(Photo Credit: @SilverKnights on Instagram)

If you’ve ever been to a hockey game in which Joe Fleming is on one of the teams, you’ll be sure to notice him. The 22-year-old is a wrecking ball on the ice, and he’s the first to stand up for his teammates any time the temperature of a game gets hotter.

Fleming first made his name in the Vegas organization during the 2022 Development Camp in July. He had recently finished a season in the USHL and made waves both with his physical game and his play with the puck. Fleming was signed to an entry-level contract a few months later in September and has been at every camp with the team since.

In 2023-24, Fleming spent the majority of the season in the ECHL with the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Then, in the 2024 NHL preseason, Fleming scored a goal against the Colorado Avalanche. That helped lead to last season, where he played all but six games in the AHL.

Now, after three years in the organization, the Golden Knights are changing Fleming’s position. The 6’1” 223-pound defenseman has been listed on the Rookie Camp roster as a forward, and AHL head coach Ryan Craig says that’s the plan for Fleming moving forward.

We see him as a forward that can continue to establish himself on the forecheck and be a force below the hash marks and the top of the circle, and other D won’t like going back for the puck when we put it behind them. -Ryan Craig

I talked to the staff at the end of the year and they felt that would be the best spot for me to play this upcoming year. I’m excited for the year and get ready for those games and to play up front. -Fleming

Fleming played a few games at the end of the season in the AHL as a forward, but it’s not a position he says he’s played much in his life.

My dad coached me growing up so if somebody needed to go up, it’s usually the coach’s son. So, once in a while. -Fleming

Fleming has decent puck skills and skates well for a big body, but the best attribute he brings to a team is his willingness to engage physically. Fleming says playing forward will likely give him even more opportunities to mix it up than he had playing defense.

It’s a good path for Joe. The organization hasn’t taken his development lightly at all. We’re not trying to flip him back and forth. We want to do what’s best for Joe Fleming. We see him playing forward. -Craig

Fleming’s first opportunity to play as a forward this season will come in this afternoon’s rookie game in Colorado. He’s expected to play with 2025 6th round pick Alex Weiermair and undrafted 18-year-old camp invitee Andreas Straka.