Reilly Smith, Brandon Pirri reunited with Golden Knights

Brandon Pirri has become known to Golden Knights fans as that guy who scores goals whenever he’s called up to the NHL roster from the American Hockey League.

To forward Reilly Smith, Pirri is that kid he played hockey with during their youth in suburban Toronto.

Pirri, who leads the AHL in points, scored three goals in three games in the past week when he was called up to replace an injured Max Pacioretty on the Knights’ second line.

Pirri also scored three times in two games in his only call-up last season.

But despite the production, Pirri again was reassigned to the Chicago Wolves after Sunday’s overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings. The demotion either signals that Pacioretty is nearing a return or it could represent a temporary clerical move to save three days of service time while the Knights were on a holiday break.

Either way, it’s likely that Pirri will return to the Knights at some point, and when he does, he will almost certainly make an impact in the offensive zone.

Scoring goals never has been an issue for Pirri, something Smith witnessed during their seven years playing together on the same line for the Toronto Red Wings and the Toronto Nationals youth programs from about 8 to 14 years old.

“He’s a very talented offensive player,” Smith said. “I’ve always known that.”

It’s remarkable enough that two players from the same forward line of a youth hockey program would play together in the NHL, but this is the second organization in which it has happened for Smith and Pirri.

They also were teammates in Florida, where they played for Knights coach Gerard Gallant.

“It’s pretty funny that we’ve crossed paths again,” Pirri said. “The hockey community is pretty small, and sometimes it gets even smaller.”

He’s not kidding.

The third member of their line for much of the time they played together was perennial NHL All-Star Tyler Seguin. Winnipeg Jets forward Brandon Tanev also was on the team.

“We were pretty good,” Pirri said jokingly.

On a team of aspiring athletes competing to reach the pinnacle of their sport, it would make sense if there was tension on the roster.

Pirri said that was never a concern.

“There wasn’t any of that,” he said. “Reilly is just so even keel. It was just a lot of fun. Plus, we were very successful, and it’s easy to just have fun when you’re successful.”

Smith said they won a lot of tournaments and took trips as far away as Russia to play against elite competition.

“In seven years, you make a lot of memories,” Smith said. “You’re pretty much just out there having fun and trying to make the most of it while creating friendships at the same time. Playing in the NHL is kind of just a dream, and both of us were fortunately able to pursue that. It’s fun to have that kind of relationship now with someone you grew up with who both made it.”

Pirri, 27, hopes to be back on the roster soon, but it’s clear what he needs to work on to stick around. While he has been productive almost every time he’s been on an NHL roster, Gallant said he sees Pirri, who has 63 goals in 231 NHL games, as a player who has to have a top-six role because he has been viewed as one-dimensional.

“Pirri is a goal scorer,” Gallant said after Pirri scored twice against the Montreal Canadiens. “That’s what he does. He’s not a great defensive player. He has gotten better and working harder, but Pirri puts the puck into the net, and that’s why he is here.”

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

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHIllLVRJ on Twitter.