Golden Knights’ Cody Glass joins 2017 draft mates on NHL roster

The Golden Knights’ three 2017 first-round picks have arrived. Just not entirely the way the team expected.

Center Cody Glass, forward Nick Suzuki and defenseman Erik Brannstrom are expected to begin the season in the NHL. But only Glass remains with the Knights after trades split up the three.

Suzuki was sent to the Montreal Canadiens on Sept. 9, 2018, with forward Tomas Tatar and a second-round pick for left wing Max Pacioretty. Brannstrom was traded to the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 25 with forward Oscar Lindberg and a second-round pick for right wing Mark Stone.

Glass will be on the Knights’ opening-night roster when they host the San Jose Sharks at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena.

“They’re giving me the opportunity, and I need to make the best of it,” Glass said. “If I don’t make the best of it, then obviously (the American Hockey League’s) Chicago (Wolves are) going to be calling my name. It’s one of those leagues where if you’re not producing, you’re not going to be sticking up here.”

Glass made the roster out of training camp because of his potential. The No. 6 overall pick was a playmaker, especially on the power play, during the preseason. He’s expected to be the team’s second-line center to start the season.

Glass would be the first player drafted by the Knights to play a game for the club. At 20, he obviously has a lot of room for improvement. Coach Gerard Gallant said he wants Glass to get “scoring hungry” and look to shoot more, but added that he’s happy with his progress.

Suzuki, 20, and Brannstrom, 20, have improved, too. Suzuki, the 13th pick in 2017, was at second-line right wing at the Canadiens’ practice Tuesday. Brannstrom, the 15th pick, made his NHL debut March 14 with the Senators and is on their initial roster.

Final roster moves

To become roster and cap compliant, the Knights sent center Nicolas Roy and defenseman Nicolas Hague to the AHL. They also placed right wing Alex Tuch, who is week to week with an upper-body injury, on injured reserve, according to the NHL’s media website. He will miss a minimum of one week.

Roy, 22, was acquired with a conditional fifth-round pick from the Carolina Hurricanes for forward Erik Haula on June 26. Hague, 20, was 34th overall pick in 2017.

The moves leave Glass and defenseman Jimmy Schuldt as the only rookies on the roster. The Knights have $61,668 of cap space.

Odds and ends

— Knights’ 2019 third-round pick Pavel Dorofeyev signed a three-year extension with his Kontinental Hockey League team, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, according to the Sport-Express in Russia. The deal ties him to the team through the 2021-22 season.

— Former Knights pregame and postgame host Nick Gismondi landed a new job as the rinkside reporter for Chicago Blackhawks games on NBC Sports Chicago, among other duties on the network, the Review-Journal has learned.

— Knights right wing Ryan Reaves announced that his company, 7Five Brewing’s beer, will be available at T-Mobile Arena in Sections 14 and 212, as well as the Hyde Lounge.

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