Competition has always brought Logan Thompson and Adin Hill together.

The Golden Knights’ two goalies have known each other since they were 10 years old, when they first started playing hockey together while growing up in Calgary. They took different paths to the NHL before both ultimately ended up in Vegas and lived out their childhood dreams by helping the Golden Knights win a Stanley Cup championship.

No one was happier about Hill’s shutdown run through the final three rounds of the postseason than Thompson, who was out nursing a lower-body injury. Similarly, when Thompson reached the NHL All-Star Game after a strong first half of the regular season, Hill was ecstatic and more than content with his role as the No. 2 in the crease.

They might have the strongest bond, or at least the longest-lasting, of anyone on the team. They support and encourage each other no matter who’s getting more work.

The pleasantries only end when digital hockey sticks are involved.

Count the 27-year-old Hill and the 26-year-old Thompson among pairs of friends that turn on PlayStation or Xbox when they have spare time. Sports games are their most common choice with EA Sports’ NHL franchise naturally a common selection.

Right before the Golden Knights reported to training camp ahead of the 2023-2024 season, Hill and Thompson cranked up PlayStation for a few final rounds of NHL 23 before NHL 24 comes out. They played a game or two as teammates, where Thompson skated as a forward and Hill was a defensemen.

But Hill wouldn’t stay in his own zone and caused chaos when a turnover happened.

So eventually they switched and squared off head-to-head on opposite sides. In this particular case, Hill’s team led Thompson’s 5-0 before the latter “rage quit” the game by turning off his console.

“We have our own games: I’ll put it that way,” Hill chuckled early in training camp. “One of us is better at some games, the other is better at the others.”

Thompson usually wins NBA 2K or Call of Duty showdowns, according to Hill. But Hill has the edge at NHL and Madden.

Thompson’s temper may get the best of him at times like many typical gamers but the two can always laugh off both their successes and failures. Gaming helps keep them close, and the chemistry between the Vegas netminders might be one hidden edge in the team’s impending title-defense season.

“Me and Hillsy have a great relationship on and off the ice,” Thompson said. “Here at the rink or at home playing video games.”

The on-ice dynamic is set up to be a lot different this time around. A year ago, Hill was brought in late as an insurance option because of injuries to Robin Lehner and Laurent Brossoit. The former San Jose Shark and Arizona Coyote was to back up Thompson, whom the organization wanted to give a chance to be its No. 1 goalie.

Thompson remembered hearing detractors call them “the worst tandem in the league” going into the regular season. Expectations were low with the Golden Knights coming off their first missed postseason in franchise history, but the old friends quickly exceeded them.

Neither Hill nor Thompson was perfect, but they both played extremely well for large stretches when they got the most opportunities. Now they have to show it wasn’t one dream year and pick up where they left off.

They’re more likely to be considered among the best goalie duos than worst going into this season with Thompson looking to regain his All-Star form and Hill fresh off signing a two-year, $9.8 million contract.

“It’s definitely a little different,” Hill said. “This year, we kind of all know the system. (Coach) Bruce (Cassidy) was coming in last year, too, right? All the veterans, we know the system, a few refreshers here and there. It seems a little smoother.”

Hill enters camp presumably at the top of the depth chart, but Thompson can’t be forgotten. Thompson went 21-13-3 in 37 regular-season appearances last year.

If not for his play, especially with all the injuries the team dealt with throughout the season including captain Mark Stone’s back surgery, the Golden Knights likely don’t earn the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They may then not have ridden home-ice advantage all the way to the Cup.

Thompson didn’t play another game after a March 23 win over Calgary after re-aggravating his injury. He did suit up for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, precisely so he could lift the Cup on home ice after a clinching win where Hill had 32 saves on 35 shots by the Florida Panthers.

“I think it’s more of a mental toll,” Thompson said of missing so much time at the most critical juncture of the season. “You start to get frustrated and cranky because you want to be out there so bad. I think the way my season ended was shi**y, to say the least, but how the team ended was amazing.”

There’s a chance that neither Hill nor Thompson wind up the No. 1 this season. Cassidy may prefer to go with a 50-50 split in net like he employed in his final season with the Boston Bruins where both Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman played equally.

He may want to approach this season in that fashion mainly to increase the chances of keeping Hill and Thompson healthy after they both missed extended time last year. The net of goalie insurance isn’t as wide within the organization this year.

With Brossoit having signed with the Winnipeg Jets and Lehner still listed on long-term injured reserve, Henderson Silver Knights starter Jiri Patera is the Golden Knights’ No. 3 netminder. It’s a lot different than last year when Vegas had an NHL veteran like Brossoit or trade-deadline acquisition Jonathan Quick, who signed with the New York Rangers in the offseason, in the spot.

“How we divvy up (Hill’s and Thompson’s) starts, let’s get through training camp first,” Cassidy said. “We’re not playing one guy 60 games, I can promise you that—unless for some crazy reason we have to. Will one play more than the other? That’ll be decided down the road with how they play. I don’t think one will play a lot more than the other.”

Part of the reason why the Golden Knights strongly believe they will keep winning internally is the familiarity and continuity in the locker room. They’ve brought nearly everyone back from last year’s team.

Having both Thompson and Hill heightens confidence. The Golden Knights know both players are capable, and just as importantly, supportive of each other—except when they’re playing video games.

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