The Las Vegas Golden Knights don’t waste any time.

An expansion team in their inaugural season in the National Hockey League, the Knights have skated their way to the Stanley Cup finals. Folks in Vegas are pretty stoked about their team.

WOW! @GoldenKnights fans went crazy outside @TMobileArena after the Knights beat the Jets to go to the #StanleyCup Final. #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/fhtEVyPrwI

— Las Vegas RJ (@reviewjournal) May 20, 2018

Almost immediately after the Golden Knights won the Western Conference Championship on Sunday to make the Cup, branded merchandise and promotional products celebrating Vegas’ status as best in the west hit the market. As with much championship-related team gear, the merch collection signals retail trends that could impact buyer tastes in the promotional products industry. We discuss a few of the trends below – and also share a little video of the most epic live pre-game pump-up performance we’ve ever seen.

This hat was already sold out in the Knights’ official online shop by Tuesday, continuing a trend of brisk merch sales. It touches a lot of trend points. Structured, but not cardboard stiff. A mid-crown. Made from polyester with performance in mind. “Trucker-style” mesh side and rear panels, with an adjustable snapback. We’d wear it.

For years now teams have been focusing more on their female fans, creating logoed apparel like T-Shirts and hoodies in flattering feminine silhouettes. That focus on the feminine broadens with this Knights’ women’s-cut jersey that bears a Stanley Cup Finals emblem on the chest. Featuring a mid-length hem, the jersey comes in a lightweight, breathable fabric and includes light, flexible crests and patches for easy folding.  

Speaking of feminine styles growing in popularity: This poly-cotton blend long-sleeve crewneck definitely taps into the gray heather trend that has been going strong.

Seems a fairly standard T-Shirt, no? Not entirely. Notice the off-center, angled print of Knights’ goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s last name and number. High school and collegiate teams could be keen for similarly styled graphics on their tees and hoodies.

Check out the graphics on this mug. They have a kind of urban, action-driven feel that we could see many clients digging. Entities that range from construction firms to technology start-ups come to mind as possible purchasers.

Over the last year or so, consumer tastes have inclined toward apparel that increasingly has the look and feel of natural fabrics, but that still maintains performance properties associated with polyester and related synthetics. That’s led to more poly-cotton blends hitting the market. What’s notable about this shirt is that it is one of a number of 100% cotton products in the Knights’ collection. Could that herald the return of greater demand for natural fiber-only apparel? Perhaps.

While there is a superstition that says touching the conference championship trophy brings bad luck in the Cup final, we don’t think there is related hoodoo about buying conference-winning swag. As such, Vegas fans can feel free to invest in the merch. We might just, too, as we admit to having jumped on the Vegas bandwagon. How could you not after watching a pre-game performance like the one below. We’d expect nothing less from the live entertainment capital of the world. Vegas, baby, Vegas ~