Golden Knights’ farm system enjoys exciting Year 3

Wil Nichol, a former high school English teacher, must have felt like he attended multiple graduations this season.

The Golden Knights director of player development saw many of the organization’s prospects make the leap to the NHL. Cody Glass, Nic Hague, Jake Bischoff, Keegan Kolesar and Gage Quinney debuted while Zach Whitecloud and Nicolas Roy became regulars.

The youngsters provided crucial and cheap depth for the Knights as they chased their second Pacific Division title in three years. And that isn’t where the good news on the farm stopped.

The Knights well-regarded prospect pool had another impressive season to keep the team’s long-term outlook bright.

”(Assistant director of player personnel) Bob Lowes and the amateur staff have done just an absolutely outstanding job with the players they’ve selected. They got good people too,” Nichol said. “I think that is why we’ve accumulated such depth in such a short period of time.”

Junior players

One of those impressive people is 2019 first-round pick Peyton Krebs. The center spent the early part of his season rehabbing from a partially torn Achilles tendon but showed no ill effects when he returned to the ice.

Krebs’ production for his junior team — The Western Hockey League’s Winnipeg Ice — was stellar. The 19-year-old had 60 points in 38 games. The Ice’s captain also had a profound effect on his teammates.

Winnipeg was 11-8-1 with a minus-11 goal differential without Krebs, and 27-16-0 with a plus-35 goal differential with him.

“It was fun to watch what the Winnipeg Ice were before (Krebs) got healthy and what the Winnipeg Ice were and became after,” Nichol said. “That’s probably the biggest compliment I could give to Peyton. They had a good team, but once he got healthy and he got back playing, they became one of the top teams in the Western League.”

Krebs’ draft classmate Kaeden Korczak had an excellent season as well. The 2019 second-round pick had 49 points in 60 games for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. The one disappointment for the 19-year-old was he wasn’t one of the 31 players named to Canada’s world juniors selection camp.

“He’s got a lot of things that you can’t teach, including a very high hockey IQ,” Nichol said. “He had a heck of a year and he’s got a real bright future.”

College/international players

The Knights’ breakout performances came in the NCAA.

Jack Dugan, a 2017 fifth-round pick, went from a good player to the top scorer in Division I hockey as a Providence sophomore. He had 52 points in 34 games. The 22-year-old wing still has to improve away from the puck, but his play with it is a nice foundation to build upon.

An even more surprising performance came from Quinnipiac sophomore Peter DiLiberatore. The 2018 sixth-round pick had 21 points in 34 games and was one of 10 defensemen at Canada’s final world junior camp in December.

DeLiberatore, who turned 20 Tuesday, says he plans to play a third collegiate season.

“He’s someone we really value a lot,” Nichol said. “He’s a pro. … With how he approaches the game on and off the ice, he’s got all the makeup for success.”

The Knights also saw a pair of Russian prospects progress. Ivan Morozov, a 2018 second-round pick, and Pavel Dorofeyev, a 2019 third-round pick, both played at world juniors and in the Kontinental Hockey League.

Morozov, who projects as a two-way center, had seven points in 16 KHL games as a 19-year-old. He also had three points in Russia’s seven world junior games, including the game-winning overtime goal in the semifinals against Sweden.

Dorofeyev, a highly skilled 19-year-old wing, had seven points in 48 KHL games and four points for Team Russia. Both players signed extensions this year that keep them under contract in the KHL until after the 2021-22 season.

AHL players

The Knights’ American Hockey League affiliate — the Chicago Wolves — weren’t on the same level as last year’s Western Conference-winning roster. But they were still plenty talented.

The Wolves were led this season by 20-year-old wing Lucas Elvenes, who dazzled in his first North American season. The 2017 fifth-round pick had 48 points in 59 games to rank fourth among AHL rookies. The playmaker, like Dugan, could still tighten up his defensive game, but the top-six potential is there.

“Once he gets the puck, he creates,” Nichol said. “He’s got that gift where he creates offense.”

While Elvenes burst onto the scene, Dylan Coghlan led Wolves defensemen in scoring for the second straight year. The undrafted player had an impressive training camp and then scored 24 points in 60 games.

While his production was down from his outstanding rookie AHL season — when he scored 40 points — he still appears on the verge of contributing in the NHL.

Coghlan will be closer to making that leap next year too, when the Knights will cut ties with the Wolves and move an AHL franchise they purchased in February to the Las Vegas Valley.

The change should give the organization a huge jolt. Travel and other logistical concerns should go minimized. Coaches, front office personnel and fans will have greater access to prospects. The whole process of getting young players ready for the NHL should be smoother.

That should only help the Knights’ farm system continue to progress.

“Obviously, from a development standpoint, it’s a home run,” Nichol said. “That’s going to be nothing but a positive.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.