Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar has tied his career-high in goals just 33 games into the season.
Kolesar’s career-high is eight goals, and he’s now hit this mark for the third time in his career for the third consecutive season. What makes hitting this goal mark so special is the time it took him to reach it. In the previous two seasons, it took the 27-year-old 74 and 79 games, but this year, he’s reached in just 33 games.
His ice time has risen to 13:11, which is also a career-best, but Kolesar has been more dangerous with the puck. He’s shooting more frequently, averaging 1.2 shots per game and scoring on 20.5% of those shots. In his career, Kolesar has averaged about a shot per game, 277 shots in 275 games, converting at 10.65%.
The increased volume, combined with more emphasis on getting to dangerous shooting scenarios and improving his shot, has led to the uptick in goals. Despite that, Kolesar believes his role with the team hasn’t changed.
“I don’t think my role has changed at all; I still think I’m playing the same game right from the start. Just the mentality from shooting more and getting more pucks to the net and getting credit with more goals.”
Kolesar has been playing with a ton of confidence, and that’s due to his numbers drastically rising.
“Maybe just playing with more speed, hopping in holes, being in the right spot and just trying to attack the net more often,” said Kolesar when asked about what feels different when he’s scoring goals.
When the Golden Knights saw multiple key forwards leave in the offseason, questions arose about who would step up and replace the missing production. There weren’t many people who picked Kolesar to be a part of the solution but he’s scored timely goals.
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