The speech is still on Deryk Engelland’s phone five years later.
The 71 words the now-retired Golden Knights defender said to a grieving community on October 10, 2017. Packed house. Microphone available. All eyes of the announced crowd of 18,191 people in the T-Mobile Arena are on him. Teammate Jon Merill said he could have heard a pin drop.
Engelland’s speech before the Knights’ first-ever home game was part of a ceremony designed by the team in the wake of the tragedy. Nine days earlier, the deadliest mass shooting in US history took place at the Route 91 Harvest festival on the Las Vegas Strip. Sixty people were killed. Hundreds were injured. More had changed their lives forever.
Engelland says he is not much of a public speaker. But he was the perfect choice. He was the only Knights player who was not new to Las Vegas. The 58-second speech is one of the defining moments in his career.
“Like all of you, I’m proud to call Las Vegas home,” Engelland said that evening. “I met my wife here. Our children were born here. I know how special this city is. We thank all the brave first responders who have worked tirelessly and courageously through this entire tragedy.
“To the families and friends of the victims, we will do everything we can to help you and our city heal.
“We are Vegas Strong.”
That speech and night were a bright spot for many during one of the valley’s darkest hours. It continued throughout the Knights’ magical inaugural season. They became a symbol to gather around.
The memories of the knights remain alive five years later. The bond they have formed with the community continues.
“It was everything,” said season ticket holder Corey Nyman, who escaped the mass shooting without physical injury. “It was kind of our therapy and our cure.”
Tragedy
The knights were still trying to find their place in the valley.
Las Vegas’ first professional sports team was a ragtag group that was put together by including players from other teams in the expansion design. They learned about the city and the team. Several players still lived in a hotel.
The Knights’ main focus on Oct. 1 was their last preseason game at 5 p.m. against the San Jose Sharks at the T-Mobile Arena. That they had to play – and that earlier than usual – turned out to be crucial later on.
“If we hadn’t played that preseason game that day, lives could certainly have changed,” said right wing Reilly Smith.
Players broke up after the game, but no one went to the concert. Engelland, Merrill and goalkeeper Marc-Andre Fleury went home. Karlsson and left wing Jonathan Marchessault returned to Red Rock Resort, where they stayed. Smith, defenseman Brayden McNabb and a group of other players went to The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas for a late dinner.
Engelland and his wife, Melissa, had tickets to the festival. They are fans of country artist Jason Aldean, who was playing when filming began. But Melissa’s family was in town and leaving the next morning, so they didn’t go.
“I don’t know why we stayed at home,” Engelland said.
Players learned what was happening on the Strip at different times. Fleury didn’t know until his former Pittsburgh Penguins goalkeeper, Brent Johnson, texted him to make sure everything was okay. Engelland was awakened by a phone call.
Fleury, who now plays for the Minnesota Wild, was glued to his TV all night.
“I just felt powerless,” he said.
Smith began seeing posts on social media about an active gunman over dinner. He saw people running through the casino. Shortly afterwards it was locked.
Answer
Knights president of hockey operations George McPhee, the team’s general manager at the time, always kept his phone on during the regular season. It comes with the territory of running an NHL team.
That Sunday, when the season was about to kick off, was one of the few times he turned it off before going to bed.
He didn’t turn it back on until he walked his dog the next morning. His warnings “just wouldn’t stop,” he said, learning what had happened overnight.
There was a message from director of team security Tom Monahan that all players were safe and accountable. Those from The Cosmopolitan were picked up early Monday morning and driven home. They had to return the next day for their cars.
“Really creepy feeling (on the Strip),” McNabb said. “You could see the window (the shots came from).”
The knights had a barbecue at Fleury’s house that evening. It was planned as a team bonding activity. It turned into a brainstorming session as players started asking what they could do to help.
The training was canceled the next day. The Knights staff had a different plan for players when they returned to the rink. They would go to blood collections and donate. They would visit with first responders. They would talk to fans and survivors who needed comfort. Everyone except Engelland, who had played for the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers, had just arrived in town. But they were willing to do whatever was asked of them for their new community.
“Our biggest job was to go out and put a smile on their faces,” said Merrill, who now plays for the Wild. “Lifts the mood a bit.”
It helped that the knights had time. Their first regular season game wasn’t until Friday in Dallas. Meanwhile, McPhee and his staff were finalizing the selection of the team. It wasn’t easy to know what the valley was going through.
At one point, McPhee, who was the general manager of the Washington Capitals on September 11, 2001, stepped back from his desk and asked, “What the hell happened here?”
Reflection
The Knights’ inaugural season began at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on October 6, 2017 at 5:40 PM Pacific Time. They were more than 1,000 miles away, but they could feel the eyes of a community on them.
“Every game was trying to get a win, trying to get the city excited about the team, trying to forget those events,” said left winger William Carrier.
The Knights trailed the Stars 1-0 after two periods. Veteran right James Neal scored once in the third period to tie the game. He scored again to win it.
The Knights followed that 2-1 win with another 2-1 win in overtime against Arizona. Then they went back to Las Vegas for their first regular season home game, against the Coyotes. Behind the scenes, the team was busy turning a planned party into a sombre reflection. The ice rink had to become a place where people could mourn and pay respect.
“Everything had to change,” McPhee said.
The Knights removed all advertising from the signs in favor of the words “Vegas Strong.” They projected the names of the dead onto the ice and held a minute of silence. First responders were introduced along with players. England delivered his speech. He said he was nervous, but he got rave reviews.
“That’s probably the biggest thing that strikes me is that he’s the center of that microphone,” Merrill said. “Everyone held on to every word he said.”
Henderson-born Justin Daus spent miles on TV with other Las Vegans at the University of San Diego. The days before that were filled with shock, isolation. The knights, and what they did, gave hope.
“We all sat down and wept for the city,” Daus said. “That event that the Knights organized was the first time we felt goodness since the shooting happened.”
be bound to
McPhee was walking to his seat after the ceremony when it hit him.
“We have to win this game now,” he thought to himself. “We have to win for everyone.”
There was never any doubt. Left winger Tomas Nosek scored 2:31 into the game. Engelland, who had 30 goals in his 671-game NHL career before retiring in 2020, scored less than two minutes later. Neal then scored twice for a 4–0 lead 10:42 into the game.
The end result was a 5-2 win and a 3-0 record.
“It wasn’t about hockey that day,” Marchessault said. “It was more about the first responders and the people who died and were injured.”
The game was special. What happened next was even more so. The Knights, who were expected to finish at the bottom of the NHL, didn’t stop winning. They started 8-1. At the beginning of 2018 they were 26-9-2. They wanted to prove their previous teams wrong by giving them away. They also played “for a city,” Engelland said.
The fans noticed. T-Mobile Arena was packed every game. Players were recognized when they went to the supermarket. Defender Shea Theodore said the connection formed “meaned everything”.
A brilliant short-handed goal from center William Karlsson took the Pacific Division title on March 31. The Knights won the Western Conference on May 20. Their series didn’t end until June 7, when they lost the Stanley Cup final in five games.
The team provided inspiration all the time. Like many Las Vegas residents, the Knights were transplants. But they were proud of their new city. They have worked hard to represent it. They gave the locals something to hold on to.
“We were down two hours before the games, and we stayed after because there was the sense of community they brought,” Nyman said.
Memories
October 1 remains part of the story of the Knights five years later.
The team will hold a blood collection at the City National Arena on Saturday. Some players visit with blood donors, while other groups go to police stations, fire stations and other locations to visit employees affected by the shooting.
The team has done similar things each of the previous four years.
“They’re the real heroes,” Fleury said. “We play a game for a living, and these people risked their lives and saved others.”
Still, Las Vegas got its first major league franchise when it needed it most. The city was in pain. The knights became a way for people to heal.
“I think we became kind of a family right away,” Karlsson said. “We and all the fans.”
Please contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
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