LAS VEGAS — Five hundred first responders and their families poured into City National Arena – the Golden Knights’ team facility – for the team’s morning skate before Tuesday’s preseason game in Denver.
They were honored afterward during a private event in honor of their heroics seven years earlier, inside the facility’s restaurant, MacKenzie River.
The first responders in attendance included the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Nevada Highway Patrol, Henderson police, and local and county fire departments.
Oct. 1 will forever be stitched in the hearts of Southern Nevadans after the largest mass shooting in U.S. history took place in 2017.
Seven years ago, our city changed forever.
We will never forget the people who lost their lives on October 1, 2017 and we will always stand with the first responders that keep the Las Vegas community safe.
We are all #VegasStrong 💛 pic.twitter.com/6mDJeMrnlX
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 1, 2024
A short path down Las Vegas Boulevard the same night, the Golden Knights had just finished a preseason game while many of the players were enjoying a dinner at the Cosmopolitan Hotel.
When the news broke, the entire town went numb.
For the thousands of survivors and families of victims, the numbness remains. For many, the Golden Knights have never stopped being a positive outlet.
Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore, two of the three remaining players from the inaugural team in 2017, were among many players who were on hand to greet their guests.
“It means a lot, especially for me and the guys who were here,” McNabb said. “It was a tragic day. And just to have everyone out here, it’s cool.
“I didn’t expect that many people to come to practice. And it’s great to have first responders, or whoever’s here. I’m sure it’s close to them. Whatever we can do to help since we’ve done since it’s happened.”
Though the Golden Knights had only introduced themselves as the first major professional franchise to Southern Nevada a few weeks earlier, they quickly became of a part of the community’s fabric with immediate relief efforts.
Their miraculous run to the Stanley Cup Final in their first season didn’t necessarily erase the horrific memory of 60 lives being taken, but it was the players’ involvement and outreach in the community that helped ease the pain.
“I think just from our job, we seemed to be a relief aspect,” Theodore said. “Getting everyone together, coming to support one cause. And especially raising that banner with the names, and the (original) 58 (victims), it’s definitely a special moment in our hearts. And I just think the community coming on board with supporting the team, and us doing the same, meant a lot.”
