(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)
When the Golden Knights entered the playoffs last year, they unveiled a surprise to the roster. Rather than having Ilya Samsonov, who had started 29 games, serve as the backup goalie to Adin Hill, VGK opted to go with Akira Schmid as the #2, a decision that continued for the entire two-round playoff run in 2025.
Samsonov had recently recovered from an injury that kept him off the ice for a little less than a month. However, he was able to start Game 81 of the regular season and play the entire 65 minutes, including the shootout. It was not his best performance (that’s a nice way to say it was awful), but holding up health-wise seemed like it would be enough to reclaim the job he’d been doing for the last six months.
Instead, Schmid usurped Samsonov after a short three-game regular season cameo in which the Swiss goaltender allowed just five goals on 90 shots (.944). It obviously signaled the end of Samosnov’s time in Vegas, but it also may mean more.
As we head into the 2025-26 season, Schmid stands as the only goalie behind Adin Hill with NHL experience and is in line to hold the backup job, with expectations of starting 25-30 games.
What’s surprising about this is the body of work Schmid presented to the Golden Knights in his first season with the team. Sure, his three-game look at the NHL went well, and he likely earned some trust in practice as the backup during the playoffs. But Schmid’s numbers in the AHL were extremely poor. He started 30 games, winning just nine. He posted a .886 save percentage and 3.58 goals against average, both of which ranked in the bottom third of the AHL. And he allowed four or more goals in 16 of the 30 starts, while never recording a shutout.
Right before his call-up to the NHL, Schmid had a three-game run in which he posted his best numbers of the season. Against Ontario, San Diego, and Milwaukee, he allowed just five goals in three starts while facing a total of 71 shots. The Silver Knights won two of the three, and then Schmid came up and played well behind the VGK defense. However, in the six games prior, Schmid allowed 31 goals over a span of six starts. He allowed five or more goals in four straight starts, all HSK losses, and failed to post a single game with a .900 or better save percentage.
The question is, were the final three games in the AHL followed by three strong appearances in the NHL enough to erase what occurred for the rest of the year?
It’s certainly could be the case as Vegas showed great belief in Schmid by allowing him to serve as the backup during the most important games of the season. There’s an argument to the contrary, though, that they simply didn’t have any other choice after Samsonov returned from injury and played poorly in his single appearance.
Schmid very well may have done enough down the stretch to earn the role as the backup to begin the season. It is possible, though, that the Golden Knights have their eyes on someone else and are playing a waiting game until their next veteran backup becomes available.
Every season, as Training Camp winds down, teams all around the league have to make difficult decisions as to which goalies they’ll keep and which they’ll place on waivers. Last year, goalies like James Reimer, Chris Driedger, Kaapo Kahkonen, and Ville Husso all hit waivers, and a few were claimed.
This year, teams such as Anaheim, Boston, Chicago, and the New York Islanders all have three legitimate NHL goalies on their rosters. Names like Joonas Korpisalo, Petr Mrazek, David Rittich, or former Golden Knight Laurent Brossoit could all be available in early October.
Also, veteran goalies such as Alexandar Georgiev and the aforementioned Reimer remain on the open market as unrestricted free agents.
The regular season is just under a month away. Akira Schmid appears to have the job as backup goalie right now, but there’s a lot of time for that to change.
