From undrafted to making his NHL debut at 22 years old. The hard work of one former Guelph Storm captain has finally paid off, as he made his NHL debut for the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.
Braeden Bowman captained the 2023-24 Storm squad, playing in all 68 regular season games, recording a team-high 37 goals and 71 points (second-best). The Kitchener, Ontario, native went through three NHL drafts, but unfortunately never heard his name called.
That didn’t discourage him from continuing to play his power forward, sniper-like game and working hard to achieve his dreams.
After graduating from the OHL, the Vegas Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, signed Bowman to an AHL contract for the 2024-25 season. As a 21-year-old rookie, Bowman finished the season with the most points by a rookie on Henderson with 36 (14 goals, 22 assists).
Bowman was rewarded for his terrific season. The Golden Knights signed him to a two-year entry-level contract in March 2025.
In just his second season in the AHL, the 6-foot-2 winger has been an offensive leader for the Silver Knights. At the time of writing this, he leads his team in goals with 7 and is tied with Raphael Lavoie and Tanner Laczynski for most points with 12.
Bowman finished his OHL career, racking up 97 goals and 180 points in 184 games. He spent all four years of his career in Guelph, after being selected by the organization in the fifth round (96th overall) in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection.
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