Hill, Thompson’s goalie partner from the beginning of the season, to propel the Golden Knights to the Cup.
That rewarded Hill with a two-year extension with an average annual value of $4.9 million on June 30.
“For Hilly to come in and not play (since March 7 after sustaining a lower-body injury), to carry the load, and how lights out he was in the Stanley Cup Final and the other series, it was amazing to see with all our goalies,” Thompson said.
With Hill signed for the next two years, and Thompson with two years left on his contract, the Golden Knights are banking on this tandem. The two friends since middle school days in Calgary had discussions last year “just talking about how everyone thought me and him were the worst duo in the league,” Thompson said.
Of course, the tone has changed, as well as the hierarchy of the goalie room. Last year, it was Thompson as the surefire guy. Hill’s playoff run, and new contract, almost expect him to be the No. 1 guy, and Thompson understands that.
That won’t diminish his workload. If the Golden Knights want to make a push to go back-to-back, one goalie can’t just be “the guy,” as proven by last year’s goalie-by-committee approach.
“I do believe you have to have a good stable of goaltenders,” said president of hockey operations George McPhee. “It’s hard to rely on one guy. I think that model has changed over the last five, six years. The tandem approach is the best way to go.
“You’re going to have one guy who ends up being your guy, but he should play 50 games and not 65. The other guy has to be good and able to play.”
The confidence in coach Bruce Cassidy, and the roster itself, to play well in front of the goalies is evident by Vegas bringing back nearly everyone from last year’s Cup run.
Though that included re-signing forward Ivan Barbashev to a five-year deal, as well as bringing back Hill, it came at a cost at trading forward Reilly Smith to the Pittsburgh Penguins in June.
“You can’t replace Reilly Smith, how good of a player, a good leader, just a good person on and off the ice,” Thompson said. “Just to see what he did around the community here in Vegas, you’re never going to replace Reilly Smith.
“But yeah, it sucks to see him go, but we’re very fortunate to have basically the same team. I think the expectations for us, from management and team-wise, are the exact same.”
While Thompson wasn’t part of the gameday roster that celebrated the Stanley Cup victory on June 13 against the Florida Panthers, he — along with teammates who couldn’t play due to injury — put his uniform on and got to hoist the Cup in front of the home crowd.
Thompson said with so many emotions running through his head at the moment, it’s difficult to pinpoint one because winning the Cup is something he dreamt about since he was a kid.
Soon, though, it will be back to business for Thompson, who will always feel like he has something to prove. Coming back from injury that derailed his season is another feather in that cap.
“We had a lot of fun this summer. We enjoyed it. Now, it's right back to work and back to winning the Stanley Cup,” Thompson said. “Knowing what we did last year and what we’re capable of doing … the team hasn’t changed. There’s no reason why we can’t do it again.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
