Happy holidays, everybody!
Thanks for all your support. Let's hope the second half of the Golden Knights' inaugural campaign is as exciting as the first!
Before taking off for Christmas break, the Knights themselves took part in a couple of heart-warming community events, Pucks for Paws and a visit to Children’s Hospital of Nevada.
I also asked a number of players about some Christmas favorites: Songs, movies, and childhood presents.
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On December 21, the Golden Knights visited the Children’s Hospital of Nevada at UMC to deliver toys.
#VegasBorn visit Children’s Hospital of Nevada at UMT pic.twitter.com/EmNnN2trWu
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 21, 2017
One little girl, however, was hesitant to pick a present. So Marc Andre-Fleury took a toy to her.
"It took a little while, but we found something."
Fleury has two little girls with wife Véronique, four-year-old Estelle and two-year-old Scarlett. Did that help him in negotiations?
"Yeah, yeah," he chuckled. "Kids say no, you get used to it. At the end, I saw her again, and she was playing with her pony."
Proud to be part of the city of Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/ln3n6nc30d
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) December 21, 2017
On December 18, the Golden Knights partnered with The Animal Foundation to auction off Pomeranian dogs recently rescued by Las Vegas police and Clark County officials.
I caught up with Pierre-à‰douard Bellemare, who talked about the importance of this event and his love for cats.
HockeyBuzz: What's the significance of this event to you?
Pierre-à‰douard Bellemare: It's for a great cause. A lot of these pups, the way they're treated, they don't deserve any of it.
To be in the rink and have all those people, they want to come to see the Knights, for us to have the opportunity to jump on the ice and hold those pups, and maybe make sure the person who wants them really wants them...it's cool.
Those are five of them, but there are thousands left. The job is not done.
HB: Do you and your wife have any pets?
PEB: We have a cat [Smiffy]. We're big cat lovers.
We have a cat we actually got from rescue. She was already two and a half. She was in bad shape, but now, she's unbelievable.
So we know about getting animals from rescue. It's a little thing that you do, but it means a lot for them.
HB: Do you remember your first pet?
PEB: My first pet was a cat. We grew up with a lot of dogs and cats. My first one, I was really young. A cat named Ying. She was beautiful.
Some names of the puppies up for adoption:
— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) December 18, 2017
Celly
Flower
Deke
Joust
Knighty
Flash
Wild Bill
O.T.
Because of course.
Marchessault models one of the Pomeranians up for charity auction #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/WRX5PFphTe
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 18, 2017
Bellemare models Belly #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/sCaR2XHh6J
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 18, 2017
McNabb models Zam #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/nEG2OXy4pq
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 18, 2017
Brad Hunt poses with Goldie's new owner.
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Hockey players love "Elf" and "Home Alone."
In an informal poll, three Knights (Fleury, Erik Haula, and Jonathan Marchessault) cited the Will Ferrell classic as their favorite Christmas movie. Two (Colin Miller, Brendan Leipsic) voted for "Home Alone." Fleury also nominated "Christmas Vacation."
Marchessault, in particular, is Christmas-crazy.
"I love Christmas music," Marchessault confessed. "Since the first of December, I've listened to Christmas music in my car everyday."
He doesn't even mind Christmas music in November, adding he'll never tell his kids that Santa Claus doesn't exist.
During the holiday season, Miller will put on some Michael Buble. Fleury reluctantly offered "Jingle Bells" as his favorite jingle jam. Haula and Leipsic shared the same opinion about Christmas music. "They all sound the same to me," noted Leipsic.
Finally, I asked them to recall their favorite Christmas present. Shockingly, hockey players liked hockey gifts when they were kids.
Fleury: "First set of goalie equipment. Street hockey. Blocker, pads, mask.
"[I pretended to be] Patrick Roy or Marty Brodeur. One of those two."
Haula: "Hockey stick with my last name on it. I was [maybe] 13. Made me feel like a big-timer."
Leipsic: "The newest hockey stick that came out. Pair of skates."
Marchessault: "Hockey gear."
David Perron: "Anything hockey-related. Legos. EA Sports NHL game every single year. Me and my brother, that's the gift we would always ask to get."
Miller: "Snowboard. I was about 11 or 12."
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