Golden Knights Welcome New Players
The Vegas Golden Knights are updating their roster with two new players.
The Golden Knights announced Saturday that they traded Cody Glass to the Nashville Predators for Nolan Patrick, who was originally acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers by Nashville earlier that morning. Vegas also announced that they traded defenseman and 2022 fourth-round pick Nick DeSimone to the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Brett Howden.
Patrick was the second overall at the 2017 NHL Draft when he was acquired by Philadelphia while Howden was also a first-round pick as the Tampa Bay Lightning selected him 27th overall in 2016 before flipping him to New York in a deal that included J.T. Miller and Ryan McDonagh.
“This is a really good team that has a chance to win and that’s really exciting,” Patrick said in a video conference. “I’m looking forward to getting there and seeing what it’s all about.”
Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon — who originally met Patrick while serving as a coach for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL — expressed optimism about Patrick’s move to Vegas.
“I know the player extremely well,” McCrimmon said of Patrick in a statement through the Golden Knights. “I know what he’s capable of. He’s accomplished a fair bit in the NHL as a young player. He had a 30-point season and a 31-point season in his first two years in the NHL.”
Patrick has appeared in 297 NHL games the all with the Flyers and posted 70 points (30 goals, 40 assists) after being selected as the second overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He notably recorded a career-high 31 points (13 G, 18 A) during 2018-19.
While the 22-year-old center has had an accomplished career so far, he has faced some hurdles recently. Patrick was forced to miss the entirety of the 2019-2020 season due to injuries, and only posted nine points over the course of 52 games last season.
Still, McCrimmon affirmed that he has confidence in Patrick being a star player for Vegas.
“For any player, there’s a timeframe needed to get back and that’s magnified with a young player,” McCrimmon said. “I’m comfortable and confident because I know this player well.”
Howden, 23, has played with the Rangers for his entire professional career before joining Vegas. Howden saw his best NHL season 2018-19 when he scored 23 points over the course of 66 games.
“I’m super excited to be coming to an organization like this with the team that they have. I’m really excited to be part of it, try to help out, and work as hard as I can,” Howden said in a video conference.
The Golden Knights and its new players will kick off their preseason game against the San Jose Sharks on Sept. 26.
🗓 CALENDAR THINGS 🗓
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) July 20, 2021
– Rookie Camp opens Sept. 15
– Training Camp opens Sept. 22
– Preseason starts Sept. 26 against the sharks
– We play the kings on Sept. 30 in Salt Lake City
– woooooooooooooooooooooo#VegasBorn https://t.co/Ht1tmvglBR
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