Golden Knights enjoy drama-free opening to rookie camp
Kelly McCrimmon’s first week as Golden Knights general manager wasn’t all that different from his previous 150 or so with the organization.
In fact, he didn’t even notice whether the nameplate on his office door had been updated since “assistant” officially was dropped from his job title Sept. 1.
“It looked the same to me as it did before,” McCrimmon said.
After wrapping up the final piece of summer business Thursday by signing restricted free-agent defenseman Jimmy Schuldt to a one-year contract, McCrimmon was left to focus on the opening of rookie camp at City National Arena in relative peace and quiet.
It was a radical departure from last September, when the Knights were dealing with the fallout from Nate Schmidt’s 20-game PED suspension in addition to Shea Theodore’s contract stalemate, or the commotion that accompanied the expansion club’s inaugural season.
“It’s an exciting time of year for the organization,” McCrimmon said. “You continue to see the development of some of the players that have been in our organization coming from that first draft in 2017, and I think for the first time feel really confident there’s going to be players that play this weekend that are going to play on our team this year.”
After undergoing off-ice testing Thursday, the rookies practice at 10:15 a.m. Friday at City National Arena and then head to Southern California for the Rookie Faceoff Tournament, which runs Saturday through Tuesday.
The Knights open against the Colorado Avalanche rookies at 1 p.m. Saturday at Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena in Irvine, California. That’s followed by games against Arizona (3 p.m., Sunday) and Anaheim (3 p.m., Tuesday).
“It’s fun to come out here and go through it together,” defenseman Nic Hague said. “And part of that is watching each other kind of grow into what the future’s going to look like.”
Cody Glass, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2017 draft, is one of a handful of players who will be watched closely by management this weekend and again at training camp.
The 20-year-old center helped the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League reach the Calder Cup final after turning pro in the spring and bulked up from 187 to 192 pounds.
“I feel like I’m more experienced just going through the AHL playoff run, just a lot of experience under my belt now,” Glass said. “I kind of know what to expect going into the higher level. To get a taste of pro means a lot going into this year.”
On defense, Schuldt is expected to compete with Hague, a 2017 second-round pick, Zach Whitecloud and Dylan Coghlan for at least one job opening.
Coghlan, Hague and Whitecloud spent last season with Chicago in the AHL.
“Having that open spot on the back end, to have one of us young guys step in there and fill that role is definitely, as an understatement, exciting,” Whitecloud said. “It’s going to be fun to compete for that spot against the other guys and have some fun in camp.”
Other forwards to watch over the next week include 2017 draft picks Jake Leschyshyn, Jonas Rondbjerg and Lucas Elvenes, along with 2018 fourth-round selection Paul Cotter.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to see these players in their peer group and monitor the growth in their game,” McCrimmon said. “Guys will have time to make an impression, and that’s what we expect that they’ll do.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.