Golden Knights’ Inaugural Team Reunion Brought Fun Back Into Focus

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The Golden Knights’ inaugural team reunion brought a familiar idea back into focus: fun has always been part of what makes this group work. The word may not come up as often as it did in 2017-18, but the return of players from that first season gave the current room a chance to reconnect with the energy that marked the club’s earliest days.

Vegas honored members of its inaugural team over the weekend, welcoming back familiar faces from the 2017-18 group. That season’s run captured the attention of Las Vegas and became one of the most memorable stories in American sports. The reunion was a chance to look back at the people and atmosphere behind that run, and to recognize how much of its spirit still carries through the team.

A first season built on discovery

For the players in that original group, nearly everything around the club was new. The team was beginning its first season, and no one could be certain what the year would bring. Even small details had a novelty to them: players were still talking about their white gloves and the feeling of wearing gear marked with Vegas.

Those memories matter because they describe more than a new uniform or a fresh locker room. They capture a group learning what it meant to represent a new team in a city that was embracing it. The players were finding their footing together, and the early uncertainty left room for an excitement that was easy to see.

Head coach Gerard Gallant kept returning to a simple message when he spoke about what he wanted from his players: have fun. Alongside the demands of work and competition, that idea became a familiar part of how the inaugural team was described. It helped set a tone for a group navigating a season unlike any other in its history.

When fun was repeated so often, it could sound as if it was being put ahead of the hockey itself. The point was simpler than that. Gallant’s message sat alongside the effort and competition expected of the team; it gave those demands a human dimension. Players could take the work seriously while still enjoying the people beside them and the experience of building something together.

The message is still there

In recent years, “fun” has become less common in the team’s public vocabulary. Ryan Craig, the current head coach, connected the word to the foundation Gallant established and to the players who remain from that era.

“Turk (Gallant) was work hard, compete, have fun, right? That was Turk, and I think it’s kind of been the basis for this team and the guys that are still here for sure.” — Ryan Craig

Craig’s point offers a useful way to read the change. When an idea becomes part of the routine, people may stop spelling it out. Players don’t need to keep announcing that they enjoy being together for that feeling to exist. The daily experience can show what a phrase no longer needs to explain.

That doesn’t mean hockey is free of frustration. Craig acknowledged that losses and disappointing results still get to players. Competitive athletes care about the outcome, and a hard night can be hard to shake. His larger point was that the frustration lives alongside a career and a workplace many players are glad to have.

“We’re hockey lifers, this is what we can to do. Yeah, you get pissed off after losses and things that go that way, but it’s still better than working 9 to 5, and you’re with people that you that you enjoy being with. It’s your second family, your hockey family. So yeah, I would say it is fun and it’s still fun.” — Craig

Other players in the room echoed Craig’s view. The return of the inaugural group reinforced their appreciation for playing hockey in Las Vegas, while giving current players a direct connection to the early years. Their careers bring pressure, demanding work and the inevitable disappointment of results that don’t go their way. Craig’s description of the team as a hockey family shows how enjoyment can remain part of that reality.

What the reunion brought into view

The first-season novelty has faded. The gear is no longer a surprise, and the team no longer has to wonder what it means to begin in Vegas. That shift doesn’t erase what made the early group distinctive. Instead, the reunion made it easier to see how an initial burst of excitement can grow into something steadier: a shared routine, familiar relationships and a sense of belonging.

For a team with returning players from that first season, Gallant’s message also has a longer life than its repeated use at the time might suggest. Work hard, compete and have fun remains a compact description of the balance Craig sees in the group. It connects the inaugural team’s approach with the current room without requiring every season to feel like the first.

That distinction is the clearest takeaway from the reunion. The original season was special because the team and its surroundings were new, but the pleasure of coming to the rink didn’t have to depend on novelty. Craig’s words suggest it has become an ordinary part of the players’ lives, supported by the people they work beside. The reunion gave that everyday part of the Golden Knights’ story a moment in the spotlight again.

The inaugural team’s return didn’t recreate 2017-18. It offered a reminder of what has endured since then: the work, the competition and the connection between teammates. Fun may not need to be said out loud every day. By Craig’s account, it’s still there.

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