BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads, in conjunction with Idaho Central Arena, will host a NHL preseason game between the Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, Oct. 8 at Idaho Central Arena, which is presented by Project Filter.
The meeting between the Coyotes and Golden Knights will be the final preseason game for each team, marking the last time each organization will evaluate talent prior the start of the 2022-23 NHL regular season. NHL stars like Jack Eichel, Robin Lehner, Max Pacioretty, Alex Pietrangelo, and Mark Stone for the Golden Knights as well as Jakob Chychrun, Clayton Keller, Andrew Ladd, and Nick Schmaltz for the Coyotes are under contract for the 2022-23 campaign and could be among the skaters appearing in the preseason meetings. Selections from this week’s 2022 NHL Draft will also likely be skating, showcasing both team’s future and current stars in Boise for a one night only event.
“We are excited to be able to bring NHL hockey back to the Treasure Valley for the first time in 25 years,” said Eric Trapp, President of Idaho Sports Properties. “We have been working on this every year since the inception of the Steelheads, so we couldn’t be more pleased to have these two great NHL teams visit Idaho Central Arena and Boise thanks to the help of Project Filter.”
“We know there are plenty of VGK fans in Boise and we are excited to give them a chance to see the Golden Knights in person. It will be a great event for them at an important stage of the preseason as we prepare for 2022-23,” said Kelly McCrimmon, Golden Knights General Manager.
“We are excited to play the Golden Knights at Idaho Central Arena. We look forward to bringing NHL hockey to the great fans in Idaho on October 8,” said Bill Armstrong, Coyotes General Manager.
This will be the second NHL preseason game and third NHL event hosted in Downtown Boise. The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks met for an NHL exhibition game on Sep. 14, 1997 prior to the inaugural Steelheads season, and it was the third event hosted in the history of Idaho Central Arena. The Steelheads also hosted the Dallas Stars Training Camp from Sep. 14-16, 2018, which included an intrasquad scrimmage on the final day and appearances from NHL stars Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and the rest of the Stars roster.
Eight different Steelheads players have played between the Coyotes and Golden Knights since the team’s inception with the WCHL in 1997-98. Goaltender Maxime Lagace (’15-’16) appeared in 17 games for the Golden Knights over two seasons from 2017-18 and 2018-19 and is the lone alum to skate for Vegas. Seven players have played for the Coyotes including: forward Jay Beagle (’06-’07), who just competed in 2021-22 with Arizona; B.J. Crombeen (’05-’07), who concluded his NHL career in 2014-15 with the Coyotes; forward Steve Gainey (’08-’09) in 2005-06; forward Nick Johnson (’12-’13), who played for both Idaho and Arizona in the same season; forward Henrik Samuelsson (’17-’19) in his rookie 2014-15 season; forward Mike Stutzel (’04-’06) in 2003-04; and Andrei Vasilyev (’03-’05) in 1998-99.
In total, there have been 55 Steelheads alumni that have played in the NHL since the team’s inaugural 1997-98 season with players earning NHL minutes both prior to and following their time in Boise. During the 2021-22 season, six alumni made an appearance during a NHL game: forward Jay Beagle (’06-’07), Arizona; goaltender Jack Campbell (’14-’16), Toronto; forward Sam Carrick (’12-’13), Anaheim; forward Justin Dowling (’12-’13), Vancouver; goaltender Maxime Lagace (’15-’16), Tampa Bay; and forward Gemel Smith (’15-’16), Detroit.
Additionally, the Steelheads held a brief ECHL affiliation with the Arizona Coyotes during the 2004-05 season as a secondary ECHL affiliate, which was just the second ECHL affiliation for the Coyotes organization.
Steelheads Season Ticket Holders will have first rights to reserve their seats for the NHL Preseason Game, presented by Project Filter, and information regarding those reservations have been mailed to those people. The deadline for Season Ticket Holders is August 3. Tickets will go on sale to the public on August 10 at 10:00 a.m. at IdahoSteelheads.com and IdahoCentralArena.com.