Vegas Golden Knights don’t look far for their newest player
Who is Gage Quinney? He is the latest Vegas Golden Knight. What makes him special is he will get a chance to play for his hometown team in Las Vegas.
The Vegas Golden Knights and general manager George McPhee are not letting the Stanley Cup Final stop them from adding to their organization. Today the Knights announced the signing of three players who will join their AHL team, the Chicago Wolves. One of those players is Gage Quinney, a local product looking to play for his hometown team.
🖊 The Golden Knights have signed three players:
— 🏆 - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 1, 2018
-F Ben Jones
-F Jake Leschyshyn
-F Gage Quinney#VegasBornhttps://t.co/Y8TCoDpR2G
It could be said Gage Quinney took the long way home. He started his career playing for the 16U Las Vegas Storm in the NAPHL. From there he moved up to the 18U team before heading to the WHL to join the Prince Albert Raiders. He moved to the Kelowna Rockets and then stopped in Kamloops before starting his professional hockey career. He spent a season in the ECHL playing with the Wheeling Nailers (yes that is the name of a professional sports team), before being called up to join Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the AHL.
Now Quinney will get a chance to come home. It will be an uphill battle to crack the Golden Knights’ roster, but during next season’s training camp he will get his shot.
Quinney will likely play for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL next season. He has put up respectable numbers everywhere he has played. In his first season in the AHL last season, he put up 33 points in 57 games. Assuming he can take the next step and continue to develop the Golden Knights may have found another gem. If Quinney can make it to the NHL, he will become the first Las Vegas-born player to play in the NHL.
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If nothing else, Quinney is a perfect example of why the NHL expanding west has been successful. Is the attendance always great? No. Are the teams always competitive? No — looking at you Arizona.
It is hard to argue that there is not an impact on the number of young players coming from that area. Auston Matthews is the best example. Matthews grew up in Arizona as a Coyotes fan and turned into a first overall pick that does not happen if the Coyotes do not exist. It is stories like Quinney and Matthews that inspire local kids in their community to pick up the game and grow the sport of hockey.