Deemed the most hated team in the NHL, the Vegas Golden Knights have become a league-wide punching bag for a long list of reasons. But beyond the villain narrative, they were simply my team.
From 2003 to 2014 the only hockey Sin City had was the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL, and fifteen years ago that was my first taste of the sport. Then on June 22, 2016, hockey was back. Las Vegas became home to the NHL’s 31st franchise, and the city’s first major professional sports team. For me and many others at that time it gave us a hometown team that we could not only root for, but grow up with.
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The Golden Knights didn’t just reshape the NHL, they reshaped the city itself. Youth hockey in Southern Nevada has skyrocketed, surging roughly 268% to over 400% since 2017. Statewide USA Hockey registrations have jumped from 500 players to nearly 3,000 today.
The largest spike is at the 8U level, where girls’ hockey alone has grown by 681%. With ice time maxed out, rinks overbooked, and not enough sheets to meet demand, local groups have stepped up. The Jake Kielb Hockey Foundation launched a $15 million campaign to build the Las Vegas Community Sports Complex, complete with two NHL-sized rinks and an indoor turf field.
The results speak for themselves. The Vegas Junior Golden Knights became a national powerhouse earning multiple USA Hockey titles – including the 2026 Girls Tier II 16U 1A championship, their second in three years, along with national titles in 2019 and 2023 across several age groups.
UNLV Hockey, which has been steadily growing since 2005, captured its first‑ever ACHA Division I National Championship in 2025 with a decisive 7–3 win over Adrian College. In less than a decade, Las Vegas has transformed from a non‑traditional market into a legitimate hockey pipeline.
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And as someone who most definitely can’t bodycheck or shoot a puck whatsoever, I stand with the team that encouraged me to pursue journalism.
I stand by the early morning practices I woke up for.
I stand with celebrating my 13th birthday at a game.
I stand with the moment Marc-Andre Fleury stopped his car mid-drive to sign my stick.
I stand with Deryk Engelland signing the back of my jersey.
I stand with the person I was a year ago who walked into a development camp not as a fan, but as a journalist. I stand by the fact that at 19 years old I got to write a piece about the Mitch Marner trade. I stand by the experience that I got to be in the same room as journalists I grew up reading and watching, people who I’m lucky enough to have in my corner as I still work my way up in this world.
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And to be absolutely clear: standing with the Knights does not mean standing with every player who has ever worn the jersey, nor every decision the organization has made. My loyalty isn’t about excusing anyone’s behavior.
This is about the team that made me love hockey in the first place, and the next chapter we get to watch unfold. From welcoming PWHL Las Vegas to watching the Golden Knights skate into their third Stanley Cup Final.
