Their day began with coffee at a café, followed by a walk around town in their jerseys. As people around town recognized the Golden Knights logo, Karlsson and Bellemare recruited them to become Vegas fans by handing out Golden Knights swag. Wearing a jersey around Stockholm was something new for them, but Karlsson admitted to wearing it in other places besides the rink.
"I have my jerseys at home, so once in a while I'll just put it on and just sleep in it," Karlsson said with a chuckle.
During the interview portion of the day with staff from the NHL, Bellemare showed off his knack for languages as he flipped between English, French, Swedish and Finnish throughout the process.
"Let's be honest, Finnish is tough," Bellemare said. "It was fun, but Swedish, French and English is kind of normal for me."
The two sat down for separate interviews before engaging in a joint interview in which their personalities were on the forefront. They talked about the upcoming season and some food-related issues that they stand on opposite sides on like licorice, pizza, and béarnaise sauce.
As the summer winds down, Karlsson is getting ready to return to Vegas for the team's second season. The transformation that the city went through to become a hockey hot bed stands out to Karlsson as one of the many reasons that he loves playing there.
"You could see throughout the season, more and more people are wearing Golden Knights stuff," Karlsson said. "People come up, ask for pictures and they're all really kind."
Signing his new contract for the 2018-19 season was a milestone in Karlsson's life and he said he considers himself a Las Vegan now that he's become comfortable in the city.
"It's normal, really," Karlsson said. "That's what I like the most about Vegas - the local side."
