This is about as Las Vegas as it gets…
In case you missed it, the NHL season got started last night, and it got started with a bang. Not only were there plenty of exciting hockey matchups, ESPN released a new (and hilarious) “This Is SportsCenter” advertisement featuring the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
They were rightfully the focus of the commercial considering that the Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup last season, and have had plenty of success since they were introduced as an expansion team in 2017.
If you’ve ever been to Vegas, you know that there’s a lot of “show” and “presentation” with basically everything on the strip. The Golden Knights took that Vegas vibe and brought it out onto the rink for their Stanley Cup trophy presentation.
Think of everything that you know about Las Vegas, and that’s what they managed to fit into the special, celebratory moment. At one point, they told the team to skate over to a giant slot machine that was on the ice.
Don’t believe me? Just watch:
“Will the team please approach the slot machine…” 😂😂😂pic.twitter.com/ANdg2WbDNp
— Las Vegas Locally 🌴 (@LasVegasLocally) October 11, 2023
And as for the banner unveiling, I’m not sure the Knights could have nailed the night more perfectly. Right winger (hockey position, not political leaning) Mark Stone had the honor of pulling the handle on the giant slot machine, and it was absolutely electric:
What a scene…
I actually left out a pretty cool (but a little weird) moment that kicked off the entire ceremony when the Las Vegas Golden Knight himself pulled a sword out of stone (just like the classic fable).
For some reason, the sword dripping water when it was unsheathed from the rock, but no one really seemed to care about that.
You can also take a look at the unexplained wet sword, and a compilation of the entire ceremony, in the clip below:
