Hey Golden Knights fans! I’m Alex Weiermair, and this week I’ll be bringing you along with me as I go through my first Golden Knights Development Camp. We kicked off camp today at City National Arena, but it already feels like so much has happened since I was drafted on Saturday afternoon.
It’s a funny story. When I got picked in the draft, I was outside walking the dog and wasn’t actually watching the TV. My dad came running out screaming and that’s how I found out. It was cool to learn about it that way.
My parents actually moved to the Las Vegas area in the last few years, so it feels like coming home. It’s a great comfort factor heading into camp, and things got even more comfortable on Sunday night when I started meeting all the guys at the hotel.
My roommate this week is Ben Hemmerling. He was one of the last players to come in last night, so I was getting ready for bed when he arrived. He’s a great guy and he played in the WHL where I’ve been playing, so it was great to meet him. And I also have a Portland Winterhawks teammate here in Carter Sotheran, so there’s a comfort factor there, too.
Today was so awesome. We got up early in the morning, around 6:30. We walked over as a group, and at 7:30 we had our first meeting in the locker room. The locker room is incredible. You see the photos of the Cup on the wall, and it’s so cool.
We met the staff and the coaches, which was great. After that we had all our testing and medicals. That was a really thorough process, but it went really well. At the beginning of testing, it might have been a bit stressful, but I got better as I went through it. I think it went well for me.
I saw Ben jump, and he jumped really high. The bike test was kind of hard, but it wasn’t too long. There are some good athletes here.
After that, we warmed up and got right to it. Putting on the jersey and seeing the Vegas crest is pretty awesome. It was a great practice, probably one of the fastest I’ve been a part of. And I got to meet two of the other guys who were drafted with me, Jakob Ihs-Wozniak and Mateo Nobert. They are great guys.
After that, we cooled down, had a great seminar with some of the staff members, and now it’s off to grab dinner.
It’s going to be an awesome week ahead. All the practices are going to be great – for training, conditioning, and just getting better. And I’m excited to hang out with the guys.
Check back tomorrow and I’ll let you know how our cooking classes went!
