Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters that he played Adin Hill against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the St. Louis Blues to give them the first-hand opportunity to watch Hill.
With the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off set to begin in February, Team Canada’s management and coaching staff are starting to pick and choose the players they want on their roster. Hill is one of the Golden Knights players that has an opportunity to make the team and Cassidy is making it a point of emphasis to put him in situations to succeed.
View the original article to see embedded media.
Cassidy was named as one of the assistant coaches of Team Canada, with the head coach being the Lightning’s HC Jon Cooper. Cassidy stated that Hill and Ilya Samsonov would get equal opportunities to start the season but Hill was given back-to-back games twice in the first five games. The reasoning was recently made clear by Cassidy which was to showcase Hill in front of Cooper and against Doug Armstrong, the Blues general manager who will also be one of Team Canada’s assistant GM’s.
Cassidy said this has nothing to do with performance by Hill or Samsonov.
He wanted to play Hill against TB because Jon Cooper is the coach for Team Canada, and STL because Doug Armstrong is the GM, and it wouldn’t hurt to get Hill a viewing as he hopes to be one of the goalies… https://t.co/iJ5NHzZRTF
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) October 22, 2024
Hill was victorious against the Blues stopping 19 of the 22 shots he faced but was on the losing end of a 4-3 game against the Lightning where he turned away 21 of 25 shots.
The 28-year-old has struggled to begin the 2024-25 campaign, posting a .851 SV% and a 3.81 GAA. He could be feeling the pressure of trying to make an impact for Team Canada or being the bonafide number-one goaltender of an NHL team for the first time in his career. He has the experience of winning a Stanley Cup so an eventual bounce back into form wouldn’t be shocking but at the moment, Samsonov has been the better goaltender.
Related: Ilya Samsonov Makes 22 Saves, Earns Win In Debut For Golden Knights
The Golden Knights return to action on Friday when they host the Ottawa Senators. Hill will likely be given the crease against a Senators team that has found a bit of a groove to start the year. He’ll need to be at his best for the Golden Knights to come out on top.
Make sure you bookmark THN’s Vegas Golden Knights site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
Related: History Shows Golden Knights Center Tomas Hertl’s Offense Is On Its Way
Related: Golden Knights’ Shea Theodore Out Due To Illness; Kaedan Korczak To Make Season Debut Against The Kings
