Training Camp Diaries - 1/4

The 2020-21 NHL season is just around the corner and the Vegas Golden Knights have begun their fourth quest for the Stanley Cup. As the team gets ready for the drop of the puck on Jan. 14, keep up with everything VGK with our daily Training Camp Diaries presented by Station Casinos.
We encourage fans to chime in on the daily practice streams live on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Twitch to have your questions answered by the VGK broadcasters and here in the Diaries.

The beginning of training camp saw the Golden Knights occupy both rinks at City National Arena for practice at 10:15 a.m. before meeting on Star Nursery rink for a scrimmage. New line combinations formed up front and unique pairings manned the bluelines in the first organized skate for the team since the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
LINES
TEAM WHITE:
PACIORETTY - STEPHENSON - STONE
TUCH - GLASS - ROY
QUINNEY - JURCO - DUGAN
LESCHYSHYN - JONES - COTTER
MCNABB - PIETRANGELO
WHITECLOUD - HAGUE
BISCHOFF - PACHAL
LEHNER
TEAM GRAY:
MARCHESSAULT - KARLSSON - SMITH
CARRIER - NOSEK - REAVES
ELVENES - BROWN - KOLESAR
SIKURA - O'REGAN - DUKE
THEODORE - MARTINEZ
HOLDEN - COGHLAN
SCHULDT - DAHLSTROM
FLEURY
SCRIMMAGE SUMMARY
After the split practice to start the day, the group split up into white and gray jerseys for the first scrimmage of camp. The gray team claimed a 2-1 victory as Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith each scored a goal on Robin Lehner. Gage Quinney was the only player on Team White to solve Marc-Andre Fleury as simulated game action kicked off.
SOUND: ALEX PIETRANGELO
Video: Training Camp 1/4 - Pietrangelo
SOUND: JONATHAN MARCHESSAULT
Video: Training Camp 1/4 - Marchessault
SOUND: CHANDLER STEPHENSON
Video: Training Camp 1/4 - Stephenson
SOUND: JACK DUGAN
Video: Training Camp 1/4 - Dugan
SOUND: HEAD COACH PETE DEBOER
Video: Training Camp 1/4 - Coach DeBoer
TWITTER TIME

As we keep up with what the Golden Knights' players and coaches are saying throughout camp, we also have our ear to the ground on Twitter to follow the conversations VGK fans are having. Today, I asked fans what they're most excited about for the 2020-21 season and responses ranged from divisional matchups to favorite hockey snacks.

VGK Rinkside Reporter Stormy Buonantony is part of the content and public relations group embedded with the team and will be an inside contributor on Golden Knights content and broadcasts throughout training camp and the regular season. Stormy agrees that Cody Glass' growth will be something to watch throughout the season. On the Training Camp Bulletin presented by NextGen, Gary Lawless mentioned that he's caught himself confusing Glass and Mark Stone on the ice. That's how much Glass has filled out his 6'2 frame.
The bromance between Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo will be a fun one for a couple of reasons - they're two of the top defensemen in the NHL and both like to have fun while they're at the rink.
I make no promises on flying popcorn at this time.

Harrison's a well-versed hockey fan and he's dead-on that the matchups between Vegas, St. Louis and Colorado will be special. Those three teams are the chalk in the West Division and it's likely the team that does the best against the other two will finish atop the standings.
Prospects should fill different roles at different times this season. By the end of this 56-game campaign, some players will go from "prospect" to "NHLer." No word on helmet ads for the Golden Knights just yet.

This is an interesting one for me, thank you to the Northeastern Hockey Blog for submitting. I covered Dylan Sikura when we were both students at Northeastern University from 2014-2018. As a freshman, he looked shy on the ice. Through his sophomore, junior and senior season, Sikura developed in confidence, size and smarts. He became shiftier and used his creativity to create offense. It won't be easy to crack the Vegas roster, but Sikura has only taken strides forward in the last few seasons. Vegas acquired him for a reason.

First things first, GM Kelly McCrimmon commented on the captaincy in his media availability Sunday and said the team has not yet committed to naming a captain, but if they do, it will be done before the start of the regular season.
The word that stands out to me here is "hectic." A 56-game schedule packed with games just about every other night will indeed be hectic for all 31 teams. What we can't forget is the fact that the Golden Knights will practice on those days between games as well. That's a lot of hockey for everybody. But it's also the reason that a team would commit to having two No. 1 goalies. It will be interesting to see whether DeBoer rides the hot hand if one emerges or sticks to a more set rotation.