Golden Knights Support Inclusive Culture From Day 1

Being a member club of the NHL has many layers to it.
The most obvious part of being an NHL team is having players and trying to compete for a Stanley Cup. Or battling through the ebbs and flows of hockey season, having games and participating in the scramble to acquire the most elite talent possible.
For the Golden Knights, who are building a franchise from scratch, there are many more layers involved with becoming a full-fledged NHL team beyond those associated with the on-ice product.
One of these layers involved the team's business staff participating with the league's other 30 teams in January's All-Star festivities. Another came last weekend, when the Golden Knights and USA Hockey combined to host several hundred kids for "Try Hockey For Free Day" at the Las Vegas Ice Center.
The next milestone for the Golden Knights comes on Tuesday, when the team continues its participation in league initiative "Hockey Is For Everyone."

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For the day, the team has changed its social media avatars to fit a rainbow theme to promote inclusion. The team's staff will also be making a visit to The Center, which is a Las Vegas area community organization that supports activities designed to further the positive image human rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities.

The Golden Knights are also supporting You Can Play, the organization that seeks to promote and enhance inclusion within professional sports.
Since You Can Play was founded in 2013, all 30 NHL teams have pledged their support, often using players as spokesmen and hosting events at their various games.
Even though the Golden Knights don't yet have many of those elements, the organization has followed suit with the league's other member clubs and is supporting the cause from the inception of the organization.

"The fact that the Golden Knights don't even have any players and yet, from the first year, the team wants to be involved with You Can Play is an incredible statement of inclusion and equality," You Can Play Vice President of Business Development and Operations Jillian Svensson said. "For us to be able to see, across the league, from the NHLPA, the NHL and now 31 teams, such a unified message and a stand of solidarity for You Can Play and the LGBTQ community is amazing.
"For the team to stand and show that this is one of their pillars of community outreach is amazing. It's a testament to the leadership that's in the organization, to say that we are standing in solidarity with this message of equality, acceptance and inclusion to the LGBTQ community, to do that in the first year is tremendous.
"It can only go deeper from there."
For more information on all the initiatives the Golden Knights are taking to participate in Hockey Is For Everyone, including details on its visit to The Center and its support for You Can Play, CLICK HERE.