I can't believe tomorrow is my last day in Las Vegas. It's been an amazing week seeing the city and learning what it means to be a Golden Knight.
I visited the T-Mobile Arena yesterday. It's a really great place to play. The arena has some things that not many other rinks have, and it's really big. You can tell a lot of money goes into giving the players and fans the best experience. I learned about the different things that go on during the game, including the dragons. I'd never heard of dragons. That's really cool. I think having all these different features will bring even more fans in because it's so unique.
It was also really cool to see the locker room. I'm sure the players had a great time celebrating the Stanley Cup together there. It was a crazy feeling being in the stands and thinking they just hoisted the cup there a year ago and now I'm standing here as a part of the organization. It was a crazy feeling. I'm sure it was awesome to come to Las Vegas and experience them winning the Cup. I've heard the fans are loud and can be annoying for visiting teams.
After our tour of T-Mobile we went back to the hotel to rest for a bit, after which a few of us went out to get burgers and fries.Number Had ice cream after the July food. Probably not the healthiest dinner for me but oh well, it's my only night. We watched the fireworks from our room which was fun at first but then it felt like the fireworks went on forever. The fireworks were really loud and probably a bit too long for me as I was tired and just wanted to sleep.
We have another practice game tomorrow, so I'm going to go in with the same mindset as I did on Tuesday and stick to what I do best. I think I showed off my skills, my skating and my shot well in the first game. Hopefully I can put the puck in the net this time. I've been playing with some really good players, some of whom are a little older than me, which was nice. The older players were teaching me things and talking to me on the ice, so it was a really special experience.
It's fun to hear their experiences about the transition from junior to pro. They say it's really tough because you're not just playing for fun, you're playing with guys in their 30s and 40s and this is their full-time job. The veteran players have to put in the extra effort because they don't want to lose their spot on the team to a kid. It's very competitive because everyone is fighting to get in the lineup and everyone is also fighting to keep their job, but you end up remaining friends off the ice. It was a really interesting dynamic to learn from the pro players.
I don't think I've had to change my game a lot to keep up with the older guys. I think my technique and my skating still work well. It feels good. I think those are both things I'm naturally good at, but it feels kind of weird going up against '02s and '01s. But they're not junior '01s, they're '01s with pro hockey experience. So it's really weird, but it's also a really great feeling because I feel like I can compete with them.
While I've been here, I've seen Golden Knights players come in and out for summer training. It's really great. I think it's important that they come in to train, even in the summer. When they come to train, it's clear they want to get better. They know they can always get better. Some players take time off, but some players come to the gym to train.
When I see the guys in the gym, I know they really want to get better because they spend every day there training, stretching, and working on things off the ice. It's really cool to be in the same gym as them trying to get better. I think one day I'll be here and be able to come to the rink whenever I want to skate and train. So I really want to work hard for that.
It seems to be getting hotter and hotter here. Not sure if I can play golf in this heat. Hoping for a great final day tomorrow, this week has flown by!
-Lucas
