Golden Knights’ top picks Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki head back to juniors

Cody Glass and Nick Suzuki got a glimpse this summer of what life is like with the Golden Knights.

That experience will serve the first-round picks well when they try to make the team next season.

Glass and Suzuki were among four players who were returned to the major junior teams by the Knights on Friday. Also headed back for another year of seasoning are defensemen Nic Hague and recently signed Dylan Coghlan.

“The exit meetings with Glass and Suzuki went very well,” general manager George McPhee said. “They were impressed with the pace of play and strength of NHL players when battling for pucks. They look forward to training hard for a year and returning as better players next year.”

Glass, the No. 6 pick in June’s entry draft, will play this season with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.

Glass recorded two assists in the Knights’ 9-4 win over Vancouver in the preseason opener, but was quiet Thursday in a 5-2 loss at San Jose.

Suzuki, who went No. 13 overall, heads back to Owen Sound in the Ontario Hockey League. He had a goal and an assist in two preseason games.

Hague (Mississauga, OHL) was a second-round pick in June and had an assist in his one preseason appearance.

Meanwhile, forwards Bryce Gervais and Stephen MacAulay, and defensemen Kenney Morrison and Dmitry Osipov were reassigned to the Chicago Wolves (American Hockey League) training camp.

The Knights also placed defenseman Chris Casto on waivers, according to TVA Sports in Quebec.

Hottest ticket in town

The Knights are the best-selling ticket in the NHL, according to a news release from StubHub.

The team plays in seven of the 10 most in-demand games on the ticket exchange site and are doubling the ticket sales of the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers, two historically popular teams.

The Dec. 14 home game against Pittsburgh is the No. 2 most in-demand game, followed by the game against Chicago on Oct. 24.

The Knights’ home opener against Arizona on Oct. 10 is No. 4 on the list, with tickets going for an average of $228.

Detroit’s season opener against Minnesota in newly opened Little Caesars Arena is No. 1 on StubHub in terms of demand and average ticket price ($265).

Tickets to Knights home games have sold in 18 countries and all 50 states, with 40 percent of the purchases coming from California, Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York.

On the bright side

There weren’t many positives from Thursday’s 5-2 loss at San Jose, but Knights coach Gerard Gallant did single out forwards Cody Eakin and William Karlsson for praise.

Eakin assisted on both of the Knights’ goals and won 61 percent of his faceoffs. Karlsson didn’t have a point against the Sharks, but logged 19:54 of ice time, tops among the team’s forwards.

“Those two guys stood out,” Gallant said. “They did some good things.”

Back on the ice

The Knights had the day off Friday and resume training camp at 9 a.m. Saturday at City National Arena. The team leaves Sunday for its game at Anaheim.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.