Reilly Smith, Right wing

Reilly Smith, Right wing

Hey hockey fans, it’s Chance your favorite Gila Monster back on the ice with this month’s star of the Vegas Golden Knights Collectible Team Bookmarks. For one of the Knights’ top scorers, hockey is a family affair.
“There was a lot of in-house competition,” said VGK right wing, Reilly Smith, of growing up the youngest of three hockey-loving brothers. “I never played with them on league teams. I was a little too young and too small. We were pretty competitive so there were a lot of bloody noses and chipped teeth around the house from playing mini sticks at home, so we were definitely a handful for my parents.”

Raised in Toronto, Reilly and his brothers, Rory and Brendan, began playing when they weren’t even five years old yet. Getting an early start has paid off for all three. Brendan is a defenseman for the Carolina Hurricanes and Rory plays for the Vancouver Stealth in the National Lacrosse League. Reilly is in his 11th season in the National Hockey League and came to the Knights as part of the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and so is one of the remaining “Golden Misfits” from VGK’s inaugural season.

During his five seasons with the Knights, Reilly’s leadership on the team has been undeniable. Reilly has teamed with center William Karlsson and left-wing Jonathan Marchessault to form one of the NHL's most effective lines. Reilly finished his first VGK season with NHL career-highs in assists (38) and points (60), helping Vegas win the Pacific Division, and proved even better in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 2018, the Golden Knights became the first expansion team since 1968 to advance to the Cup Final with Reilly leading the way in scoring with 22 points (five goals, 17 assists).
Reilly’s scoring success in the 2017-18 season was not by Chance (LOL, see what I did there). During the next two seasons, #19 finished with 19 goals and 53 points in 2018-19 and scored an NHL career-high 27 goals in 2019-20. Reilly recorded his first professional hat-trick during a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on May 9, 2021. These kinds of stats can’t be denied, and in 2021 Reilly was appointed an alternate captain alongside defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.