"Just to be up there with Mark Messier, for what he's done for the game, it's a huge honor," Engelland said. "I think every guy in our sport wants to be in the community they're playing in and get out there and do what they can, whether it's charities or schools. I'm sure there's a handful of guys, just on our team, that could be up here. Honestly, it's an honor."
Engelland, 36, had NHL career highs in assists (18) and points (23) for the Golden Knights. He was a fixture in the Las Vegas community following the mass shooting of Oct. 1 and made a passionate pregame speech at the home opener Oct. 10.
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"Looking back, no matter what I do in my career, that's probably going to be the biggest moment of my hockey career was that night," Engelland said. "I was working on it for about four, five days. I didn't want to [mess] it up. It was an honor to speak in front of a great city and a great community. …
"As bad as it was, it got us embedded in the community. The guys really took it upon themselves to keep winning for the people affected in the city. The excitement after every goal, every game, you could really feel it looking at every guy in our locker room."