Knights winger becomes leader while navigating through grief

Keegan Kolesar stepped off the ice after a recent morning skate at City National Arena.

Waiting for him at the east side of the rink were about 10 to 20 kids. Some wore shirts with the Golden Knights’ right wing’s No. 55 on the back.

Some were shy. Some were excited to meet him. But they were all there for one common reason — they’ve gone through what Kolesar has endured.

These kids are from Adam’s Place, a nonprofit organization designed to help children, teens and families that are experiencing the loss of a family member. For these kids, it’s primarily the loss of their parents.

If anyone can relate to what they’re going through, it’s Kolesar.

Kolesar’s dad, Charles Peterson, died at age 46 on Sept. 13, 2020, from COVID-19. It was six months into the coronavirus pandemic. Kolesar wasn’t yet on the Knights’ roster full time, but was with the team’s taxi squad in the Edmonton bubble when the postseason resumed.

The Knights’ season ended in five games to the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final the next day.

Sports was Kolesar’s way of not just getting away from things but also bonding with his dad. Peterson was a first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1993 and was later a scout with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The bond that Kolesar is trying to connect with these kids might not be to that extent, but it’s an olive branch he wants to extend whether by a phone call or meet-up to talk things through.

“I know how joyous and fun hockey can be, and I think kids have a tough way of grieving,” Kolesar said. “I saw it firsthand with my little brother and sister. They didn’t know really how to vocalize what had happened, and they needed to take a step back in life and regroup.

“I think something like this gives kids an opportunity to open up about something, or if time’s really tough, it gets their mind off things.”

‘Silent investor’

Kolesar was surprised at how quickly his involvement in Adam’s Place blew up.

The NHL Players’ Association interviewed Kolesar about it in November. He didn’t expect that it would garner as much attention as it did. A lot of the initial work he did was behind the scenes.

“I was kind of more like a silent investor, I guess you would say,” Kolesar said.

Kolesar approached Kim Frank, the team’s foundation president, and asked if there were any organizations like Adam’s Place or if there were any families that were going through loss.

He was looking to give back to the community that has given him so much. Kolesar signed a three-year, $7.5 million contract extension with the Knights on Dec. 13, his second extension with the team since becoming a full-time player in the 2020-21 season.

In turn, the 27-year-old has rewarded the Knights with the best season of his career with a career-high nine goals.

“It takes yourself to obviously progress, but I think just the environment I’ve been put in, the people around me and who have supported me has helped me get to this situation that I’m in now. I’m more thankful for them and the opportunity they’ve given,” Kolesar said. “The onus is on me to keep thriving and keep evolving as I keep going.”

Scoring his first goal of the season Oct. 19 was a huge weight off Kolesar’s shoulders. Normally, he said, he’s grinding to score his first goal by December.

Things have started to open up for him. He’s gotten more comfortable and confident as the years have gone on. He thought this season was the time to be a difference-maker.

“Now it’s more so the older you get, the more you’re relied upon with the opportunity you get, and with that comes you needing to produce,” Kolesar said. “I think that’s what I’ve noticed from myself this year, is more of a producing aspect and have more of a mindset of shooting the puck maybe than I have in previous years.”

More of a leader

Make no mistake of Kolesar’s quiet demeanor. He’s always been a guy who likes to speak up when it’s needed in the room.

He doesn’t try to go in as a leader such as captain Mark Stone, center Jack Eichel or defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Kolesar does it in a way where he’s trying to be upbeat, always one to have fun.

“There’s a joke hanging around that usually comes from my voice,” he said.

It’s something that always has been with Kolesar, but perhaps the opportunity to speak up more has come about because of those no longer with the team. While Kolesar jokes that his voice is clearer than former right wing Jonathan Marchessault’s “Fringlish,” it also has to do with opportunity.

The departures of Marchessault, center Chandler Stephenson, left wing William Carrier and right wings Michael Amadio and Anthony Mantha have opened the door for Kolesar to take command of the room while also showing what he can bring on the ice.

That opportunity has been a calling card for coach Bruce Cassidy as to why so many players have contributed to the Knights’ 24-8-3 record. Kolesar and left wing Brett Howden, who has a career-high 13 goals, were two players Cassidy thought took the biggest leaps in training camp.

Kolesar was a 30-goal scorer in juniors with the Seattle Thunderbirds, then a 20-goal scorer with the Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League, so Cassidy knew it was there. It was just a matter of if he could be a complement in an offensive role at the NHL level.

Because of upper-body injuries to left wing Ivan Barbashev and center Nicolas Roy, Kolesar has gotten an opportunity further up the lineup from his usual fourth-line role.

“This isn’t happening out of dumb luck,” Cassidy said. “He’s putting the work in, too. I think he has trust in the staff to use him. We’ve always used our fourth line a certain way, but that doesn’t mean you can’t produce in that role because you’re going to get your minutes. Just don’t lose the shutdown game or the physicality. He’s found a way to balance that.

“Now he’s up in the lineup a little bit when guys are out. It’s going to be hard to drop him down, but that’ll be a good problem to have if and when those days come.”

‘A stellar human’

What hurt Kolesar the most was going through the start of his NHL journey without his dad.

While the NHL got back to regular-season games in January 2021 and Kolesar became a full-time player, it was a rewarding experience. But he was still navigating through the pandemic, as well as being isolated for most of it, that it took a toll.

“There was so much downtime, there was so much time away from everything that all you were able to do was think about things,” Kolesar said. “For me, it was my first year in the NHL, too, and I was given an opportunity, and I was kind of like, ‘Wow, I could make it,’ but I really have to grind.’

“I know if my dad was there, he would have helped me along the way, so it was kind of like I had to do it myself almost and go through the things my dad would’ve helped me out with.”

Kolesar also has been an outreach to his teammates.

Center Cole Schwindt lost his father, Jason, to suicide in the summer of 2021. Since that time, Schwindt has been part of three NHL organizations, but has found a home with the Knights after he was claimed off waivers from the Calgary Flames in October.

“He was one of the first guys that helped get me comfortable with the group,” Schwindt said. “Him and I have kind of grown into a relationship for the two months I’ve been here.”

Kolesar and Schwindt have been linemates at times, but without divulging details, they’ve talked about how the other has navigated through that grief. Schwindt called Kolesar “a team’s dream.”

“Whether we had that in common or not, he’s a guy that wants everyone to come together and fit in and be a one-man unit,” Schwindt said. “He’s just a stellar human.”

Kolesar isn’t trying to change the world in one day. Slowly but surely, he wants to try to make everything “maybe 1 percent better.”

The holiday season has helped him reflect on that, especially meeting the kids from Adam’s Place. There was a point where Kolesar thought he was just trying to stay alive in the league.

He now knows he’s in a position where he can make a difference in someone’s life.

“People I’ve seen at the grocery store, they’ve come up and congratulated me on the new contract,” he said. “That’s how I know I’m making a little bit of difference in this community.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.