Golden Knights hosting tourney with teams from Latin American

Players from the Mexico Warriors warm up before their game against Puerto Rico on March 19, 2025, at the America First Center in Henderson. Photo by Courtesy LosVGK

The Vegas Golden Knights’ LosVGK initiative took on the goal this season of spreading hockey in Latino communities internationally.

In September, the Golden Knights became the first NHL team to host clinics in Mexico. This weekend, the 2025 Amerigol LATAM Spring Classic is being held at the America First Center in Henderson.

The round-robin tournament features the national teams from Argentina, Puerto Rico and Colombia, along with the Mexico Warriors hockey team and the Chile, Mexico and Caribbean Selects.

"We're really excited to be here," said Juan Carlos Otero, president of the Amerigol International Hockey Association. "I know the Vegas Knights have worked really hard in organizing this tournament, and we're very appreciative of it."

The tournament is a critical building block in Latin American ice hockey.

Colombian men's assistant coach Rich Garvey said his team had not practiced together on ice before arriving in Las Vegas.

Puerto Rico is in a similar situation, as the only ice rink on the island has been closed because of damage sustained from Hurricane Maria in 2017. 

"We are at a disadvantage not really having access to ice in our country, but we've done a pretty good job … doing what we can with what we have to get us here today," Garvey said.

It's taken players and coaches from all over the world to build a hockey presence in Latin America. Garvey is originally from New York and had a lengthy in-line hockey career before he was asked to help develop a program in Colombia.

Puerto Rico's men's coach, Frank Keane, is originally from Chicago. He was asked to play for Puerto Rico following a men's league game and thought it was a joke.

"I had been retired at that point and got an opportunity to play, and it became a much different experience than going to your normal men's league game," Keane said. "After that event, fully hooked on this experience, the team and I watched it grow."

The effort to create an ice hockey presence in Latin America has been fueled by pride.

Colombian player Andy Williams was playing at the University of Arkansas when he saw a segment on the NHL Network about the Amerigol LATAM Cup in Florida.

Having a Colombian heritage, Williams reached out to Team Colombia and eventually found himself donning the yellow, blue and red of the Colombian flag.

“It's awesome to be able to play for Team Colombia," Williams said. "I'm very emotional when these tournaments happen, and I'm also very proud to be Colombian."

Williams' story is similar to that of many players competing in the Spring Classic. Kate Leffler, who scored a hat trick in Puerto Rico's 4-1 upset win over Argentina on Tuesday, spent four seasons at NCAA Division III UMass-Boston.

Angelina Bustos, who had Argentina's lone goal of the game, just finished her first season at Division III Wilkes University in Pennsylvania.

Some players are homegrown in the countries they represent. Simon Poveda started playing in-line hockey in Colombia and switched to ice hockey in 2019.

With limited resources in Colombia, Poveda moved to the United States to continue developing his game. He just finished playing prep hockey in New York and plans on playing college hockey.

"I love to come to these tournaments because it's always an honor," Poveda said. "I still remember the first time I touched the ice. I love it as much as I did back then."

For the players, getting a chance to represent their country is something they value. Otero said that it's the same as NHL players competing in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

"The players want to represent their countries, and when they put their colors on, it's a whole different game to them," Otero said.

It may not be the Olympics or a top-tier international tournament, but the feeling of patriotism and unity is the same.

“That's why we always play with heart, and I think that's what makes this tournament great,” Poveda said.