Vegas fans crowdsource funds to get young Winnipegger south to see Golden Knights

A Winnipeg girl is heading south in the hopes of meeting the players on her favourite hockey team — the Vegas Golden Knights.

Keeli Marsden, 9, will head south to Nevada later this week to attend a Golden Knights practice after trying several times to meet some of the team while they were in Winnipeg.

The latest attempt was to meet the players as they were heading to the airport after defeating the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference final. Unfortunately, she and her mother, Rachel Brown, missed the team by about five minutes.

"It was super hard because leaving, she held it in, and when we got into the vehicle, she just let it all out," said Brown. "And that's when I decided to make the video and post it to Twitter."

That post was seen by a woman in Las Vegas who decided to start an online fundraiser for airfare and hotel accommodations so Keeli could attend a Knights practice to meet the team.

The fundraiser met its goal, much to Keeli's delight.

"I'm actually pretty happy. You can't even see my feet because I've been tapping them, like, the whole time."

The Vegas Golden Knights only joined the NHL this year. The expansion team defeated the Jets in five games to head to the Stanley Cup final. They are currently leading their series against the Washington Capitals 1-0.

Keeli's been a fan since Day 1.

"They have good players and I like their logo," said Keeli.

"And because they don't like have a captain, it's pretty much the whole team. They don't have like a leader or anything, they work as a whole team."

Keeli and her mother attended a game while the Knights were in Winnipeg during the playoffs, with Keeli the only Knights fan in her section, surrounded by a sea of white that went wild as the Jets took the ice.

"Keeli just kept her seat and a lady beside us tried to give us a towel and Keeli ... kindly said no," Brown said with a laugh.

They waited outside Bell MTS Place near the buses but weren't able to meet any players, she said.

However, Knights practices are open to everyone and Keeli hopes to meet her favourite players, including forward William Karlsson and goalies Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban.