LAS VEGAS — With the No. 19 pick in NHL Draft on Friday, the hometown Vegas Golden Knights selected winger Trevor Connelly.
Connelly, 18, is a talented scorer who totaled 78 points (31 goals and 47 assists) in only 52 games this past season for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. He’s an excellent skater with high-end speed and good change of direction, and he has the hands and vision to play effectively at those speeds.
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He played for Team USA at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup — he had 10 points in only five games — and at the Under-19 World Junior A Challenge, where he was the tournament’s second-leading scorer with 11 points in six games.
However, many teams likely were concerned about several incidents in Connelly’s past, detailed by The Athletic’s Katie Strang and Corey Pronman.
In 2022, Connelly posted a picture on social media of a teammate assembling children’s building blocks into the shape of a swastika. A year earlier, he was accused of using a racial slur during a game, but the suspension was lifted after an investigation by the California Amateur Hockey Association. He denied the allegation.
“We had some really good conversations at the combine and then earlier this week,” Connelly said of his meetings with Vegas prior to the draft. “I think they were really high on character and what (kind of) person I am. I think they did a lot of research and a lot of digging, and I don’t think they would’ve picked me if they didn’t think I was the right fit for the organization.”
Connelly says he has since taken diversity training and done community service and volunteer work to address the concerns heading into the draft.
“I can’t speak for the other teams, but I know we certainly did our due diligence,” Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said on the ESPN broadcast. “We interviewed Trevor on two different occasions, as recently as a couple of days ago, and feel that he’s going to represent our organization the way that we would expect.”
On the ice, Connelly fills a major need for the Golden Knights’ prospect pool. Over the last several years, the organization has typically leaned toward drafting well-rounded players with a strong 200-foot game. That strategy has worked on several occasions but also leaves a deficiency in elite scoring and playmaking among its prospects.
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Connelly breaks that mold. He’s not the biggest player at 6-foot-1 and 161 pounds but is a dynamic playmaker with the chance to be a high-end top-six winger in the NHL. The Athletic’s prospect experts Pronman and Scott Wheeler had him ranked 24th and 17th, respectively, in their final draft rankings.
“The talent and skill,” McCrimmon said of what attracted the team to Connelly. “When you draft in the first round, you really want to walk away with some talent, and I really feel that Trevor is a great skater, a great playmaker and a real high skill level.”
Connelly may have the highest offensive ceiling of any Vegas draft pick over the last six years. He’ll be starting his collegiate career this fall, playing for the Providence Friars. He said he hopes to continue improving his skating and strength on the ice and developing off it as well.
“I think being in a college setting is going to help me a lot,” he said. “I didn’t go to in-person high school, so I think that’s gonna help.”
Connelly will join Vegas’ other draft picks at rookie development camp in Las Vegas next week.
Barring a trade, the Golden Knights won’t select again until the sixth round on Saturday. Vegas has one sixth-round pick and two picks in the seventh round.
(Photo of Trevor Connelly: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
