NHL Playoffs 2018: Survivors of Vegas mass shooting name child after Golden Knights player
Reilly Smith may get to hoist the Stanley Cup in a few weeks, but it might not even be the biggest honor the Vegas Golden Knights forward experiences this spring. That's because a Las Vegas couple recently named their newborn daughter 'Riley' after the 27-year-old winger.
Lauren and Brad Sugars were both survivors of the mass shooting at a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip that left 58 people dead. They were separated from each other as they fled the chaotic scene at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, with Brad ultimately finding Lauren hiding under a car in a nearby parking lot.
A few weeks later, as they were attempting to cope with the unspeakable tragedy that unfolded in front of their eyes, they found out they were expecting.
"We know a lot of other friends that went through the same experience and had a lot of trouble moving on, and I think we got a very clear reason to move on straight away," Brad Sugars said, via the Associated Press.
The couple credits the Golden Knights, who opened their inaugural NHL season just five days after the shooting, with helping to heal the community and give them something positive in the wake of the tragedy.
"Route 91 was a very big negative, but our city turned it into a really big positive, and I think the Golden Knights has been a really big part of that," said Brad Sugars. "It's helped immensely to have something positive to focus on."
As a result, they decided to ditch initial plans to name their child Austin, and instead named her Riley as a tribute to Smith and the rest of the Golden Knights. Riley was born on the same day that the Knights eliminated the Winnipeg Jets to punch a ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.
Smith, who racked up 22 goals and a career-high 60 points playing on Vegas' top line this year, has been a key contributor in the team's incredibly improbable postseason run. The Knights are the first North American pro sports expansion team in 40 years to advance to a championship round in their inaugural season.