Goaltender Jordan Papirny has signed a one-year contract with the Henderson Silver Knights.
The Henderson Silver Knights have announced a one-year, American Hockey League contract for goaltender Jordan Papirny.
Opting to follow suit within the landscape ploughed by Logan Thompson and Jiri Patera, the former Brandon Wheat Kings backstop has decided to try his hand at another season of professional play in the Vegas Golden Knights' system.
If it's working for others, why not try it yourself, right?
Dating back to his days playing for now Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon in Brandon, Papirny gave up the Wheat Kings' crease to Thompson, which later paved the way for Patera.
And much like that of last season, the full-circle moment of it is the three former Wheat Kings goaltenders all being given a shot within the Golden Knights' organization.
Thompson has two seasons left on his entry-level deal with Vegas, while Patera is entering the final year of his own entry-level contract. Papirny is yet to receive one of those, but if the sort of injuries that happened to Vegas goaltenders in 2022-23 occur again this season, he very well may be the next man up.
The 27-year-old hasn't quite been given the opportunities that Thompson or Patera have - at least, not yet.
He did agree to a one-year AHL deal with Henderson last season as well, but only appeared in three games, posting a 1-1-0 record to go alongside a 2.11 goals against average and a .944 save percentage.
But knowing McCrimmon, the veteran GM's faith will be strong in his former WHL championship-winning backstop, likely leading to a season of growth in the AHL.
With the future of Robin Lehner completely up in the air and Laurent Brossoit having left town via free agency, Vegas will likely roll with Thompson and Adin Hill as its duo in the crease.
Papirny will battle Patera and others for the No. 1 job in Henderson this fall.
In 26 career games in the ECHL, Papirny has a 10-8-4 record with a 3.73 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.