Crystal ball time: A very early look at the Golden Knights’ roster next season

There’s going to be some competition on the Vegas Golden Knights roster next season.

It’s also going to be a time for evaluation of depth in the organization.

The Knights saw firsthand what can happen when a player gets an opportunity. Braeden Bowman filled in for an injured Mark Stone and left his mark. That turned into a 54-game rookie season for the undrafted winger.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon said Bowman, 23, is in line to become an everyday NHL player.

“We’ve seen here in the past that for people to blossom and take a step, there has to be opportunity in front of them,” McCrimmon said. “I feel very good where we’re at.”

Let’s use all the grains of salt we possibly can and look at what this roster might look like.

Knights projected lineup

Ivan Barbashev - Jack Eichel - Mark Stone

Victor Olofsson - William Karlsson - Mitch Marner

Brett Howden - Tomas Hertl - Braeden Bowman

TBD - Nic Dowd - Marc Gatcomb

Brayden McNabb - Shea Theodore

Noah Hanifin - Rasmus Andersson

Jeremy Lauzon - Parker Wotherspoon/Dylan Coghlan

Carter Hart

Adin Hill

Early thoughts

The noteworthy addition is the return of Victor Olofsson on a one-year contract to replace the outgoing Pavel Dorofeyev.

It’s not the first time Olofsson has been brought in to replace a leading goal scorer. He was viewed as the replacement for Jonathan Marchessault when he left for Nashville in the summer of 2024.

Fortunately for the Knights, Dorofeyev wound up being that replacement with 72 goals over the next two seasons.

Olofsson is going to get the middle-six minutes and reps on the top power play unit. There’s more responsibility this time around for the three-time 20-goal scorer.

“We liked more about his game then and now than just the fact he’s a shooter, but he brings that skillset to our team,” McCrimmon said of Olofsson. “He’s responsible. He’s a smart player. He’ll find a good spot in our lineup.”

Ultimately, McCrimmon didn’t tinker too much with the roster that was two wins away from winning the Stanley Cup.

He kept the blue line intact — re-signing Rasmus Andersson, Dylan Coghlan and Jeremy Lauzon — but made the switch for Parker Wotherspoon over Kaedan Korczak.

The back end is heavy on left-handed shots, which will lead to some playing on their weak side more than they have before.

One thing to watch from coach Ryan Craig — in conjunction with assistant coach John Stevens — is how balanced it will be. Does the pairing of Andersson and Noah Hanifin split to provide each a stay-at-home option? Do they maximize their value and familiarity by playing together?

“Because some coaches, that’s a real hang-up with the righties and the lefties matching up on the back end, but we feel there’s some options for guys to play on the right side,” McCrimmon said. “Ryan and John were both comfortable that we could work through that.”

The fourth line will need some solidifying following the trade of Keegan Kolesar to Detroit on Wednesday.

McCrimmon made sure to note that the signing of Marc Gatcomb could help with that. The 6-foot-2 forward is someone that could fill that gap left behind from Kolesar, despite 88 career NHL games under his belt.

McCrimmon noted Bowman could be an option for that fourth-line spot if that’s where he best fits. That could open up a top-nine opportunity for either Tanner Laczynski or 2024 first-round pick Trevor Connelly.

“Coming from junior hockey, every year, you lose some of your best players. They age out and it provides opportunity,” McCrimmon said. “It doesn’t guarantee that it’s seamless and we’re going to have as good a group of forwards as we had last year, but it’s going to give some players a chance to get that opportunity.”