LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Before the Vegas Golden Knights played their first regular-season home game, they offered a grieving city something to gather around. Nine years later, survivors and first responders say that connection remains.
The organization marked the anniversary of the Oct. 1, 2017, Route 91 Harvest festival shooting Thursday by welcoming first responders and invited guests to a private practice at City National Arena. Players spent time with guests afterward, while the team’s foundation partnered with Vitalant and Downtown Summerlin for a memorial blood drive outside.
“It’s kind of hard to describe because it’s so much more than hockey,” said Kevin Zafiris, a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department sergeant.
For Zafiris, the team provides an escape from the demands of police work. He described listening to games and Golden Knights podcasts while on patrol.
WATCH | Vegas Golden Knights honor 1 October with blood drive, first responder gathering
“It’s like you guys are with us all the time. You don’t even realize it,” he said.
That relationship began as the expansion team prepared for its inaugural season. Players visited survivors, families, first responders and blood donation centers after the shooting.
At the team’s first home game on Oct. 10, first responders accompanied players onto the ice. A 58-second silence honored the victims before defenseman Deryk Engelland addressed the crowd.
“We’ll do everything we can to help you and our city heal. We are Vegas Strong,” Engelland said.
Route 91 survivor Natalie Grumet found comfort in watching the Knights while recovering at home in Southern California after leaving intensive care.
“It gave me a sense of connection to a city that I felt now very connected to,” she said.
Grumet, who suffered a gunshot wound to the face, received three units of donated blood. She attended Thursday’s drive to encourage donations.
“I’ll never know their names. I’ll never know who they were, but they literally saved my life,” she said.
For Amy May, a Metro employee who was at the concert, the team’s tributes still resonate.
“I get goosebumps no matter if it’s the middle of the season, the end of the season, or the beginning,” May said.
The Knights retired No. 58 at the end of their first regular season, raising a banner bearing the victims’ names.
Their foundation contributed $1 million last year toward the Forever One Memorial. Groundbreaking is expected Friday.
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