LAS VEGAS – Tens of thousands of Golden Knights fans gathered in the heart of the Strip from Las Vegas for the Stanley Cup Champions Parade on Saturday night.
For the occasion, a stage was also set up in front of the T-Mobile Arena, where everyone gathered after the traditional bus parade. The gathering marked the team’s first championship.
Players and members of the organization were gathered on stage for a special presentation, and some were more advanced in their amount of drinks absorbed than others. This is the case of Mark Stone and especially William Karlsson.
“I knew Vegas was a party town, but that pushes the boundaries,” the Knights captain said from the start.
Then, shirtless, Karlsson came to steal the microphone from Mark Stone to go there with a long prose extolling the merits of the team, the city, but especially the supporters.
“Since day one, I’ve been here, but so are you! You guys are amazing, I will always remember the team’s first game against the Coyotes. We crushed them. I hadn’t made any points in the match, but it doesn’t matter because I was f- great that year! “
An employee of the Knights even had to intervene and remove the microphone from the hands of the Swede, who was racing. The floor came to the recipient of the Conn-Smythe trophy, Jonathan Marchessault, who made himself brief.
“They closed the strip for us tonight because we are winners, the best in the world in fact! “
Shea Theodore had his right to speak, as he has also been one of the players present since the very beginning of the franchise, and Reilly Smith closed the speech.
“Bringing the cup back to Vegas is so amazing, I’m thinking maybe I’ll retire after I get it all done,” he concluded.
Then, a video recounting the 16 victories on the way to conquest played on the giant screens, and the party was on. It’s Vegas after all!
Incredible festivities
THE Strip was closed for the parade. It started at 7:00 p.m. (local time) near Flamingo Road and continued for a mile and a half to Tropicana Avenue. Then there was a rally of supporters at Toshiba Plaza and the Park District in front of the T-Mobile Arena.
This year, the Golden Knights won the cup by beating the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 last Tuesday.
Captain Mark Stone scored a hat trick and Jonathan Marchessault received the Conn-Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ most valuable player.
Marchessault is one of the six original members of the Golden Knights. The others are William Carrier, Reilly Smith, William Karlsson, Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb.
All week, players have been spotted celebrating at glitzy Strip resorts like Caesars Palace, The Flamingo, The Bellagio, The Horseshoe, Paris Las Vegas, The Cosmopolitan, Planet Hollywood, New York-New York, The Aria and the MGM Grand.
The course, arena and plaza are the same as during the Aces championship celebrations last September.
The team defeated the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA Finals.
