Golden Knights Send Strong Message to Former First-Round Pick After Nightmare Start

The Vegas Golden Knights announced last night that winger Brendan Brisson has been reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. The team didn't make a corresponding roster move, however, meaning Vegas now has an open spot on their active roster. This move comes in light of Brisson's tough start to the year, as he hasn't been able to get in a groove with the team thus far.

The first-rounder selected 29th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, earned a roster spot with the Golden Knights out of training camp for the first time this year. To date, however, Brisson has underwhelmed. Across his seven appearances, Brisson has yet to record a point and has a -3 rating, averaging just over ten minutes of ice time per game. He has also been a healthy scratch on four occasions and put up a -4 rating over his last couple of appearances. This underwhelming start has contrasted with other depth players up and down the roster who have elevated their level of play in recent games.

Last season, Brisson had shown promise in his limited NHL appearances, notching two goals and six assists in 15 games. This season, though, he's been relegated to fourth-line minutes and ultimately replaced in the lineup by waiver claim Cole Schwindt after impressing with two assists and a +3 rating in a single game against the Calgary Flames. It seems the players in competition with Brisson have outcompeted him, leaving very little room for creating a defined place in the depth chart of this team.

The potential from Brisson was supposed to be one of the key players in the Knights' plans to offset some main offseason departures, including Michael Amadio, Jonathan Marchessault, and Chandler Stephenson. Instead, others have picked up the slack in the scoring department, as players like Pavel Dorofeyev, Tanner Pearson, and Brett Howden have provided major boosts to the team's offense, which presently ranks second in the league at 4.55 goals per game. That early season performance has underlined the strength of Vegas' depth, even with Brisson's anticipated breakout being delayed.

That means Brendan Brisson will return to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL in hopes of becoming better sculpted and gaining more confidence in his game. He has proven his merit at that level, recording 40 goals and 83 points in 117 AHL games across the last three seasons, with 19 goals and 38 points coming last season. Now in the final year of his entry-level contract, he will be a restricted free agent next summer, adding to the urgency for him to cash in on his development in the months ahead.