'Lifelong' Vegas Golden Knights fan Danny Musovski on the Stanley Cup, RSL's road form, and reuniting with Chicho Arango
'Lifelong' Vegas Golden Knights fan Danny Musovski on the Stanley Cup, RSL's road form, and reuniting with Chicho Arango
The 27-year-old forward from Henderson, Nevada sat down with Salt City FC to discuss his team's best road record in MLS, as well as a certain Stanley Cup champion.
To hear Danny Musovski explain it, he wasn’t much of a hockey fan until 2017.
That’s when his hometown added an NHL expansion team, when the Vegas Golden Knights were born and the Henderson, Nevada native — like most of the Las Vegas Valley — caught hockey fever.
So when his Golden Knights were marching toward the 2023 Stanley Cup title, Musovski was pretty loud about his team in the locker room. Maybe, to hear him talk about it, a little overbearing.
But this team meant something to him. Really, a meant a lot to Las Vegas.
“I don’t think that people from outside of Las Vegas understand the impact that (the Golden Knights) have had on that community,” he explained. “Being our first professional sports team, everybody clung to that team and got behind them. And they were good right from the start; everybody takes a lot of pride in the Vegas Golden Knights, and now winning the Stanley Cup is just a cherry on top.”
The city of Las Vegas has since added an NFL team in the relocated Raiders, a WNBA franchise from San Antonio renamed the Las Vegas Aces, and may soon call an MLB team its own with pending discussion around the Oakland Athletics. Discussions continue around an NBA and MLS franchise, as well as a presence from the National Lacrosse League (Las Vegas Desert Dogs) and second-division USL Championship (Las Vegas Lights FC).
But the Golden Knights started the market on the path toward pro sports. That’s why everybody loves the hockey team, Musovski said. It’s similar to Utahns’ love of the NBA’s Jazz, despite differing allegiances in college and professional sports elsewhere.
That’s why Musovski would talk about VGK to anyone who would listen. And the Golden Knights’ run of form coincidentally corresponded with Musovski’s own return to full health for the fourth-year striker who joined RSL last year from LAFC. In 16 games (including eight starts) in MLS play, Musovski has four goals and three assists, tied for the team-high in scoring and one off Jefferson Savarino’s team-high four assists.
More important for Musovski, the team is winning — including a league-best 5-3-2 road record as RSL (7-7-6, 27 points) heads to Toronto FC (3-7-10, 19 points) on Saturday afternoon.
And while one can make an argument that Musovski’s healthy breakout season with Salt Lake is among the driving forces of the surge, the former Gatorade Nevada boys’ soccer player of the year at Liberty High again credits his team: when the team is playing well, it’s easy to contribute.
As he thought back to the club’s road form this week, he even postulated another idea: When RSL hits the road, the club sleeps together, eats together, trains together before going to crowd, hostile stadiums that often have choice words for away teams.
That’s fine by him, he says. Because for Musovski, Damir Kreilach, Bertin Jacquesson and Ilijah Paul (among a rotating cast of other invitations), road trips mean poker nights.
Kreilach — the team captain and all-around nice guy — plays a mean hand, too, Musovski adds with a laugh. Cutthroat.
“We just have a good team with good guys and good vibes,” he added. “We spend all of our time together for meals and that stuff. There’s a good camaraderie.
“Whatever we’re doing, it seems to be working. So we’ll just keep going with it.”
Musovski caught up with the Salt City FC podcast before Real Salt Lake traveled to Ontario for Saturday’s match, where he discussed his hometown, his newfound love of hockey, and reuniting with former LAFC teammate Chicho Arango — the club-record designated player who will be available for RSL after the July 5 transfer window opens
You can listen to the complete conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere else you get podcasts.
A partial transcript, edited for clarity and length, is attached below.
On Musovski’s run of form (6 goals, 4 assists in 16 games across all competitions):
“Individually, when I first got here, I was dealing with injuries. A big difference now is that I feel healthy. And the other part is getting chemistry with the team; the team is doing really well, and if the team is, then individuals are going to shine, as well.”
On Chicho Arango’s arrival from LAFC to RSL:
“So far in training, he’s doing fantastic. I think everybody’s starting to see his quality. But also, Chicho’s a really good guy; we had a really good relationship in LA. Now he’s here, and it’s a little bit weird to have a teammate at one team and then come to another (team). But it’s good to see a familiar face, and he’s coming in at a really good time.”
Is he the best practice-squad player in MLS history?
“I would say so, at the moment. He’s got to be.”
What’s it like going up against him in training?
“He’s just a quality player. He brings quality, and I think he helps our defense prepare for the weekend. He’s threatening everywhere, and he keeps everyone on their toes.”
On his role as an assist maker:
“For me, it’s equally important as scoring goals. Throughout my career, I think I’ve matured more in being able to make the simple passes. I think that’s helped me get a lot more assists over the past couple of years in this league.
“It’s just keeping it simple. If I see a man open in a better position than I am, I don’t hesitate to play it to him. I trust my teammates … I’m not necessarily doing anything complicated. I just pass it to the open player.”
On RSL’s league-best 5-3-2 road record:
“I think it’s a little bit of a combination of the group, but also a big part of it is us going into these hostile environments — and we have an attitude of nothing to lose. We’re going in there where everybody is against us, fans are chirping at us, and when we’re in those situations, I think we’ve done a good job of rising to the occasion. Teams think we’re going to back down, but we just go out and play to win.”
On Utah and Salt Lake City:
“The city is beautiful. The more I live here, the more I enjoy living here. It’s definitely a lot different than Las Vegas or LA even — the winters are obviously hard here. But you can find appreciation in that it isn’t always the same weather. It’s different, but I like so far.”
His message to RSL fans:
“I would just say thank you for the support. I think it’s a good time to be an RSL fan right now. We’re hitting stride, and once we start getting results at home, it’s going to be an exciting time.”
