Monthly Archives: August 2025

Hockey News

Golden Knights Ignite High School Hockey In The Desert

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The Golden Knights are responsible for the widespread attention to hockey to the Las Vegas desert, a place where the sport was once considered unlikely to thrive.

Unlike football, baseball, and basketball, hockey hasn’t traditionally been part of the high school athletics lineup in the area. As a result, young players who had aspirations of taking the ice had to do so in other ways, seeking out club teams, traveling leagues, or settling with never competing at all. That changed this past April, the Knights crafted a league accessible for high school athletes across the Las Vegas Valley to practice, showcase, and compete in a structured system. 

The league featured over 320 high school-aged players spread out among 16 co-ed teams, each representing their areas of home, ensuring regional diversity. The Knights have always thrived on creating opportunities for the youth community to grow their skills. This vision was a work in progress for more than three years, and as a result, game attendance exceeded 100 fans at most games. 

Games were played throughout town at City National Arena, America First Center, and Hylo Park Arena.  On July 25, both Major and Minor divisions took to the ice for their first ever respective championship games. The Shadow Mountain Ravens, representing Summerlin, secured the Minor Division championship with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Red Rock from Summerlin South. 

Just one night later, July 26, the Black Mountain Miners from North Henderson capped off a beautiful undefeated season, finishing 15-0, by overcoming the Redhawks of Enterprise/Anthem in a 4-2 victory to claim the Major Division title.

This league remains as a long-term vision for the Knights organization, and perhaps one day we can see hockey recognized as a letter sport. For now, success is a clear evaluation for this first year, bringing a community of families and players alike to fuel a vision that has evolving potential. 

PHOTO COURTESY: Vegas Golden Knights

Hockey News

Canadiens: Montembeault In Great Position To Make Team Canada

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Team Canada announced the 42 NHLers invited to its orientation camp for the upcoming Olympics in Milano Cortina on Friday, and the list includes three Montreal Canadiens. Of the three Habs invited, two weren’t part of the national team for the 4 Nations Face-Off: Nick Suzuki and Noah Dobson. Dobson did, however, play for Canada at the World Championships in May. The final Montreal player invited was Samuel Montembeaul, who acted as Canada’s third-string goalie at the 4 Nations.

What’s surprising, however, is the fact that out of the 42 players invited, only three are goaltenders. The netminding job sparked great debate ahead of the 4 Nations, with no one particularly standing out. In the end, the Canadian outfit elected to go with St. Louis Blues’ Jordan Binnington, Vegas Golden Knights’ Aidan Hill, and, of course, Montembeault.

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Although Canada is no longer a major producer of goaltenders, 25 Canadian goaltenders played in the NHL last season. One would have expected the national team to keep the door open for alternates in case of injuries, at the very least.

Washington Capitals’ Logan Thompson could have been a viable option. Still, he was reportedly left off the 4 Nations roster because assistant coaches Bruce Cassidy and Peter DeBoer didn’t have a good experience with him in Vegas. Since they will both be part of the Olympics coaching team, the justification must be the same.

Los Angeles Kings’ 35-year-old netminder Darcy Kuemper could also have been a possibility. He started 50 games with the Californian outfit last season and posted a 31-11-7 record with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.

Jet Greaves could also have been an intriguing alternative. The 24-year-old almost managed to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to the playoffs last season when he joined them down the stretch. He only played 11 games, but had a 1.91 GAA and a .938 SV. Granted, he wasn’t exactly impressive when he joined the Cleveland Monsters for their playoff run in the AHL, but still.

In any case, the fact that only three goaltenders were invited is good news for the Canadiens’ masked man; he will get plenty of valuable experience by just going to the Olympics, even if he doesn’t get to see any action. The Becancour native was over the moon with his experience at the 4 Nations. Montembeault enjoyed practising with the best-of-the-best and facing shots from the likes of Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby every day.

Making the Olympics is a much more prestigious achievement than being selected for an NHL-created event, though, and Montembeault will be living the dream if he boards the plane to Milan Cortina in February.

Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

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