‘Original Misfit’ Karlsson to continue supplying heroics for Vegas

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 | 2 a.m.

William Karlsson’s epic speech at the conclusion of the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup championship parade in June has drawn more than 100,000 combined views on various videos posted on YouTube.

Karlsson himself has not accounted for any of them. Upon returning to City National Arena for training camp ahead of this season, the man Golden Knights’ fans affectionately refer to as “Wild Bill” distanced himself from the revelry that encompassed him in the moment outside of T-Mobile Arena.

He said he had heard plenty about his words from friends but hasn’t sought them out himself.

“Does anyone like to see themselves talk really?” Karlsson explained when pressed on why not. “I haven’t watched it.”

Karlsson is soft-spoken and shy when he’s not in celebratory mode. It’s no big surprise he doesn’t want to reminisce too much about breaking out of his shell in front of hundreds of thousands of fans live, if not millions more worldwide who caught clips on shows like ESPN's "Sportscenter."

The only hope is that he’s not ashamed or embarrassed by his shirtless victory address because there’s absolutely nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. Someone on the roster needed to harken back to “Day 1” of the franchise.

Karlsson was the perfect player to do it — albeit probably with more slurred speech and expletives than some team employees like the woman who infamously tried to wrest the microphone away from him would have liked.

But Karlsson earned that moment, and not just because his status as perhaps the most beloved of the six “Original Misfits” left on the Golden Knights’ championship team six years later. He also earned it by tapping into some of the best play of his career throughout the Golden Knights’ postseason run.

Karlsson didn’t end up receiving any votes for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ most valuable player, but he was every bit as essential as winner Jonathan Marchessault and runner-ups Jack Eichel, Adin Hill and Mark Stone. His biggest moments may have come before the Stanley Cup Final, but take away Karlsson, and the Golden Knights may not have made it there in the first place.

His offense carried Vegas through the Western Conference Final as he bookended the series against Dallas with two-goal games to emerge as the team’s leading scorer through the first three rounds. Defensively, Karlsson was an even bigger difference-maker.

A turning point of the second-round series against Edmonton, which sat tied 2-2, came when Karlsson began logging more ice time opposite Oiler superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to limit the duo more than anyone else could. That conveniently coincided with Karlsson’s wife, Emily, giving birth to the couple’s first child, a boy named Beckham.

It became popular to chalk up the newfound inspiration as a driver of Karlsson’s hot streak, but anyone who’s followed the Golden Knights from their inception, knew the 30-year-old was more than capable of putting up such a standout stretch. He’s done it from the beginning.

Playing a “200-foot game” has always been the Golden Knights organization’s hockey cliché of choice, as they’ve put an emphasis on building around players who excel on both ends of the ice. Karlsson has embodied that versatility for six years as a forward who will occasionally chip in sensational goals but consistently produce as a defender.

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy has called Karlsson one of the best defensive forwards he’s been around, but it increasingly feels like fewer around the league notice.

In another potential awards snub, Karlsson hasn’t received a single vote for the Selke Trophy — awarded the forward who plays the best defense — since 2019. That’s not coincidentally the season Stone arrived in Vegas via midseason trade with Ottawa.

Karlsson’s teammates continue to sing his praises, but he’s fallen down the hierarchy of faces of the franchise by outside perception as more stars have arrived in town over the years. He might have boosted himself back up with the speech, which stands as one of his most memorable moments for better or for worse.

If Karlsson wants to be known for more, that’s understandable. He deserves it.

Karlsson is one of the biggest reasons the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup last season. He’s also one of the biggest reasons why they have a shot to repeat this season.

But he’s not looking that far ahead, just as he prefers not to look all the way back on the parade.

“The playoffs was good for me, scoring a lot of goals and really contributing to the team,” Karlsson said. “I wish I could keep that up for the regular season, but it’s something I haven’t really thought about.”

This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.