William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he take a look at the 2025 Amerigol LATAM Cup Spring Classic, which will be hosted by the Vegas Golden Knights from March 19-22 at America First Center in Henderson, Nevada.
Juan Carlos Otero doesn’t want the saying “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” to apply to the 2025 Amerigol LATAM Cup Spring Classic.
The spring version of the Amerigol LATAM Cup held in Coral Springs, Florida, during the summer is set for March 19-22 at America First Center in Henderson, Nevada, the practice facility of the Vegas Golden Knights’ American Hockey League affiliate, about 18 miles from Vegas’ famed Strip.
“We want it to be spread out everywhere,” said Otero, who founded the LATAM Cup tournament in 2018. “Our goal is to help grow the game, and Las Vegas is just a great city that has embraced sports.”
Men’s and women’s teams representing Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Puerto Rico will compete in the tournament hosted by the Golden Knights.
It’s part of the NHL team’s ongoing effort to highlight and expand hockey in the Las Vegas area, where nearly 35 percent of the population is Hispanic, according to 2022 U.S. Census data. The Golden Knights are also trying to grow their fan base south of the border.
“I think it’s really important for the growth of the game, for the Hispanic community here, to witness and experience their national teams playing hockey,” said Benjamin Thomas, Vegas’ director for Latino marketing and outreach. “Coming from a background where I grew up watching soccer, you have your club team, support the team, there’s that national pride that I think is important to developing the game.
“For young players and fans, seeing is believing. Us being able to connect with Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Puerto Rico and bring those teams in front of that fan base here in Las Vegas, it’s just another opportunity to bring high level hockey and kind of tie in with the community here.”
Golden Knights president and CEO Kerry Bubolz said the Spring Classic provides the latest opportunity to showcase “the growth and diversity of this wonderful sport.”
In October 2023, the Golden Knights launched LosVGK, an initiative created to celebrate and engage its Hispanic and Latino fan base. Team officials, team mascot Chance, members of the Viva Las Vegas cheerleading squad, the Knights Guard ice-cleaning crew and Spanish language broadcaster Jesus Lopez visited Mexico City, Metepec and Monterrey for six days in September 2024 and held ball and ice hockey clinics and a fanfest.
The team followed up in November by hosting some of the players they met on the trip at its first Noche de LosVGK game at T-Mobile Arena on Nov. 2, a Golden Knights 4-3 overtime win against the Utah Hockey Club.
This will be the second LATAM Cup Spring Classic. The Dallas Stars hosted the inaugural event March 24-27, 2022, at The Children’s Health StarCenter in Farmers Branch, Texas, and won by Argentina, which hopes to repeat in Vegas.
“It’s great that we have this type of competition because it fills all of us with joy to be able to travel and be part of events that have the support of NHL teams,” Argentina captain Owen Haiek said. “It fills us with great excitement to be able to continue participating in all the events that make hockey grow.”
Dicky Haiek, who is Owen’s father and coach and founder of the Argentine Association of Ice and In-Line Hockey, said LATAM Cup tournaments have become vital for teams representing so-called non-traditional hockey countries in drawing attention in their homelands, which they hope leads to private or government investment in hockey, especially the construction of ice rinks.
“For example,” the elder Haiek said, “when we were (LATAM Cup Spring Classic) champions for the first time we were in the front pages of newspapers in Argentina, so we grow the sport in Argentina.”
The Haieks and Otero said they expect the players and fans will bring that distinctly Latino flavor to the Vegas tournament that has become a staple at the LATAM Cup summer competition, where spectators passionately wave their country’s flag, blow loud vuvuzelas and mariachi bands sometimes perform during breaks in the action.
“I think that even though we try to learn a lot from the big hockey countries, I think we also do our part in showing how passionate we are on the national teams,” said Iara Haiek, a forward for Argentina’s women’s team who is Owen’s sister and Dicky’s daughter. “I think it might come from soccer, but we feel a lot of emotions when we wear the jersey … We go through a lot to wear the colors of our jerseys, and we can show that on the ice when we play.”
The growth of the LATAM Cup has been supported by the NHL and NHL Players’ Association through its Industry Growth Fund, established in 2013 to support local hockey programs and reduce barriers to participation.
“With the support of the NHL, the NHLPA and teams like the Vegas Golden Knights promoting this event and hosting this event is just great for the growth of hockey,” Otero said, “and we’re really excited and proud to be a part of it.”
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