For a moment, time seemed frozen. Vegas Golden Knights forward Tomáš Hertl roared in exhilaration. Teammates William Karlsson and Ben Hutton joined in the celebration, with Karlsson throwing his hands skyward and Hutton high-fiving Hertl.Hertl hadn’t just scored a game-winning goal. The players weren’t even in an ice rink. They were inside a small shop, Legacy Sports Cards in Las Vegas, and Hertl had just ripped open a pack of Pokémon cards and pulled out a holographic Dragonite card.It’s a rare card. The best in the set. It was a big deal to the group of Vegas players who refer to themselves as the “Pokémon Masters.”“There is a rush,” Karlsson said, explaining the renewed childhood obsession. “It’s just so fun. I remember when I first got into it, like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to buy all of them.’”Karlsson, Hertl, Hutton and team physical therapist Raul Dorantes are indeed trying to catch ’em all. The card-collecting hobby has become a fixture in the Golden Knights’ team hotel lounge during road trips throughout their march to the Stanley Cup Final, which begins on Tuesday with Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C.These modern-day gladiators like to unwind by swapping Pikachus for Charmanders. For the unfamiliar, Pokémon is an international phenomenon that originated in Japan and took off in the late 1990s. It has branched into video games and animated series, but the heart of the franchise remains a card game in which different characters and abilities are collected and used in game battles. Like many Pokémon fans, the Vegas players don’t even play the game — they simply collect the cards — but the franchise has built camaraderie and even helped one player snap out of a career-worst goal drought.At least, that’s what he superstitiously believes.“When I first got here, I always heard them talking about it,” Hertl said. “Since I started opening them, I started scoring, so I can’t stop now. So now I’m one of these guys, too.”Hutton first brought Pokémon cards into the room. The veteran defenseman, who has been with the Golden Knights since 2021, recently reignited the hobby. When asked how it all began, Hutton’s locker neighbor, goaltender Adin Hill, sarcastically chimed in, “He was 4 years old in Prescott, Ontario. He ripped his first card, and hasn’t stopped since.”Hutton quipped, “Yup, and it was a Charizard first rip. Boom. Committed.”Only a small group of Golden Knights players actually collect the cards, but it’s a topic of conversation around the entire dressing room. The players who aren’t in on it still gather in the lounge to provide commentary.