Every player’s first professional season comes with many milestones: first professional game, first professional point, first professional goal. For Jakub Brabenec, several of those arrived in quick succession.
Brabenec notched his first point – an assist on the Silver Knights’ game-winning goal – in his professional debut against the Iowa Wild. He added his first professional goal in Henderson’s home opener against the San Jose Barracuda.
With a year of AHL hockey under his belt, Brabenec looks to build off of those debut milestones and become a consistent force for the HSK every game.
“I would say I’m going to be more confident than last year,” he said after the first day of Silver Knights training camp. “I’m focused on my d-zone play and I know that if I’m going to be good in the d-zone, everything else will come. I would say I’m a good two-way forward, but I can be better. I need to be the best on faceoffs, so I’m trying to make every improvement I can.”
The Silver Knights took the ice for the first time yesterday, but Head Coach Ryan Craig noted that for most of the team’s skaters, the 2024-25 season has already been underway for several weeks. Brabenec participated in the Golden Knights’ rookie tournament, recording three points (2G, 1A) in three games alongside the organization’s other NHL prospects. He then joined VGK’s main training camp, earning an assist in their preseason game against the San Jose Sharks.
“It’s huge to be with all the players,” Brabenec said. “Seeing all the guys and seeing how they’re getting ready for everything, for practices or for games. You want to be like them. You want to play in the NHL, so you try to do everything that they do, because they do.”
Learning from Vegas’s elite talent has been a constant for Brabenec this offseason. Throughout the summer, he’s worked closely with Golden Knights forward Tomáš Hertl in their home country, the Czech Republic.
“It was a good summer for me, especially because I’ve been working with Hertl,” he added. “I’ve been back in the Czech Republic, but I haven’t been in my hometown. I’ve been in Prague. It was going to be better to be there with the NHL guys than stay in my hometown and not have that opportunity. Every day you just go in the gym and see all the guys you watched growing up, and now you’re training with them. I’m really grateful for it, but now I’m just excited for next season.”
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