© William Douglas

METEPEC, Mexico — Merlene Rodriguez watched her sons Mattias and Mauro play street hockey on a makeshift mini rink at the “LosVGK en Mexico” fan fest on Sunday with the focused gaze of an NHL scout.

“They really love hockey,” Rodriguez said. “This is fantastic. Good for the kids. Good for hockey in Mexico.”

The street hockey rink was part of the Golden Knights’ day-long fan fest during the team’s first visit to Mexico to extend their brand and help grow the sport south of the U.S. border.

More than 400 people attended the event outside the Winter Sports Center Metepec, where the Golden Knights conducted youth clinics over the weekend with coaches from the Mexico Ice Hockey Federation.

“There were three coach buses from Mexico City waiting for us when we got here,” said Benjamin Thomas, Vegas’ director for Latino marketing and outreach. “We knew that there was excitement based on registration, but to see hundreds of people, busloads of people show up for the fan fest is awesome.”

The fan fest had a Golden Knights and Mexican flavor. A DJ played as patrons walked through the event to play floor hockey, entered a raffle to win Vegas jerseys and posed for photos with Chance, the Vegas Mascot, and members of the Viva Vegas cheerleading squad.

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Patrons dined on Mexican dishes from three food trucks and chatted with Jesus Lopez, the Golden Knights’ Spanish language play-by-play broadcaster.

“The parents keep asking me when are we coming back, the kids ask me how hard is it to broadcast a game,” Lopez said.

The fan fest was adorned with banners and signage featuring the Golden Knights sugar skull crest in red, white and green.

“To pay tribute to the Mexican flag and the colors here,” Thomas said. “With the LosVGK brand, we’ve tried to incorporate elements from across Hispanic, Latino culture.”

Claudia Tellez, a forward and coach for Mexico’s women’s national team, toured the fan fest after she spent most of the morning on the ice coaching.

“I think it’s a really good experience for all Mexicans,” said Tellez, who became the first player born in Mexico to be drafted by a Canadian Women’s Hockey League team when she was chosen by Calgary in the eighth round in 2016. “For the kids, it’s a good way to know Las Vegas. Maybe they don’t have the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas or another state in the U.S.”

The Golden Knights are hoping their Mexico tour will produce more fans here and in the Las Vegas area, where nearly 35 percent of the population is Hispanic, according to 2022 U.S. Census data.

“There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of potential,” Vegas chief marketing officer Eric Tosi said while he watched kids battle for the puck at the floor hockey rink. “To see the response we’ve gotten from the kids, from the parents, and the turnout we had here. It bodes really well. It shows the potential that exists here.

“We weren’t expecting three busloads of people,” he said. “We expected a good turnout from the hockey community, but the busloads are a bit unexpected, in a good way.”

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Aline Forat drove three hours from the central Mexican state of Querétaro so her son Lorenzo could participate in the clinics. Forat, who is a co-owner of the Lakeside Ice Park in Querétaro, also came to check out the Golden Knights fan fest.

“I want it at our rink next year,” she said. “We’re trying to spread hockey in Mexico because people like hockey, but they don’t know it. They know soccer and baseball. Things like this help.”

The “LosVGK en Mexico” tour concludes on Tuesday in Monterrey. Vegas will host a ball hockey clinic and open skate at Ice Complex Monterrey for children from Fundacion Dr. Sonrisas, a foundation that supports children affected by life-threatening health conditions.