Golden Knights Recall Cameron Whitehead, Reassign Jonas Rondbjerg

Hours before puck drop in their home tilt against Ottawa tonight, the Golden Knights shared that goaltender Cameron Whitehead has been recalled from AHL Henderson while Jonas Røndbjerg has been reassigned in a corresponding transaction.

Whitehead will serve as Adin Hill’s backup tonight as earlier today #1 netminder Carter Hart left practice with an apparent injury. They won’t need to turn to the services of official emergency backup Daren Millard, 56, who is a television broadcast host of the team. Thankfully for Vegas, their AHL affiliates in nearby Henderson were not in action tonight and therefore they were able to summon Whitehead in time.

Sometimes teams in such a situation call upon a #4 goalie, so as not to overly disrupt their AHL club midweek. Passing on Carl Lindbom, who has eight NHL games under his belt, may appear to be the case. However, Whitehead has been excellent with a .944 SV% in his three games so far. Chosen 128th overall in the 2022 draft, he has earned his first NHL call-up with the hope that Hart won’t be out for long. A product of Northeastern University, the Ontario native posted a .914 SV% with the Huskies in his 70 collegiate games. A highlight was him helping the school win the Beanpot tournament in his freshman season.

Having to go the other way to open space is Røndbjerg, a 27-year-old depth forward. Impressively sticking around as a member of the franchise’s inaugural draft class nearly a decade ago, the Denmark native has managed 80 NHL contests for Vegas, offering 11 points. Even at the AHL level he’s a moderate offensive producer, never scoring more than 28 points in a season for Henderson. The winger is always ready for a call-up in a pinch for the team always up to the salary cap, getting that call just yesterday but unable to get into a game. Røndbjerg will return to his role as a dependable two-way veteran in the AHL. Depending on injuries to their forwards, Vegas could send him back up again before long.

An exciting night for Whitehead, Hart’s status will be watched in the coming days as the Knights are back at it Friday night against New Jersey. Tonight will serve as another opportunity for the Stanley Cup champion Hill to turn the corner from his worst professional season. So far the 30-year-old has won four of his five games, allowing 2.95 goals-against-average.