59°F
weather icon Clear

Golden Knights’ numbers, locker room spots are personal

For a hockey player, what number he wears and where he sits in the locker room are two of his most important personal possessions.

The number is his connection with the fans and can represent his brand (think Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99). His spot in the room represents power and respect to and from his teammates.

But what happens when you get 23 guys in a brand-new environment but bring their old idiosyncrasies with them?

Chris Davidson-Adams, the Golden Knights’ equipment manager, is in charge of assigning numbers and locker stalls. Both are somewhat tricky propositions, and with training camp a month away, he is trying to have everything in order so the players will be comfortable.

“It takes a lot of guesswork,” Davidson-Adams said. “You’re trying to manage 23 different personalities.”

The locker room seating may be a little trickier than who wears what number. Some players like being near the trainer’s room. Some want to be seated near the door leading to the ice. Some like sitting with their linemates or defensive partner.

“It’s like being a teacher in a fifth-grade class,” Davidson-Adams said of who to seat where. “You want to see who will get into the most trouble.”

Davidson-Adams said the final decision will come from head coach Gerard Gallant. Once the space is assigned, it will be the same at the team’s practice facility at City National Arena as it will be at T-Mobile Arena.

“I always talk to coach,” Davidson-Adams said. “He may want a veteran near a young guy or two veterans who get along next to each other.

“I also called the equipment manager of the former teams for a lot of the guys to see where they liked to sit and if there is anything I need to know.”

The Knights’ goaltenders will get a little extra space to dress since they have more equipment. Marc-Andre Fleury will dress at one spot opposite the east wall of the room while Calvin Pickard will have his stall at the other end. But for all 23 players, they will have plenty of room to dress and move about as the T-Mobile dressing room is spacious as is the room at City National Arena.

There weren’t many conflicts as to who will wear what number. What few there were, Davidson-Adams mediated them to a successful resolution. He also has the luxury of having the full compliment of numbers to hand out since the Knights don’t have any retired numbers.

“It was a challenge, but I was able to work it all out,” he said. “Basically, my rule of thumb is if you have seniority, you get to choose what you want to wear.

“I tried to forecast before the expansion draft what conflicts we might have and once we chose our team, I saw we might have a couple of conflicts.”

Number negotiations

The most notable was No. 29. Fleury has worn that number during his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins while Deryk Engelland wore No. 29 with the Calgary Flames. Both are NHL veterans and both like the number.

“I went to Deryk and asked him what other number would he be willing to wear and he said ‘No. 5,’” Davidson-Adams said. “But that created another conflict because Jason Garrison wore No. 5 in Tampa and he wanted that number here.

“So I told Jason that Deryk also wanted 5 and he already had switched once to let Fleury wear No. 29. They talked and Jason agreed to let Deryk have 5 and he’ll wear No. 7.”

Engelland, who wore No. 5 when he played for the Las Vegas Wranglers, said it was no problem giving up No. 29 to Fleury.

“I’ve had good luck with 5 before,” he said.

William Karlsson, who wore No. 17 in Columbus, decided to wear No. 71, his number in Sweden. Reilly Smith took No. 19 after James Neal was assigned No. 18.

In the end, it all worked out.

“It’s fun and it’s challenging at the same time,” Davidson-Adams said.

More Golden Knights: Follow all of our Golden Knights coverage online at reviewjournal.com/GoldenKnights and @HockeyinVegas on Twitter.

Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
MORE STORIES