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Vegas Born: The Remarkable Story of The Golden Knights
Never in the history of modern major league professional sports has a team captured the world’s imagination like the Vegas Golden Knights did in 2017-18.
The NHL expansion team, self-nicknamed the “Golden Misfits,” set records for wins, points, won their division and conference and made it to the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season. It was a group of players that was systematically put together, quickly bonded and were expertly coached.
They also served an important role for Las Vegas after the shooting tragedy of October 1, 2017 when 58 concert-goers were murdered by a crazed gunman. They helped a community heal and provided a source of escape, and, eventually, a source of love for millions.
“Vegas Born” captures the Knights story from its embryonic stages all the way through the team’s amazing Stanley Cup run. The story is not just on the ice however. The team’s successful marketing run made it the envy of many pro sports teams, mixing in over-the-top Vegas sensibilities with traditional ideas to provide a first-class entertainment experience for those who visited T-Mobile Arena on game nights.
They were the first major league pro sports team in the city and the Golden Knights set the bar high for other Las Vegas-based sports teams when it came to marketing their product.
Of course, the product on the ice had a lot to do with it. Whether it was three-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury performing heroically or young centers William Karlsson and Erik Haula having career seasons or veterans Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, James Neal, Deryk Engelland and David Perron coming through with big, or in some cases, their best-ever years, the Golden Knights were a team which exceeded beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.
The NHL expansion team, self-nicknamed the “Golden Misfits,” set records for wins, points, won their division and conference and made it to the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season. It was a group of players that was systematically put together, quickly bonded and were expertly coached.
They also served an important role for Las Vegas after the shooting tragedy of October 1, 2017 when 58 concert-goers were murdered by a crazed gunman. They helped a community heal and provided a source of escape, and, eventually, a source of love for millions.
“Vegas Born” captures the Knights story from its embryonic stages all the way through the team’s amazing Stanley Cup run. The story is not just on the ice however. The team’s successful marketing run made it the envy of many pro sports teams, mixing in over-the-top Vegas sensibilities with traditional ideas to provide a first-class entertainment experience for those who visited T-Mobile Arena on game nights.
They were the first major league pro sports team in the city and the Golden Knights set the bar high for other Las Vegas-based sports teams when it came to marketing their product.
Of course, the product on the ice had a lot to do with it. Whether it was three-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury performing heroically or young centers William Karlsson and Erik Haula having career seasons or veterans Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, James Neal, Deryk Engelland and David Perron coming through with big, or in some cases, their best-ever years, the Golden Knights were a team which exceeded beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.
- GenresNonfiction
284 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2018
1 person want to read
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June 17, 2019
The placing of the first professional sports team in the gambling mecca of the United States is a unique story that cries out for a book.
An active shooter situation that cost 58 people their lives but brought a city together .is a unique story that cries out for a book.
An expansion sports franchise that makes the Finals in their first year and comes within 3 wins of the league championship is a unique story that cries out for a book.
Put all 3 together … you have the Vegas Golden Knights, AND you have Steve Carp's “Vegas Born: The Remarkable Story of the Golden Knights”. This book effectively tells the story of the first professional sports team in Nevada. (Clarification: “MAJOR league”; there have been a few minor league teams, and the Las Vegas 51s still play AAA baseball). A coach who was unceremoniously dumped by his previous team after a road loss Gerard Gallant, a humble superstar goaltender Marc-Andre “The Flower” Fleury, adopted local son Derek Engelland, and a collection of players let loose from their former employers had an axe to grind – to show that they didn't deserve to be cast aside and dumped on what on paper appeared to be among the worst teams in the league. In successfully proving their point,
Author Carp effectively tells the story of most of the players of the team, separately and collectively. He shows how the collection of individuals forged into a team, and how that team bonded with its new community. He talks of the ways in which the Vegas hockey experience was different than any other in North America, both on and off the ice. And he shows how the groundwork exists for further improvement and success – after all, there is only one further benchmark of success to achieve.
RATING: 4 stars.
An active shooter situation that cost 58 people their lives but brought a city together .is a unique story that cries out for a book.
An expansion sports franchise that makes the Finals in their first year and comes within 3 wins of the league championship is a unique story that cries out for a book.
Put all 3 together … you have the Vegas Golden Knights, AND you have Steve Carp's “Vegas Born: The Remarkable Story of the Golden Knights”. This book effectively tells the story of the first professional sports team in Nevada. (Clarification: “MAJOR league”; there have been a few minor league teams, and the Las Vegas 51s still play AAA baseball). A coach who was unceremoniously dumped by his previous team after a road loss Gerard Gallant, a humble superstar goaltender Marc-Andre “The Flower” Fleury, adopted local son Derek Engelland, and a collection of players let loose from their former employers had an axe to grind – to show that they didn't deserve to be cast aside and dumped on what on paper appeared to be among the worst teams in the league. In successfully proving their point,
Author Carp effectively tells the story of most of the players of the team, separately and collectively. He shows how the collection of individuals forged into a team, and how that team bonded with its new community. He talks of the ways in which the Vegas hockey experience was different than any other in North America, both on and off the ice. And he shows how the groundwork exists for further improvement and success – after all, there is only one further benchmark of success to achieve.
RATING: 4 stars.
Displaying 1 of 1 review