Sapovaliv 'kind of has it all' for future role with Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS -- Matyas Sapovaliv approached the Vegas Golden Knights development camp last month as an opportunity to build more than his hockey skills.

The 19-year-old center prospect said he viewed it as a gateway to what professional life would be.

"We have so many meetings here: how to eat, how to cook, how to live," said Sapovaliv, who the Golden Knights selected in the second round (No. 48) of the 2022 NHL Draft.

Aside from learning about the professional lifestyle, Sapovaliv took it as an opportunity to put his skills on display and build relationships with future teammates.

"It's nice to meet with other guys," he said. "We have two scrimmages, so we can show our skills to coaches and everybody so it's nice to be here."

A rangy player with size (6-foot-3, 178 pounds), Sapovaliv has opened Vegas' eyes as a player who excels at each end of the rink.

"He kind of has it all," Golden Knights director of player development Wil Nichol said. "His skating has improved. And he's realized that he's got to move his feet and he does it consistently now. There's been a lot of growth in his game, but he's got a lot of stuff he can [work on] as well."

Sapovaliv had a strong first season in North America in 2022-23 after arriving from his native Czech Republic with 56 points (27 goals, 29 assists) in 61 games with Saginaw of the Ontario Hockey League, good for second on the team, and led Saginaw in playoff scoring with 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 11 games.

He also represented Czechia in the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship with seven assists in seven games, helping it reach the final, where it lost to Canada 3-2 in overtime.

It was that performance that particularly stood out to Nichol.

"'Sapo' had a heck of a year," Nichol said. "He was outstanding at the World Juniors. What a lot of people didn't realize, he went out against the top line of every other team, including Canada, he had success, not only in that shutdown role, but he had success offensively. We're really happy with this season."

Sapovaliv said game experience is the key to his game moving in the right direction.

"I would say games are the best practice, so I played 80-plus games (last season)," he said. "It was the biggest improvement from [the season before]."