The VGK High School Hockey League played its first season in 2025
The Vegas Golden Knights High School League capped off a successful inaugural season this past weekend, as both divisions — Major and Minor — crowned their first-ever champions while proud families looked and cheered on.
On Friday night, July 25, the Mountain Ravens (Summerlin) clinched the Minor Division title with a 2-1 victory over Red Rock (Summerlin South). One night later, on Saturday, July 26, the Black Mountain Miners (North Henderson) completed a perfect 15-0 season, defeating the Redhawks (Enterprise/Anthem), 4-2, to win the Major Division crown.
The new league, launched by the Vegas Golden Knights in April, featured 16 co-ed teams with over 320 high school-aged players, each representing the areas in which they live. Organized by regional “hot maps,” the teams were created to ensure accessibility and community representation across the Las Vegas Valley. Games were played at City National Arena, America First Center, and Hylo Park Arena, showcasing the city’s growing footprint in youth hockey.
“For some of these kids, this was their first opportunity to play competitive hockey close to home,” said Wally Lacroix, Director of Facility Programs and Operations for the Henderson Silver Knights. “My goal has always been to grow hockey in the valley. The whole goal here is to get into every high school — to have a Las Vegas high school league where every high school has a team, just like any other sport.”
This league has been in the works for more than three years. The Golden Knights’ vision is rooted in creating opportunities for all kids who might not have the resources for traditional club or travel hockey. It is another step for growing the sport of hockey and something to give a chance to all kids to grow their game and to play competitively.
For people like hockey mom Nicole Zobrist, who has two sons who played for the Mountain Ravens (Summerlin), seeing her sons lift the league’s trophy on Friday night was a special experience that had never existed on Las Vegas rinks. The Zobrist family and hundreds of families around the city found another avenue to love hockey and their experiences are proff that this concept will work in the Valley.
“To have this and for them to make the minor team has been amazing,” Nicole Zobrist said. “It’s great to have an opportunity for kids that maybe can’t afford all the expenses of club hockey. This was competitive. They worked hard and competed, and they all grew a lot.”
The VGKHSHSL is a foundational step toward building a fully-organized high school league in which schools are fielding their own teams. It’s a chance for aspiring young players to compete during some of the most memorable and formative years of their lives.
The Vegas Golden Knights continue to grow the sport in the city. The excitement extended to the atmosphere in the stands, which saw attendance exceeding 100 fans at most games. For an inaugural league operating over just a few months, that kind of support was a powerful statement for what is possible.
For some families, as soon as they saw the announcement, they knew it was something they wanted to take part in.
“We were so excited,” Tyler Leavitt, father of Eli Leavitt who is on Mountain Ravens said. “When Eli first saw it, we knew we had to be a part of it. We’ve been wanting this for a very long time.”
A new generation of kids playing hockey will be born, with players starting the sport at a younger age. As more kids climb the ranks of hockey programs around Las Vegas, there’s an inevitable growth for the VGKHSHL that will come with time.
“Hockey’s just a fun sport to be around and to watch,” Leavitt said. “For us, these are our first-generation hockey players. My son is the first one to get on the ice. This is the sport he fell in love with and that’s why we’re excited to watch him grow in it.”
The league gives a chance for kids to emulate their favorite Golden Knights players on the ice. Most teams have players wearing numbers like 9, 61, 71 and other jersey numbers worn by popular Golden Knights players.
“Jack Eichel is Eli’s favorite player,” Leavitt said. “He has his posters all over his walls. Everybody in our family was here today for this game and this is what it’s about. High school hockey, we want it. We need it.”
For players and coaches, this means more than just a game. it gives a community a chance to connect. The league gives chances to kids to practice and strengthen their skills while giving coaches a chance to share their love of the sport.
“My favorite part about this whole season is just coaching my team,” Head Coach of Mountain Ravens, Michael Mote said. “They’re just a really great group of kids, they’re just having a lot of fun, and that really means something to me.”
Mote was born and raised in Vegas and having the special moment where he gets to coach kids means the world to him.
“The Golden Knights started this whole thing,” Leavitt said. “And now, more and more kids are getting interested. It’s only going to keep growing.”
As the VGK High School Hockey League closed its first chapter, it is only the beginning. What started as an idea is now a thriving league that has brought families closer and given kids a chance to shine.
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