Golden Knights making trip to Whitefish

By JOSEPH TERRY

The Daily Inter Lake

WHITEFISH — The NHL’s newest franchise is looking for fans in Northwest Montana.

The Vegas Golden Knights are making a stop in Whitefish on their four-state preseason tour and will hold an on-ice clinic and meet-and-greet with forward Alex Tuch and defenseman Jake Bischoff on Wednesday at the Stumptown Ice Den. Team owner Bill Foley, a Whitefish businessman and majority owner of Whitefish Mountain Resort, and a handful of executives will also be on hand to meet with fans.

The event will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Stumptown Ice Den and is open to fans of all ages.

Whitefish is the second stop on the Vegas Golden Knights Road Trip, a venture by the team to grow fandom and viewership in all of the states in its broadcasting area. The team will also make stops in Coeur d’Alene, Red Lodge, Bozeman and Salt Lake City.

“The Vegas Golden Knights Road Trip will bring the excitement of Golden Knights hockey into several communities that are easily accessible from Las Vegas and all located within our television distribution territory through our partnership with AT&T SportsNet,” Vegas Golden Knights President Kerry Bubolz said in a press release.

“Once the season begins, our players will be very active in the Las Vegas area and participate in numerous community appearances and charitable events in our market. This is an opportunity for our players to visit other cities that we may not be able to reach during the season. We look forward to having hockey fans of all ages get the chance to meet some of these players, coaches and executives and enjoy our great game.”

The team will be sending a pair of young players to lead the local clinic. Tuch is a 21-year-old rookie acquired by Vegas from Minnesota ahead of this summer’s draft, who played sparingly in six games for the Wild last season. The 23-year-old Bischoff has yet to play in the NHL after being drafted out of high school by the New York Islanders in 2012.

The Golden Knights begin their inaugural season this fall, opening preseason play on Sept. 17.