Engelland hitting new heights with Golden Knights

Twelve members of the Vegas Golden Knights have reached or exceeded their NHL career highs for points with 26 games to go in the regular season. Eleven are 29 or younger.
One is 35.

Defenseman Deryk Engelland has 17 points (three goals, 14 assists), the most since he had 17 (four goals, 13 assists) with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2011-12. He could set an NHL personal best as soon as Thursday, when the Golden Knights play the Edmonton Oilers at T-Mobile Arena (10 p.m. ET; SN1, SNW, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV).
Engelland isn't Bobby Orr all of a sudden. But his feet aren't made of ore, either.
"He skates a lot better than I thought," defenseman Nate Schmidt said. "I thought he'd be one of those guys who just lumbers around. There's a reason why he's still playing at 35 and looking good and keeping up with [mobile partner] Shea Theodore, which is no easy task."
It's one of the remarkable stories amid the remarkable story of the Golden Knights, who already have set the record for wins (37) by an NHL expansion team and are first in the Western Conference.
Players were supposed to seize larger roles, and many have, some spectacularly. But a 35-year-old? The oldest player on the team? With the NHL trending younger and faster? Averaging 19:58 of ice time, 1:38 more than ever before? With 18 penalty minutes, far below his career average?

"I knew he was a solid leader and a solid character player, but I think he's playing great hockey," coach Gerard Gallant said. "I didn't know he was as good a player as what he's showing us. …
"He's more than [a stay-at-home defenseman]. He's making some good plays. He carries the puck. When you see him every day, you appreciate him more because of what he does."
When you hear his story, you appreciate him more because of what he has done to keep reaching new levels.
The New Jersey Devils selected Engelland in the sixth round (No. 194) of the 2000 NHL Draft. He played 486 games in the minors -- 338 in the American Hockey League, 148 in the ECHL. He played in Las Vegas, when it had an ECHL team and no one envisioned an NHL one -- and in Lowell and South Carolina and Hershey and Reading and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
"My biggest fault coming up and going through the minors … footspeed," Engelland said.
He worked on it each summer and finally made the NHL full time in 2010-11, at age 28. He had 123 penalty minutes and was typecast as a tough guy. After three more seasons with the Penguins and three with the Calgary Flames, he was exposed in the NHL Expansion Draft.
When the Golden Knights selected him June 21, the buzz was his connection to Las Vegas. Not only had he played there in the ECHL, he had met his wife there. They'd had their kids there and lived in the offseason there.

It was a good story, and it became a more emotional one after the mass shooting on the Strip on Oct. 1. Engelland knew first responders, delivered supplies to them and communicated with them as the Golden Knights opened the season on the road. Before the inaugural home opener Oct. 10, he gave a simple, powerful speech, standing at center ice, holding a microphone under the spotlight.
"We are Vegas strong," he told the crowd.
Then he scored in a 5-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes as T-Mobile Arena rocked.
No wonder his jersey is among the Golden Knights' top five sellers, according to chief marketing officer Brian Killingsworth.
But Engelland was a good player too. He had 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) for the Flames last season, averaging 18:20 of ice time, 2:09 more than ever before, at age 34. He was still working on his footspeed.
"I think I've done a fairly good job of trying to change my training, maybe lean out a little bit more, not worry about being so big," said Engelland, who's listed at 6-foot-2, 214 pounds. "Your strength is there and stuff, but the game is changing. It's getting faster, and I knew that."
Gallant had an open mind when the players reported to training camp, and he has played his defensemen fairly evenly. Schmidt leads in average ice time at 22:20. Five others who've played 24 or more games are averaging at least 18:52.
"It's easy to play with confidence when you're playing," Engelland said.
The Golden Knights rewarded Engelland with a one-year, $1.5 million contract on Jan. 15, and he doesn't want it to be his last. He will keep working on his footspeed.
"You've got to change your game with the times," Engelland said. "You want to play more. You want to get better. That's no different this year for me. …
"Your whole goal is just, 'Keep going.' "