EDMONTON, Alberta — In those first few days, when he felt the walls of skepticism closing in, he turned off his cell phone and went to that dark place of personal doubt.
He wasn’t sure how those closest to him would react.
He wasn’t sure, really, how he should act.
If happiness is found at home, Nate Schmidt can finally celebrate his return to the place he feels most a sense of normalcy and joy, gliding across a sheet of ice as a member of the Golden Knights, their best defenseman with both a game and personality Vegas has sorely missed to begin the season.