The 2017 NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas will be remembered for one thing - the day the 31st NHL franchise announced it’s expansion roster. The Vegas Golden Knights officially had a grand total of three players signed to a contract. Reid Duke, former Wild draft pick, was the very first to sign-on with the Golden Knights, followed by Russian veteran Vadim Shipachyov. Finally, Tomas Hyka was plucked from the Czech Republic’s BK Mlada Boleslav franchise.
However, that roster got filled out as the Vegas Golden Knights selected players from all 30 existing teams in the 2017 Expansion Draft.