For the Vegas Golden Knights, day three of Training Camp has come and gone. While that’s not enough time to finalize any concrete analysis, it’s certainly enough time to make a few observations. 

Before I get into observations, I’ll acknowledge the elephant in the room. 

Yes, this is Training Camp. You can’t throw a rock this time of year without hitting an overreaction. Generally, you shouldn’t draw any strong conclusions from the first few days of camp because there haven’t been any roster moves yet. The stars are still facing off against freshly drafted prospects fated to head back to their respective junior teams.

Moreover, this is a controlled environment. The drills can’t simulate the same pace or physicality that a regular season— or playoff— game will have.

So I’ll keep overreactions to… zero. Here are seven observations that I find fairly reasonable.

1. It doesn’t look like Pavel Dorofeyev took any time off at all. He looks good. He looks fast, and he looks significantly stronger. The other day, he said that he put on some muscle over the summer. It shows. 

Yes, this is still Training Camp. But the early returns are good. 

Dorofeyev is protecting pucks better. He’s outmuscling players when he’s forechecking. After a breakout season last year where he scored 35 goals, he looks poised to take the next step.

And he sure is finishing his chances, too. 

And on that note…

2. Through three days of Training Camp, Dorofeyev has once again been playing with Tomáš Hertl and Brandon Saad. And that line looks like they’re going to pick up right where they left off. 

For a time, that line might have been one of the hottest ones in the league. They made their debut on March 2nd against the New Jersey Devils, and stayed together for almost 11 games until Tomáš Hertl went down against the Tampa Bay Lightning. During those 11 games, they combined to score 10 goals. 

When it comes to the Golden Knights, it’s not enough that a line can score– they also have to actively keep the puck out of their own net. And that’s exactly what this line did. Over those 11 games, they were on the ice for just three goals against. 

Now, again, this is Training Camp, and you have to take results here with a grain of salt.

But. But.

This line looks good. They’re gelling well and anticipating each other’s moves. And they seem pretty happy to be back together, too. 

3. The new-look fourth line really seems to be meshing well so far. 

“I feel like these first few days have been great to start building that chemistry,” said Howden on Saturday. “I know we haven’t played any games yet, but it feels kind of seamless right now.” 

Though they aren’t yet game-tested, by all accounts, this line should be a successful one. They’re all gritty, hard-working grinders with a high hockey IQ and deceptively soft hands. 

“We all play a similar style,” Howden said. “[We want to play] an honest, two-way game, be reliable out there, and play against any line that we’re asked to. I think the biggest thing is, we’re going to play against other lines hard, but being able to capitalize and finish our chances that we get, that really helps make a team form.”

On Friday, Sissons said something similar.

“I think we can all move well,” said Sissons. “We all like the tenacious parts of the game– we’re not afraid of the dirty areas or getting in on the forecheck.” 

4. Per Bruce Cassidy, Noah Hanifin’s injury isn’t serious. However, it does present an interesting dilemma. The Golden Knights have a luxury seventh defenseman in Ben Hutton, but after that, there’s a pretty steep dropoff. If two defensemen go down, then what? 

Hanifin tweaked something, but is expected to scrimmage tomorrow with the rest of the players who aren’t going to San Jose. Jeremy Lauzon’s “expected to take longer, but nothing too serious.”#VegasBorn https://t.co/p3Vey97Zhm

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) September 20, 2025

Who draws in? Would one of the former Golden Knights, Jaycob Megna and Dylan Coghlan, make their return? Does Lukas Cormier get a shot? Or are the Golden Knights holding out, waiting for a team to try and sneak an NHL-caliber defenseman through waivers?

5. The Golden Knights opened Training Camp with Mark Stone playing with Reilly Smith, and William Karlsson, and Mark Stone. I don’t anticipate other teams enjoying playing against that line. They’re all cerebral, high hockey IQ players. They’re elite two-way forwards, and they all generate much of their offense from their defense. 

“I think we all like to play a 200-foot game,” said Karlsson on Friday. “We take pride in being good defensive players; hopefully, the goals will come too.”

“[Stone is] really easy to play with,” Smith said Saturday. “He’s a guy who sees the ice really well, he’s got a high hockey IQ, and if there’s a play there, he’s going to make it. For me, and I think Karl, it’s just trying to get open and find our timing when we’re hitting open spots with a lot of speed, because Mark’s really good at getting you the puck there. And he’s also really good around the net, so we’ll try to utilize him as much as we can.”

6. The Jack Eichel-Mitch Marner experiment is officially underway. So far, they look exactly as you’d expect. They’re two of the best playmakers in the league, and they’re skating circles around everyone else in drills. 

If this new duo– along with Ivan Barbashev– hits the ground running, there’s no real reason to split them up. If they don’t, how long of a leash will they get? 

I’d imagine the leash will be fairly long. I also have a hunch that the middle six lines will gel so well, it’ll be hard for Cassidy to justify splitting them up. So, the top line of Eichel, Marner, and Ivan Barbashev? I think they’ll figure it out. 

7. Here’s another thing that fans tend to forget: before Barbashev got injured last December, he was on pace for 30 goals. No, that line probably won’t have a 50-goal scorer. But if Barbashev can return to that form, and Eichel and Marner can each pot 30? That’ll probably be just fine. Noah Hanifin and Shea Theodore will pitch in– both are more than capable of scoring 10+. Both of the middle six lines can score, and the fourth line is no slouch, either.

In other words, I don’t think this Golden Knights team will struggle to score.