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Brayden McNabb Speaks After Being Selected by Vegas |
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Brayden McNabb has just been selected by the Golden Knights from the Kings' roster:
While effective in limited minutes and with some upside at 25, losing McNabb won't seriously affect distribution of playing time on LA's defensive core. McNabb was seventh among King's defenders at 15:03 TOI/GP and 00:34 SH TOI/GP.
There is some question, however, if Los Angeles should have ever exposed the physical blueliner, who leads the team's defenders in Corsi For % (58.3) and Corsi For % Relative (+4.18) from 2014-17.
From the team's perspective though, McNabb never developed into the top-four defenseman that they expected when they acquired him, along with Jonathan Parker and two second-round picks, from the Buffalo Sabres for Nicolas Deslauriers and Hudson Fasching. His icetime reflects that, and McNabb was surpassed on the depth chart by Derek Forbort. More than anything, McNabb couldn't overcome technical flaws in his skating which condemned him to mostly bottom-pairing minutes.
McNabb is certainly a "battleground state" player between analytics and the eye test. In Las Vegas, he's likely to be given more responsiblity, so we'll see what he's really made of.
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In a press conference after the announcement of being selected by Vegas, McNabb had these things to say:
"Last night. Rob Blake called me and then George [McPhee] called me." (on when he was informed of being selected by Golden Knights)
"Obviously, when you're with a team, you want to stay with a team."
"I want to thank the LA Kings...Dean Lombardi and Rob Blake for getting me into the league. Get the ball rolling. So I owe a lot to them. It's a fresh start. I'm excited."
"Obviously, mixed emotions. You build a lot of relationships with guys on your team." (on his feelings after being picked)
"It's been kind of a whirlwind. But now it's starting to set in."
"It's nice. It's a little flashy. It's like Vegas." (on Vegas jersey)
"I've heard nothing but good things about him." (on Gerard Gallant)
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LA also announced some key regular season dates today: Their home and season opener will be October 5th against the Philadelphia Flyers.
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