Cody Glass looks back at Vegas draft day, from a frantic flight to the NHL’s biggest handshake

Cody Glass has been through plenty of NHL arrivals, but his favorite kind of memory still comes with a warning label: it started as a scramble. In an interview published June 26, 2026, Glass recalled the emotions of June 23, 2017, when his name became the answer to a trivia question about the Vegas Golden Knights’ first franchise draft selection.

Glass’s recollection is grounded in small details that make draft day feel real rather than ceremonial. He described removing his black suit jacket, swapping it for a Vegas-themed accessory, and putting on an Adidas Golden Knights hat before stepping forward for the moment that matters most to a prospect. The scene, as he tells it, also included the commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, and Glass shaking his hand as part of the league’s draft-stage pageantry.

The most vivid part of Glass’s story, however, is the tension before the spotlight. He said he felt “panic” on his way to Chicago, with the disruption centered on air travel. Rather than arriving smoothly, Glass described a flight cancellation and the pressure that followed, turning what is usually a straight line from airport to United Center into a last-minute, high-stress detour.

The significance of the day is not just personal. For the Golden Knights, the selection represented an early building block in the franchise’s identity, the first time the organization could lock in a young player with a direct link to its long-term plan. For Glass, it was also a point of origin, a night when the league framed him as a prospect worth betting on right away.

Glass’s draft-day recollections arrive with an added layer because he is now associated with a different NHL jersey. The article’s framing places him in the New Jersey Devils organization, meaning this look back is happening from the perspective of a player who has already lived the consequences of that first big league moment, adapting to new teams and roles over time.

What to watch next, if Glass continues telling these stories publicly, is how prospects reinterpret those early career chapters. Draft-day narratives often become legend, but travel problems and onstage nerves remind fans that the path to the NHL is never purely about talent. It is also about timing, composure under uncertainty, and showing up when everything does not go to plan.