Deryk Engelland was always realistic.

“I don’t think too many guys with my skill set ever have their eyes set on any Hall of Fame,” he said.

The former Golden Knights defenseman was fine with that. The fact he played 671 games in the NHL, given the grind he endured in the minors, was already a significant accomplishment.

But the impact Engelland made during his playing days, particularly in Las Vegas, is worth honoring.

Engelland is one of six people who will be inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame on Friday during a ceremony at Lee’s Family Forum.

“I don’t think it’s completely sunken in yet,” said Engelland, who retired in December 2020. “I’m sure Friday night, it’ll be a little more real, for sure. Just honored. I would’ve never thought in a million years I’d be up for anything like that.”

Engelland’s surprise makes sense given the journey he took to the NHL.

He spent eight years in the minors, with stints in the ECHL and American Hockey League. His pro career began in 2003-04 with the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers, and he had 13 points and 63 penalty minutes in 35 games during the team’s inaugural season at Orleans Arena.

Engelland, 43, was more of a fighter in his younger days. He had 138 penalty minutes in 72 games his second season with the Wranglers.

Engelland met his wife, Melissa, during his time in Las Vegas. She was a student at UNLV at the time. They’ve since gone on to raise their two sons, Cash and Talon, in the city.

Engelland left the Wranglers before the 2005-06 season, leading to stops with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays and Reading Royals and the AHL’s Hershey Bears and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

He kept grinding until he earned his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 10, 2009.

“It took me a long time to figure out what I need to do to get to that top level and actually do it,” Engelland said. “The hard work that’s put in and the reward of it paying off in the end, for me, was outstanding.”

Engelland became an NHL regular the following season and spent four years as a steady, third-pairing defenseman for the Penguins. He then signed a three-year, $8.75 million contract with the Calgary Flames in July 2014.

Engelland got an opportunity to come home when the deal expired. The Knights selected him from the Flames in the 2017 expansion draft days before he was set to become a free agent.

Engelland turned into one of the franchise’s first leaders. He didn’t often raise his voice, but he was heard loud and clear Oct. 10, 2017. Engelland, nine days after the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival, delivered a one-minute speech to the crowd at T-Mobile Arena before the Knights’ first-ever home game.

He closed the address with the memorable words: “We are Vegas Strong.” Engelland then scored a goal — one of the 30 he had in his NHL career — in the Knights’ 5-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes.

That kicked off a magical season for the team. Engelland, serving as the Knights unofficial captain, helped lead the group into the Stanley Cup Final.

He wound up playing 202 games for the club before retiring. He was then hired as a special assistant to owner Bill Foley for the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation, the team’s charity.

Now, Engelland’s impact on Southern Nevada sports will be honored forever.

“I still remember the days when I played for the Wranglers where we’d drive across the country and couldn’t afford a hotel, so we’d sleep in the truck in a parking lot and keep going,” Engelland said. “After seven years to make it, it paid off, the work and commitment you have to put into it. Definitely rewarding.”

Here are the other inductees:

Ron Aitken

Aitken, a former swimmer at UNLV, has been a swimming coach for almost 30 years. He is the executive director, coach and CEO of the Sandpipers of Nevada.

Renee Brown

Brown, a Henderson native, played a key role in the launch and growth of the WNBA as the league’s director of player personnel and later senior director. She also had several roles with USA basketball as an assistant coach, a member of the board of directors and the chair of the women’s senior national team selection committee.

T.J. Lavin

The BMX racer is a two-time X Games gold medalist and was inducted into the USA BMX Hall of Fame in 2022.

Horrace Smith and Rick Traasdahl

Smith, a three-sport star at Las Vegas High School, became a successful coach, teacher and administrator. He was coach of Western’s football team from 1973 to 1984. Traasdahl, also a multi-sport athlete, was a teacher in Clark County for over 30 years.

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.