Best Moments With Players

In the midst of the NHL's pause, the Vegas Golden Knights broadcast team has had some time to reflect on some of the best moments since they each started with the organization. Each member of the group recalls different games, moments, conversations and memories that have made their own experience with the club so unique. Put yourself in their shoes as the VGK broadcast team shares some of their top moments from the rink, the road and the airwaves.
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Shane Hnidy: My favorite player interaction happened this last season. As a former player who rode buses through junior hockey and minor-league hockey, I came to appreciate experiences and bonding with my teammates more than ever on those long rides. Little did I know this would come into play during this year's Fathers Trip with Vegas Golden Knights. Our trip back from the winery with some of the players and fathers, the music blaring, the bad singing and the laughs will be something that stays in my mind forever. No one rocks air guitar better than the Holden boys!
Dave Goucher: A sit-down interview with Marc-Andre Fleury for Knight Life, watching and getting his thoughts on some of the best saves of his career. It came on the heels of his "Superman Save" earlier this season and that put the wheels in motion. His recall and seeing his eyes light up while taking the stroll down memory lane was exciting for me to be a part of. His memory of saves that happened at times over a decade ago was incredible.
Stormy Buonantony: During a big group dinner at Bill Foley's Chalk Hill Estate during the Dad's Trip, a number of players and some VGK staffers were getting "shoe-checked." Don't judge me too hard, but I had no idea what that was. Basically, someone puts some nasty food/sauce on your shoe, everyone makes fun of you and you stand up in front of the room to give a little speech. No one wants it to happen to them and I fully expected it would not happen to me because I was new and still getting to know everyone. I WAS WRONG. At first I thought it was Flower (he looked very guilty) so I jokingly said "What'd I ever to do you?!" to which he replied "It was not me... But even if it was me... I would not say it was me!" Meanwhile another player is laughing up a storm upon hearing this and confesses. He said it was my "Rookie Initiation" and official welcome to the team. I guess I earned my stripes!
Gary Lawless: In Year One, Nate Schmidt took the mic from me and interviewed me about Thanksgiving. Thus began the yearly debate and discussion of Turducken.

Dan D'Uva: It's difficult to choose a short list let alone a single favorite interaction, but one day was full of them: October 1, 2018. The Golden Knights were out in full force to support the community on the anniversary of the tragedy. I rode in a van with Deryk Engelland, Oscar Lindberg, Erik Haula, Jon Merrill, Cody Eakin and Malcolm Subban. In between a visit with workers at Mandalay Bay and a blood drive at the Convention Center, we visited the LVMPD Communications Bureau. As Marc-Andre Fleury, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and others arrived, Capt. Jason Letkiewicz introduced us to the men and women who handle the incoming 911 calls and the outgoing emergency dispatches. I flashed back to October 1, listening to the police scanner and thinking, "These people are so poised, so prepared. As a broadcaster I might be a professional communicator, but these are communications experts, communications heroes." It was amazing to meet these specialists and to see their faces brighten with joy simply from meeting some of the Golden Knights. I have never felt more connected to the Golden Knights organization or the community of Las Vegas than that day.
Mike McKenna: Goaltenders always have a way of gravitating towards one another, whether in a social setting or at the red line during warm-ups. During the course of my career, I was lucky to have interactions with most opposing goaltenders, but for whatever reason, not Marc-Andre Fleury. One of the great pleasures of being on the VGK broadcast team has been getting to know Marc-Andre on a professional and personal level. Stories of Marc's kindness and playful demeanor exist throughout the hockey world, and I now know why. He is a truly wonderful person. But what I didn't know was how passionate he is about everything goaltending; from save selections and equipment to the mental side of the position. Talking shop with Flower has been a blast; we're very close in age and had many of the same childhood heroes. Memories of old-school saves and gear companies always bring a fun conversation.
Daren Millard: One of the unwritten tasks for a media person is to determine the go-to's of the dressing room. For a fun story, who will be the entertainer that will make a fun story fly? Find out who is willing to chirp a teammate or which veteran you can lean on for a serious quote. Another category is knowledge inside the game, and that's why I approached Paul Stastny in the first week of the season. Cody Glass had just made his NHL debut and I was curious about the challenges a rookie centerman would face. At the time, Paul Stastny was the pivot between two of the franchise's top wingers in Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone. Add to the fact that, a decade into his career, Stastny is a second-generation NHL player and son of a Hockey Hall of Famer. Despite being new to the Golden Knights scene, I was confident in my choice for background intelligence. I didn't have a camera, and I wasn't holding a microphone or recording device. It was just a conversation, a chat that, while not the lengthiest in NHL history, was one of the most enjoyable. Paul brought up right-handed shooting player vs. left hand and how he couldn't really give Glass advice on taking faceoffs because they go at it from different sides of the dot. Stastny then delved into his relationship with father Peter and how every post-game conversation to this day, still revolves around how Paul performed in the faceoff circle. After the interaction, I notice a theme from Stastny… he is the opposite of a cliché. Post-game, he offers breakdowns of the game. When joining Stormy Buonantony in-between periods, Paul provides legitimate information, not just answers. If I need any "inside-hockey" information, Paul Stastny is my first choice, and it stemmed from that first conversation in early October.