Las Vegas has that affect on people.
This isn't a cold mid-January trip with back-to-back games in Edmonton and Winnipeg. This isn't the late night backend of a home and away back-to-back flight to San Jose. This is a trip to Las Vegas for the first time in franchise history.
Yes, Vegas has an NHL hockey team. You should know that. They're pretty dang good. Best team in the league with the best home record. They're called the Golden Knights and they present a real challenge. As does the city they play in.
Sin City, City of Lights, Glitter Gulch. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. This place has it all, apparently. I've never been - only six times. The majority of the Canucks have vacationed here as well.
Ben Hutton, Nikolay Goldobin, Sven Baertschi and Darren Archibald are first time visitors though, as is Brock Boeser, who can't legally step into a casino until his 21st birthday. This Sunday. Tough break.
Troy Stecher knows what Vegas is all about. He visited with buddies last August for the Mayweather/McGregor fight. The lights, the glitz, the glamour; everything was on display at the home of the Golden Knights.
"I left there thinking it's a great rink," said Stecher. "Kind of like Staples Center. Some buildings have something intimidating about them, I don't know what it is."
Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World, has an event calendar like no other with the biggest musicians and entertainers on the planet taking up residency. The best come to see the best, meaning you never know who you might run into.
Hey is that McGregor?! Nah, couldn't be…
"After the fight, we went to this Irish place and guess who walks in: McGregor!" said Stecher, in amazement. "This wasn't even a big place, definitely not a hot spot in Vegas, and one of the biggest athletes in the world comes in with his crew. We were pretty far away, but he jumped up on a table and was giving a shoutout to everyone who supported him."
Erik Gudbranson has also been to Vegas, twice actually, and he too was rubbing elbows with celebs. But it was in the cards for him all along.
"I had a buddy who invited me down to play in Jerry Bruckheimer's tournament," said Gudbranson. "He's a huge hockey fan, so he'd invite NHLers and his friends in the industry down to play. It was a weekend tournament; four games, good times."
Gudbranson played alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. in one tournament. Not too many players can make that claim, let alone boast to having played in a celeb tournament hosted by the legendary producer of Bad Boys, The Rock, Con Air, every Pirates of the Caribbean movie, CSIandThe Amazing Race.
"It was a pretty cool experience."
Going to Vegas usually is.
It's just important to remember what the purpose of our visit is: business, not pleasure.
