Like most crowded inside the lobby and near the lockers inside the Salt Lake City sports complex Friday morning, she was in black-and-gold. Many were sporting the same colors. Kids eagerly laced up their skates, looking out at the open-skate session to come to an end and elated for the next one to begin.
Because on the other side of the glass, in shorts and a No. 88 jersey was Nate Schmidt, the guy hundreds of fans came out to see and meet. Friday was the last stop of the Las Vegas Golden Knights' summer road trip, which began last week in Vegas and worked its way around the intermountain west, from Reno to Boise to Jackson Hole and finally to Salt Lake, where it’s clear the fan base is still burgeoning.