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Trevor Connelly

West Notes: Nurse, Hintz, Connelly, Wakely

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According to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety isn’t expected to bestow supplemental discipline to Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse for slashing Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final. Nurse was assessed a minor penalty on the play.

The news is disconcerting for a few reasons. The penalty was retaliatory, and Hintz was visibly injured after the play. Not only did Hintz leave Game 2 early in the third period, but it’s unknown if he’ll play in Games 3 or 4.

According to independent writer Robert Tiffin, Dallas head coach Peter DeBoer was noncommittal when asked if Hintz would travel with the team to Edmonton. Hintz’s absence would likely prove a major loss for the Stars, as he’s scored five goals and 11 points in their 15 postseason contests this year.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • One of the Vegas Golden Knights’ top prospects is on the move in the WHL. The new Penticton Vees selected Trevor Connelly from the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL Expansion Draft and will own his rights for the foreseeable future. It won’t matter much, however. Connelly played for the NCAA’s Providence College last season before signing his entry-level contract on the first day of April. Since he will not be returning to the NCAA, it is highly unlikely that Connelly will move back to the Canadian major junior leagues anytime soon.
  • Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reported that Oilers prospect Dalyn Wakely has secured a school in the NCAA. He’ll join the University of Massachusetts-Lowell after spending one year with the OHL’s Barrie Colts. The former 2024 sixth-round pick scored 23 goals and 58 points in 55 games for the Colts this past season.

Golden Knights Sign Trevor Connelly To Entry-Level Contract

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The Golden Knights announced they’ve signed top prospect Trevor Connelly to a three-year, entry-level contract. While Vegas didn’t announce it as such, PuckPedia confirms his deal doesn’t begin until the 2025-26 season, so he won’t be making his NHL debut down the stretch. The deal carries a cap hit of $975K and will pay him an annual salary of $877.5K if he’s in the NHL, along with a $97.5K signing bonus each season. He’s eligible for up to $750K in Schedule ’A’ performance bonuses in 2027-28, the final year of the contract.

Connelly, 19, was selected with the 19th overall pick in last year’s draft from the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League. During his two years in the league, Connelly was among the best left-wingers in junior hockey, earning All-Rookie honors in 2022-23 and a Second All-Star Team nod in 2023-24. The 6’1″, 165-lb lefty led the USHL with 1.50 points per game last season (31-47–78 in 52 games).

Connelly committed to Providence College in 2023 and jumped to NCAA play after being drafted by Vegas. He dealt with a few injuries during his lone collegiate season, capping his availability for the Friars at 23 games. He was promising but far from dominant when he was in the lineup. He put up a scoring line of 4-9–13 with a -13 rating as Denver eliminated Providence in the regional semifinals of the national tournament last week. He was able to suit up for the United States at the midseason World Junior Championship, scoring 1-3–4 in seven games en route to a gold medal.

He’s still the clear-cut top prospect in a weak Vegas pool, especially after they traded 2020 first-rounder Brendan Brisson to the Rangers in the Reilly Smith deal last month. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked him as the No. 37 prospect in the league in his midseason rankings, fifth-highest among left-wingers.

A playmaker first and foremost, Connelly has top-six potential and will likely factor in on a team’s top power-play unit someday. Whether that’s in Vegas remains to be seen. The franchise has traded all of its first-round picks since its inception in 2017, aside from Connelly. He’ll need to add some muscle before getting an NHL look, but he could get a trial with AHL Henderson to finish the season before reporting to Vegas’ training camp in the fall.

Pacific Notes: Draisaitl, Olofsson, Connelly, Hedican

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One of the biggest extension narratives of the offseason has been the contract status of Edmonton Oilers’ superstar Leon Draisaitl. There is no guarantee that a deal will come to fruition this summer but all signs point to the two sides being able to work out a resolution at some point. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reported today that the contract could look a lot like that of star center Nathan MacKinnon, that is to say, an extremely bonus-laden deal with a low annual salary.

On September 20, 2022, the Colorado Avalanche signed MacKinnon to one of the richest deals in NHL history with an eight-year, $100.8MM contract. The term changes yearly, but the contract pays MacKinnon as low as $775K in salary and up to $15.725MM in signing bonus. Unsurprisingly, Draisaitl would be seeking a similar deal as it gives the player quite a bit of financial protection.

Signing bonuses gives players protection in two ways. First, it makes the contract buyout proof. If MacKinnon’s contract were bought out by the Avalanche in year one of his deal, for example, he would only be losing out on $775K that year while still receiving $15.725MM on July 1st. Additionally, the signing bonus also makes the contract lockout-proof. If the NHL were to enter a lockout in any year, Drasaitl would miss out on his yearly salary but still earn his signing bonus on July 1st.

The request for signing bonuses in high-ticket contracts is becoming more common for star players throughout the NHL world with the likes of Connor McDavid and John Tavares having similar contract structures. Now that Draisaitl comfortably finds himself in the upper echelon of NHL talent, the Oilers should be more than happy to agree to his terms.

Other Pacific notes:

  • In a wrap-up piece of the Vegas Golden Knights’ offseason, independent correspondent of the NHL, Paul Delos Santos suggests the Golden Knights could try out new forward Victor Olofsson on the team’s top line next to Jack Eichel. Olofsson spent quite a bit of time on Eichel’s wing during his rookie season with the Buffalo Sabres in 2019-20, and the Swedish had arguably the best season of his career. In only 54 games primarily playing next to Eichel, Olofsson scored 20 goals and 42 points and finished seventh in Calder Trophy voting. It could be risky business for Vegas as Olofsson fell down the depth chart in Buffalo but could be a high-reward move as the cap-strapped Golden Knights look to fill out their roster.
  • Staying in Vegas, there have been some rumblings that the team’s first-round pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Trevor Connelly, may forego his commitment to Providence College and sign his entry-level contract with the Knights. However, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that is not the case and that Connelly will indeed honor his commitment to the Friars. Connelly is coming off a season in which he scored 31 goals and 78 points in 52 games for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL last year and will look to help Providence keep their head above water in a difficult Hockey East conference.
  • The Anaheim Ducks organization is bringing back a brief member of their defensive core. The team’s AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, announced former defenseman Bret Hedican has been hired as a senior development analyst. After retiring from the NHL as a member of the Ducks after the 2008-09 season, Hedican had been working in the broadcast department with the organization’s rival — the San Jose Sharks.

West Notes: Rockford, Pryor, Connelly

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The Rockford IceHogs made a handful of signings today as the team announced four separate one-year AHL contracts for Kevin Lombardi, Lucas Brenton, Colin Felix, and Adam McCormick. None of the four are a needle mover at the AHL level but it does improve the team’s overall depth — especially on the blue line.

As the only forward of the group, Lombardi recently ended his five-year NCAA career at Sacred Heart University. Lombardi showed some offensive growth during his last two years at school as he scored 23 goals and 26 assists in 72 games. He has good size for a forward and almost became a member of the IceHogs last season before deciding to return to school for his last season of eligibility.

Felix and Brenton are both physical defensemen who have had success in recent years. The former put up four goals and 32 points in 140 games at the University of Massachusetts from 2018-2022 while helping the program win its first National Championship in 2021. Brenton, on the other hand, spent the last four years with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors and earned a berth in the 2024 Memorial Cup tournament after sweeping Portland in the WHL Championship series.

If any defensemen of the trio projects to make an impact on the score sheet it would be McCormick. He recently wrapped up a three-year run at the University of New Brunswick in the USports league in Canada. In his junior campaign, McCormick scored eight goals and 41 points in 28 games which was good for fourth on the team in scoring.

Other West notes:

  • The Colorado Avalanche are reportedly set to hire a new man to lead their Amateur Scouting Department as Penguins beat writer Josh Yohe reports Nick Pryor will be leaving the Penguins organization to take on a new role in Denver. It will be a major change for Pryor as the new vice president of player personnel in Pittsburgh, Wes Clark, looks to reshape the Penguins scouting departments. Pryor previously served as an amateur scout for the Philadelphia Flyers from 2013-2021 before spending the last three years as director of amateur scouting for the Penguins.
  • According to Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal, there are no long-term concerns for the recent 19th overall pick of the Vegas Golden Knights, Trevor Connelly. The young forward prospect will not participate in the World Junior Summer Showcase and was limited to one scrimmage the the Golden Knights’ development camp due to a knee injury. Connelly is committed to Providence College for the 2024-25 NCAA season and is still expected to start the season on time.

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