When #VegasBorn Gage Quinney left Las Vegas as a 15-year-old, he did it for his first love: hockey. The Vegas amateur hockey scene in town was still growing and the Vegas born forward needed to compete against some of the best players in the nation so he moved to Glendale, Ariz., to join the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes 16U team based out of Scottsdale.
His journey, and the hard work and long hours in between, came to fruition June 1st when Quinney signed a two-year player entry contract with his hometown Vegas Golden Knights, a team that didn’t even exist when he was cutting his teeth in Summerlin as a prep athlete seven years ago.
“The city barely used to have enough kids to make a team,” Quinney told NHL.com. “Now, it seems like there are so many kids playing with so many teams. The Golden Knights really have brought a whole city together.”
Fast forward to today. The Golden Knights practice facility, City National Arena, is less than two miles from where he went to high school at West Career and Technical Academy, and hockey is thriving here in town. Golden Knights fever has also birthed an rapidly-expanding amateur hockey scene here in town in its wake.
“People would ask me where I’m from and when I said Nevada, they’d looked at me like I said the wrong city. Every hockey player has a dream of playing for their hometown team and now I get an opportunity to compete for that chance.”
Professional hockey is in his blood
Quinney came to Las Vegas via hockey as well. His father, Ken, was a left winger for the Quebec Nordiques as well as the now-defunct Las Vegas Thunder, the first Vegas hockey team. As a child, Gage was a regular sight around the Thomas & Mack, the home arena for the International Hockey League team.
“My dad played professionally, that’s really the reason I got into hockey,” he said.
Quinney also works out with Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland in the offseason. He appeared in 57 games in the American Hockey League, playing for the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he finished with 33 points (14 G, 19 A) in 2017-18. He made made his professional debut with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers in 2016, finishing with 44 points (18 G, 26 A) in 45 games.
The young forward joins his hometown team at the right moment. Fresh off the hangover of a Stanley Cup Final appearance, the city is hungry for a second shot at the cup. The new mantra is #Cupin2, or — if you want to get a little internet nasty — “Two Years, One Cup.”
Either way, the Golden Knights and its first #VegasBorn player are a match made in Heaven. With the surge of hockey’s popularity in Sin City, as well as the potential Quinney has as a player, it’s no stretch to theorize the young man could join other local professional sports heroes like Chicago Cubs third baseman, 2016 NL MVP and World Champion Kris Bryant and Washington Nationals 2015 NL MVP Bryce Harper.
Both players will confirm there’s nothing like being a hometown hero here in Las Vegas. Sure does beat being the “Big Dog” in Ottawa. For Quinney, his first step down that road started the second he signed the contract. Now, he simply needs to show them what he’s got and find his niche within the franchise.
