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Golden Knights say Edmonton bubble is ‘great setup’

Updated July 27, 2020 - 9:00 pm

Mark Stone has put away his clothes, laid down his putting mat and checked out what Canadian Netflix has to offer.

Bubble life seems to be suiting the Golden Knights right wing just fine.

The Knights spent their first full day in the NHL’s secure zone in Edmonton, Alberta, on Monday after arriving Sunday. Their initial impressions of their digs at the JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District hotel appear to be largely positive, which is important because they might be spending more than two months there.

“It’s been good,” Stone said. “Landed yesterday, got through customs nice and smoothly. Got comfortable with the hotel. They’ve got a great setup here.”

Coach Pete DeBoer said he was impressed by the level of detail the NHL put into the area since the league didn’t have much time to prepare. Stone, for instance, said a picture of him and his fiancee was waiting in his hotel room when he arrived.

DeBoer also liked Terwillegar Recreation Centre, the practice facility the Knights skated at Monday about 25 minutes away from their hotel.

He was even happier with his new coaches’ office in a Rogers Place suite. The NHL is giving each coaching staff one since locker rooms will rotate throughout the competition. DeBoer said he went to see it immediately after checking in and dropping his stuff off.

“It’s fantastic,” DeBoer said. “Everything’s been first class.”

DeBoer and right wing Alex Tuch said they felt safe in their new surroundings. The NHL said Monday that zero players tested positive for COVID-19 during the last week of training camp, and the league hopes that won’t change now that its personnel is separated from the outside world by fencing.

“There were a lot of skeptics,” DeBoer said. “I’ll be honest, I had some skeptical days through the pause where you wondered if you would ever get to this point. I think the fact that we’re all here now, you see everybody skating, game prep (is) starting to ramp up, you feel like you’re in a safe environment, it looks to me like we’re going to get this done. That’s an exciting feeling.”

Goaltending, exhibition plans

DeBoer said Monday he wants goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner to play two games apiece before the Knights’ first playoff series. One will get an exhibition and round-robin game, and the other will get two round-robin games.

Then, DeBoer said he will decide who gets the nod for the first playoff game.

“Whoever we start with, that could change very quickly depending on how the playoffs go, injuries, matchups and things like that,” DeBoer said. “The great thing is we’ve got two guys that everybody — players, coaches — is very comfortable with. Whoever is standing in that net is capable of helping us win. It’s a good problem to have.”

DeBoer also said he is planning to dress 18 skaters for Thursday’s exhibition against the Arizona Coyotes. Teams are allowed to dress an extra two for their exhibition games, but DeBoer said he wanted to treat it like “an important game” to get the Knights ready for the round robin.

Fleury nominated for award

Fleury was named the Golden Knights’ nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, the NHL’s humanitarian award.

This is Fleury’s first King Clancy nomination with the Knights. Defenseman Deryk Engelland was the team’s nominee the previous two seasons.

The winner will be selected by a committee of senior NHL executives led by commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly.

The winner will receive a $25,000 donation from the league’s foundation to benefit a charity or charities of his choice. The two runners-up each receive a $5,000 donation.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.

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