"When you look back at the last month, we've asked for a lot out of those guys," said Pete DeBoer after his team topped the Minnesota Wild, 3-2, at home on November 11. "It starts with our leadership, some of our older guys have really done a fantastic job leading the way. These young kids have come in, contributed, followed, and done their thing to help us, instead of hurt us, which is what we needed."
Since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, fans of the team have already seen NHL debuts from Jake Leschyshyn, Jonas Rondbjerg, and Paul Cotter. All three forwards for the Golden Knights came to the organization through the annual NHL Entry Draft, with Leschyshyn and Rondbjerg coming only three picks apart during the 2017 draft and Cotter coming a year later in the fourth round of the 2018 draft.
Before their debut, Leschyshyn and Rondbjerg shared the ice together for a rookie lap during the team's second game of the season on October 14 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
"I couldn't help but think of all of my family, friends, coaches and staff in the past who have helped me get to this point," said Leschyshyn before his debut. "Just really thankful and excited for the opportunity."
One staff member from the Vegas organization with a unique perspective of Leschyshyn and the team's youth is Wil Nichol, the Golden Knights' Director of Player Development.
"You're so happy for each one of them because they've each had their own journey and they've each had adversity that they've had to get through," said Nichol. "All of them had excuses that they could use, or reasons why they maybe didn't want to continue to develop or continue to work. Knowing that, it's hard not to get emotional and happy for them because I know what they've all had to go through to crack the Vegas lineup."
Cotter then became the next man up for Vegas on November 9 when hosting the Seattle Kraken. Just two days after his debut, Cotter netted his first NHL goal on November 11 in the win against Minnesota - with Rondberg chipping in his first shortly afterwards.
"It's who they are as human beings, credit to their parents for why they've had success as hockey players," said Nichol when asked about the character of the team's youth. "It's refreshing in today's society because they're throwbacks. They hold themselves accountable, they don't cut corners, they just do things the right way. Because of that, they're getting rewarded."
Fans at T-Mobile Arena were treated with a similar performance when Leschyshyn followed up by scoring his own first career goal during the next game on November 13. His tally was the game-winning goal in the 7-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
"It was awesome to see those guys rewarded, and I was just happy that I could get that same reward as them," said Leschyshyn. "Those first couple games I had a lot of nerves, but at this point I'm just trying to settle in. I feel comfortable but know that I need to keep working and keep coming to the rink with a positive attitude to try to get better every day."
