In collaboration with Upper Deck, The Hockey News will be covering the best active homegrown player for each NHL team. For the Vegas Golden Knights, it's Nicolas Hague.
When the Golden Knights walked up to make their first of two selections in the second round of the 2017 draft, they knew they would one day be drafting one of the most physically imposing defensemen in the NHL.
Listed at 6'6, 240 lbs, Hague is trusted by head coach Bruce Cassidy to defend in his own zone and clear the front of the net for his goaltenders. Not known for his offensive game in the NHL but showed flashes of offensive upside playing with the Mississauga Steelheads in the OHL. In his draft year, he scored 18 goals and 46 points in 65 games. In his D+1 year, he potted 35 goals and 78 points in 67 games en route to winning the CHL Defenseman of the Year award.
The 25-year-old never had the opportunity to represent Team Canada at the World Juniors but did play with Canada at the U-18s.
In the NHL he's been able to show his offensive ability with his heavy shot from the point. He scored a career-high five goals and 17 points in the shortened 2020-21 season.
Hague signed a three-year contract extension on Oct. 10, 2022, worth $2,294,150 annually. He'll be heading into the final year of his contract with 296 NHL games under his belt in six seasons.
The Golden Knights made three selections before drafting Hague. They took Cody Glass with the sixth overall pick, Nick Suzuki with the 13th pick and Erik Brannstrom with the 15th selection. Jake Leschyshyn was taken with the Golden Knights' other second-round pick and Jonas Rondbjerg was taken in the third-round.
The Golden Knights haven't built their brand off of their drafting and development. They've used their top prospects to acquire NHL players in big trades. Out of the Golden Knights' seven first-round picks, only one, Brendan Brisson, is still with the organization.
The Golden Knights scouting staff has done an excellent job finding NHL quality players in the second and third rounds. Kaedan Korczak and Pavel Dorofeyev will have prominent roles in the NHL next season. Lukas Cormier, Mathieu Cataford, Ben Hemmerling and Matyas Sapovaliv are all developing nicely and showing signs of being future NHL players.
The hunger to replicate the feeling of the 2023 Stanley Cup win burns inside the Golden Knights and Nicolas Hague will once again play a crucial part in that.
Celebrate the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft with a FREE digital trading card set that features some of your favorite NHL superstars, like Connor Bedard, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and more. Make sure to add them to your collection today!
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vegas Golden Knights site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.