Adam Brooks (ice hockey)

Lore & Background

Brooks was selected in the fourth round, 92nd overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2016 NHL entry draft after a standout junior career with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. He led the WHL with 82 assists and 120 points in the 2015–16 season, earning the Bob Clarke Trophy, and was named team captain for his final junior year. Brooks turned professional in 2017 with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, winning the Calder Cup in his rookie season. He made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs on December 28, 2019, and scored his first NHL goal on January 22, 2021. After being claimed by the Montreal Canadiens on waivers in October 2021, he played four games before being placed on waivers again and claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights on November 17, 2021. With Vegas, Brooks played seven games and scored two goals. He was placed on waivers by the Golden Knights on February 15, 2022, and subsequently re-claimed by Toronto, then placed on waivers again and claimed by the Winnipeg Jets two days later. Brooks finished the 2021–22 season with 14 games for the Jets. He later signed with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent in July 2022, and in July 2024 he signed with EHC Red Bull München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

Reader's Guide

Adam Brooks's tenure with the Vegas Golden Knights was brief but emblematic of a journeyman career shaped by waiver claims. Claimed from Montreal on November 17, 2021, he appeared in seven games for Vegas, scoring two goals before being waived again on February 15, 2022. His time with the Golden Knights was part of a season in which he was claimed off waivers four times by four different teams—Toronto, Montreal, Vegas, and Winnipeg—highlighting the volatility of a depth player's path in the NHL. Brooks's two goals for Vegas represent his only points with the franchise, and his stint there was the shortest of his NHL stops that season. Despite the limited impact, his ability to be claimed repeatedly reflects that teams saw value in his skill set, which included a strong junior pedigree as a WHL scoring champion and captain of the Regina Pats. After leaving the NHL, Brooks continued his career in Europe, signing with EHC Red Bull München in 2024.

Did You Know?

• Brooks was claimed off waivers by the Vegas Golden Knights from the Montreal Canadiens on November 17, 2021.
• He scored two goals in seven games for the Golden Knights.
• Brooks was placed on waivers by Vegas on February 15, 2022, and was subsequently re-claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

From Rumor to Reality – The Birth of a Franchise

The idea of an NHL team in Las Vegas did not materialize overnight. As early as 1991, the city hosted a preseason exhibition between the Kings and Rangers outside Caesars Palace, and the Kings later staged annual Frozen Fury games against Colorado. The NHL Awards had been staged in Vegas since 2009, and in 2014, rumors swirled around a new Strip arena as a potential home. By November of that year, reports pointed to billionaire Bill Foley and the Maloof family as the likely ownership group. In December 2014, the league's board of governors gave Foley permission to run a season ticket drive to test market interest. The response was electric: 5,000 deposits arrived in the first day and a half, and the 10,000-deposit target was met by April 2015. By June, Foley had over 13,200 deposits secured. The league opened its expansion window that month, and both Las Vegas and Quebec City advanced through Phases II and III. On June 22, 2016, at an owners' meeting held in Las Vegas itself, the bid was approved unanimously, with play set for the 2017–18 season.

Building the Roster and Breaking Records

Once the expansion fee was finalized on March 1, 2017, the Golden Knights could formally begin operations. Five days later, they signed Reid Duke to a three-year entry-level deal. Head coach Gerard Gallant was announced on April 13, and the team set up its minor-league affiliations with the Chicago Wolves and Quad City Mallards. The June 21, 2017 expansion draft, held at T-Mobile Arena during the NHL Awards, produced marquee names like goaltender Marc-André Fleury and winger James Neal. At the entry draft, Cody Glass was selected first. The team's first game came on October 6 against Dallas, with Neal scoring both goals in a victory. Five days later, the inaugural T-Mobile Arena home game against Arizona was overshadowed by the October 1 mass shooting; pre-game ceremonies honored the victims. The 5–2 win extended an unbeaten start to 3–0, an NHL record for an expansion team. The Knights then became the first franchise ever to win eight of their first nine games in an inaugural season.

Playoff Prowess and the Fastest Title in Expansion History

Few expansion franchises in North American professional sports have matched the Golden Knights' immediate postseason impact. In their first nine seasons, the team qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs in eight of them. Their inaugural postseason run in 2018 produced 13 wins on the road to the Stanley Cup Final, the most ever recorded for a team in its first playoff appearance. That remarkable stretch established the franchise as a legitimate contender almost immediately. The story reached its culmination in 2023, when the Knights returned to the Stanley Cup Final and captured their first championship in their sixth season of existence. This achievement made them the fastest expansion team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup, a milestone that underscored how quickly the organization translated its early momentum into a title. The combination of sustained playoff relevance and that ultimate championship cemented the Golden Knights as one of the most successful expansion entries in the league's history.

Ownership, Identity, and the Las Vegas Connection

The Golden Knights are primarily owned by Black Knight Sports and Entertainment, a consortium led by Bill Foley, with Adrienne Maloof holding a minority stake. The team plays its home games at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, and competes in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The franchise's identity was carefully crafted during its formation: former Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee was named the first general manager, while Murray Craven, who had advised Foley for two years, was appointed senior vice president in August 2017 and was later dubbed the team's master builder by Sports Illustrated. The name Vegas Golden Knights was officially revealed on November 22, 2016. As the first major professional sports franchise to call Las Vegas home, the Golden Knights represented a cultural shift for a city long associated with entertainment rather than athletics. Their presence in the NHL's Pacific Division solidified Las Vegas as a permanent fixture in professional hockey's landscape.

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