LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 20: VGK staff pose with the NHL Stanley Cup at City National Arena on June 20, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS – A Shamokin High School and Susquehanna University graduate is still basking in the glow of the Stanley Cup.
Alek Washuta is now a video producer with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and captured all the moments of the team’s first Stanley Cup title recently.
“I was kinda buried in my camera making sure to capture it all, but once I got to watch it all back it was really special. Boy was it special to see those guys let loose after and seeing them celebrate (in the locker room) was truly special,” he said.
What was also special was seeing his phone blowing up with messages from back home as the Golden Knights won the cup.
“Just a bunch of texts from old high school buddies, college buddies, my advisor from SU. It was truly special, after Game 5, to see my phone blow up. I was barely able to look at social media or anything but whether it was family, friends, past mentors, it was awesome to see them reach out afterwards,” he said.
In fact, this is Washuta’s first full-time job after graduating from Susquehanna in 2021.
After graduation, Washuta interned with USA Baseball in North Carolina, then began interviewing with professional teams as they were coming out of COVID protocols.
“In the Golden Knights’ situation, I actually interviewed for one of their graduate assistant programs, but I couldn’t do it unless I had a full-time job. So I told them to keep me in mind if something full-time opens up. I believe they called me two days after Christmas and I was out in Vegas by the All-Star Break. Not many people can say their first week with a professional sports team was All-Star weekend,” he said.
Washuta says he actually didn’t start watching hockey until the 2010 season during the Philadelphia Flyers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final. Then he fell in love with the sport after going to his first Hershey Bears game sometime later.
Washuta will now travel with the organization to Nashville for the NHL Draft and hopes to visit home later this summer.
