Behind The Vegas Ice Episode 3 Recap

It's the one element that's been missing from the first two episodes of Behind The Vegas Ice that emerged as a focal point when Episode 3 debuted on Wednesday.
Hockey.
Like, the actual playing of hockey, on the ice. Two teams, intense competition. Shooting, scoring, hitting.
The way the Golden Knights will eventually be playing it.
Episode 3 of Behind The Vegas Ice was memorable in that it was carried by the first on-ice scenes in the series. These scenes took place in Montreal, where Behind The Vegas Ice cameras followed members of the Golden Knights hockey operations staff to the World Junior Championships in December and January.

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Video: Sneak peek of Behind The Vegas Ice Episode 3
"The big part of the episode that Episode 3 opened up with is our trip to Montreal," Behind The Vegas Ice writer/producer Jacquie Levy said. "We went with a few of the key amateur scouts of the Golden Knights to Montreal for the IIHF World Junior Championships. We got the chance to mic them up during some of the games they were watching. And shoot them actually watching the games and talking about the players.
"Being able to shadow the scouts is a way for us to be able to get real hockey footage into the show, and keep hockey fans excited about what's to come. And keep us excited about the episodes from June until October, when we will be able to shoot hockey with the Golden Knights hockey players."
The interesting part of Episode 3's trip with Vegas scouts is that it featured players that may one day be a part of the Golden Knights.
Or perhaps it didn't?
The World Junior Championships is the most prestigious amateur event of the hockey season, annually showcasing the world's top players under the age of 20.
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Many of the players in this tournament have already been drafted by NHL teams. However, many haven't. And many may eventually be available in trades, anyway.
So, many of these players will continue to be in play.
Considering this same tournament helped launch the careers of Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Connor McDavid, among others, it's likely that many of the players who dominated these scenes will eventually dominate the NHL, too.
But just as the team's scouts won't know which players will be available, neither will viewers.
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In Episode 3, we saw the drama play out from the perspective of Golden Knights scouts, who were attending their first major event as a staff. There are two other important storylines that received attention.

1. Making It Vegas

Since the Golden Knights were founded last June, it's been widely speculated how the team would position its in-arena experience to fit the local market.
Vegas is Vegas, after all. And that means that hockey games have to be a show. No detail can be ignored, no creative concept left unexplored.
Everything has to be perfect, so what fans see at T-Mobile Arena during Golden Knights games lives up to the city's reputation.
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"Some of the things you saw are there's a really cool meeting we got to sit in on," Levy said. "Kerry (Bubolz), the president of the team, leads a meeting discussing game presentation. It's really interesting stuff that we were able to be privy to hearing these initial conversations of the team talking and trying to get aligned, from the business side to the hockey side.
"There's so many things I didn't realize, that I think many fans take for granted, decisions that have to be made.
"Who sings the national anthem? Is there an ice crew? Is there a dance team? Is it men and women, or is it just women? What kinds of outfits are they wearing? Is there an organist playing, is there a DJ or is there both? What kind of videos are playing before and in between the period? And what kind of sound does the horn make when the home team scores?
"I think it was so interesting for them to let our cameras in on this meeting."

2. Making It Summerlin

As much as the Golden Knights' home will be T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip, the team's "second home" will be in suburban Summerlin. That's where a state-of-the-art practice facility, which will also house the team's business staff and youth hockey clubs throughout the region, will be located.
"Another big element of this episode was an update on what's happening with the practice facility construction," Levy said. "The first way we cover it is, (director of hockey operations) Misha (Donskov), when he gets back from Canada, he takes a hardhat tour with Murray Craven, who is the team's senior vice president tasked with overseeing the construction of the project.
PHOTOS: Construction continues on Summerlin practice facility
"Then we go out on a different day with with Bill Foley and the whole business team. They get a chance to see as well where their offices are going to be.
"It's the first time Bill's been out to the construction site since the groundbreaking. He's blown away by how big the project is.
"We were actually able to fly a drone camera as well. We got some really cool overhead shots of how big the practice facility is. That's really exciting because it gave fans an update on how that project is going."