"SAY WHAT?!" Kolesar May Not Be An Original Misfit, But He's Been There Since The Beginning

LAS VEGAS -- Before City National Arena was built, the Vegas Golden Knights held their 2017 Development Camp at a local ice rink.

Young players Keegan Kolesar and Cody Glass were in attendance, not having any NHL experience, hoping to latch on with what was the newest time in the league at the time.

And while he wouldn't join the Knights on a full-time basis until the 2020 season, and isn't considered an original misfit, Kolesar longevity with the organization has meant a lot to the 27-year old.

"It's been awesome," he said during a sit down with The Hockey News. "I wasn't really sure what was gonna happen to me once I got traded here (from Columbus).

"Brand new team, what's gonna happen? There were so many question marks, but I'm so grateful I ended up here. It's crazy how fast time goes by, thinking back to that development camp, but it's been a lot of fun."

As part of our "SAY WHAT?!" series, here is a little more with Kolesar:

THN: If you weren't a hockey player, what would you be doing? What would you be playing? Would you be playing a sport?

KK: "I don't know, honestly. I'd probably be in Winnipeg doing something, probably trying to be close to my buddies."

THN: Would it be athletics?

KK: "Maybe, I don't know. Athletics and Winnipeg usually involve the cold weather, and if you're not playing hockey, which I can't be, I wouldn't want to be playing in the CFL. It's too cold."

THN: What has hockey meant to you? Meant to your life?

KK: "It's been everything. It's given me some of the best people I've ever met in my life, some of the greatest memories I'll cherish the rest of my life as well. And the beauty is, still so young, there's still so much to do and achieve. And I'm just very grateful that I've been able to play this game as long as I have so far, and had this success and in my career and in meeting great people."

THN: When you think of sort of the movement in the league and the growth of minorities, in the player inclusion committee, does that hold a special place to you? What do you want your role, or your presence, to help provide?

KK: "I've never been one to be, not to say like an activist, but I'm not always the one that's going out in the forefront and making a statement or making a charge. I like to just do my little parts wherever I can. Do clinics, go work with the kids back home in Winnipeg in the summers, try and just do the little things that I think that that will go a long distance for me personally. I'm not always the most vocal guy when it comes to those kind of things. But when I get an opportunity to speak to some younger kids back home or throughout the season, I try to make a lasting impression."

THN: Are you a gamer?

KK: "I play video games a lot. Yeah, I play video games. The new Black Ops just came out, so I'll probably get on that. My buddies and I, we play EA NHL. So we have a team there we all play together with. Turtle beaches."

THN: Do you play with anybody in the NHL that's not on the Golden Knights?

KK: "Cody Glass from time to time. That's about it, though. (It's more so) friends back home normally. We used to have a squad that rolled here through fortnight and Call of Duty. We haven't got on in a while."

THN: When you're playing NHL, you want a really good competitive game and plenty of trash talk, who will it be against?

KK: "Probably my buddy back home. His name is Connor Barley. Him and I just jaw at each other all the time."

THN: You wear that tag enforcer, but are you pleased with how your game has progressed? We're seeing some scoring, seeing some offense, it's like we're seeing different aspects of you without having to go out and be the bruiser.

KK: "I don't know it's not something that I'm looking to like always go and fight. I've always said it, I always stand up for my teammates if someone's been taken advantage of. I think just right now maybe just getting the bounces a little bit earlier than I normally have in the past. And I think it's helped my case right now. I mean, look at Petro, he said he had eight points in three games. He called it luck. And I can look at him say, 'No, you're just that good.' M y case it's a little bit of lucky bounces."