Rookies add youthful exuberance to Golden Knights locker room
Paul Stastny enjoys everything about having a pair of 20-year-old rookies roaming the Golden Knights locker room.
OK, maybe not everything.
Cody Glass and Nic Hague don’t get most of the 33-year-old center’s movie references.
“It’s the ’90s classics that they’ll just have no idea about,” Stastny said. “‘Independence Day’ or ‘There’s Something About Mary’ or ‘10 Things I Hate About You.’ All these movies that are on TV and you watch, they just have no idea.
“Like, the other day ‘Point Break’ 2 was on, and I was like, ‘Oh, “Point Break.” The original is an unreal movie!’ And they’re like, ‘Nah, I’ve never seen the original.’ They think ‘Point Break’ 2 is actually better than the original!”
Kids these days, right?
Movie tastes aside, Glass and Hague have added a youthful exuberance to the Knights after making their NHL debuts last week.
Their excitement has rubbed off on a locker room that was one of the oldest in the league by average age at the start of last season.
“They have a different perspective on it,” said Stastny, now in his 14th season. “Sometimes we get caught up in being too serious and just thinking, ‘Work, work, work’ instead of realizing why we’re doing this. And it’s because we love the game, we’re having fun. Sometimes you’re around those guys and you get that vibe off of them.”
Glass, the No. 6 pick in the 2017 draft, became the youngest skater to appear for the Knights in an NHL game when the center debuted Wednesday against San Jose. He also is the first player drafted by the Knights to play for the club.
At 20 years and 184 days old, Glass surpassed right wing Alex Tuch (21 years, 158 days) as the youngest goal scorer in franchise history.
“All those firsts are exciting for the player, but they’re also exciting for your teammates,” said right wing Mark Stone, who has grown close with Glass, a fellow Winnipeg, Manitoba, native. “Everybody loves to see that stuff.”
Hague, who turns 21 on Dec. 5, played in his first NHL game Saturday at San Jose and logged 13:57 of ice time before getting an early shower when he picked up a 10-minute misconduct with 5:55 left in the third period.
Defenseman Zach Whitecloud had been the youngest skater to appear for the Knights at 21 years and 128 days old when he was in the lineup against Edmonton on April 5, 2018.
Goaltender Dylan Ferguson, who was briefly pressed into action at age 19, remains the youngest overall to appear.
“I love having young guys in our lineup,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “When they’re ready to play like these two kids (Glass and Hague) are, there’s nothing better.”
Tuch and defenseman Shea Theodore, who was 22 when he first appeared for the Knights in 2017-18, were the exceptions the past two seasons in an experienced locker room.
The Knights’ average age on opening day last season was 28.6 years, third-oldest in the league, according to the website NaturalStatTrick.
“It’s always kind of fun to see what that generation is into compared to what we’re into,” said Stastny. “Everything is completely different from when me and (Marc-Andre Fleury) came into the league 14, 15 years ago. It’s always cool to see how quickly times have changed.”
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Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
