Griego wins a trip for two to a 2023 Stanley Cup Final game and a $30,000 donation in his honor to the Vegas Veterans Hockey Foundation.
"I'm really surprised, and it took a little bit to sink in that I was recognized for just doing something that I don't necessarily think is out of the ordinary, just something I want to do because I enjoy it and I want to be around others," Griego said. "So, to be able to be recognized for it, it's pretty cool."
Griego grew up in Colorado and moved to Las Vegas prior to the Golden Knights becoming the NHL's 31st team in 2017-18. He said the Vegas Veterans Hockey Foundation began with approximately 15 veterans playing some hockey games now and then.
"Then the Golden Knights came shortly after we started this process," he said. "So, it helped bring more awareness in and just word of mouth started growing and we realized there are a lot more veterans in Vegas than people realize and oddly enough a lot who played hockey."
The foundation was officially established in 2018 and that group of 15 players has grown to 128.
"It's not just about us playing hockey. It's about letting the veterans still be able to have that opportunity to feel like they're serving back into the community," Griego said. "So, we do a lot with a lot of local nonprofits out here, too.
"Last year in August, we partnered with Clark County School District, and we did a special-needs school supply drive for all the teachers and classes with special needs. We collected a bunch of supplies, and the guys feel like they're serving. They're doing something back in the community, like they did before when they were serving [and] wearing a uniform."
Griego has helped bring hockey to veterans in the Las Vegas area and it's provided a great and fun outlet to them.
"The military does such an amazing job of preparing you to go out and do a role. I mean, months of training. But they don't do that when you're getting ready to leave, right? They don't have that long training to get you back into what civilian life is. The first time you take your uniform off and you leave a brotherhood and sisterhood of thousands of people, and then there's nobody around anymore," Griego said.
"It's an awkward transition and some people really struggle, and the foundation just supports them being able to be around each other and yet at the same time, make sure we're out doing something positive like playing hockey. It's something that's even more bonding than just being around other veterans, so it's been incredible to watch that."
