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After stockpiling picks, Vegas aims to ‘draft our way to success’

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The Golden Knights finish the expansion draft in a big way, drafting Nate Schmidt and Marc-Andre Fleury from the Capitals and Penguins.

On Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena, the Las Vegas Golden Knights took form.

But there’s no denying this team will really take shape at the next couple of entry drafts.

That was the big storyline this evening, as Golden Knights GM George McPhee introduced his 30-man roster, almost in the shadow of an unprecedented stockpiling of draft picks from rival clubs.

"[The objective] was to acquire prospects and surplus draft picks that can help draft our way to success,” McPhee explained. “Time will tell if we met those objectives, but we’re certainly delighted with the way that it went.

“It was a fascinating experience.”

We’ll get to see the fruits of McPhee’s labor shortly. When the dust settled this evening, he and the Golden Knights emerged with three top-15 picks in Friday’s first round of the draft -- the sixth, which Vegas got in the lottery, the 13th, acquired in a trade with Winnipeg, and the 15th, acquired from the New York Islanders.

In addition to that, the Golden Knights also received:

• Buffalo’s sixth-round pick on Friday (as part of drafting William Carrier)

• Carolina’s fifth-round pick on Friday (as part of drafting Connor Brickley)

• Tampa Bay’s second-round pick on Friday, and the Bolts’ fourth-rounder in 2018 (for laying off the club’s young d-men, and taking Jason Garrison)

• The Islanders’ second-round pick in 2019 (for taking on Mikhail Grabovski, in addition to the first-rounder listed above)

• Columbus’ second-round pick in 2019 (for not taking Josh Anderson or Joonas Korpisalo, also in addition to the deal above)

• Winnipeg’s third-round pick in 2019 (for taking Chris Thorburn instead of Tobias Enstrom, and also in addition to the above deal)

• Pittsburgh’s second-round pick in 2020 (as part of drafting Marc-Andre Fleury)

Add it all up, and the Knights now have 12 picks at the upcoming draft in Chicago, with five of them coming in the first two rounds. It’ll result in a huge influx of talent and, given the relatively thin nature of the active roster, a real chance for the kids selected on Friday to have a shot at NHL minutes in the fall.

But remember -- until these picks have been used, they’re assets. And that’s worth mentioning, because the league-wide trade freeze lifts at 8 a.m. ET Thursday morning.

Stay tuned.