Donning stitches below his right eye, Trevor Connelly already looks like an NHL player.
Connelly arrived to his first Vegas Golden Knights training camp wearing a face shield after taking a hit during the team’s rookie tournament.
A few scars won’t matter much considering the 20-year-old’s long-awaited camp debut has come. The Knights’ top prospect is just happy to finally get his turn with the NHL club.
“It’s exciting. A little bit of nerves being the first time, but it’s exciting,” Connelly said. “It’s so fun to be out there on the ice. It’s great energy and a great group, so it was a lot of fun.”
A lot of attention is on Connelly, the Knights’ first-round pick in 2024, to see if he’s ready to join a team with Stanley Cup aspirations.
He took that first step last year with 49 points in 46 games with the Henderson Silver Knights despite missing time with multiple lower-body injuries.
Coach Ryan Craig saw firsthand what Connelly can do when he coached him in Henderson. And it’s clear Connelly is going to get his chance. He opened camp skating with veterans Tomas Hertl and Victor Olofsson.
“Just be myself,” Connelly said. “Don’t try to do anything too much, too little. Just go out there and be confident and play my game.”
Craig said what any other coach would say in this situation. They’re putting Connelly there for now. They may move him around. They want to take a look at what that line will look like.
There’s urgency on multiple fronts during training camp. The Knights want to hit the ground running in terms of how they want to play. They also need to get a clear look at what the roster will look like come opening night Sept. 29 vs. Chicago.
That includes seeing if Connelly is ready to become a full-time NHL player.
“Trevor has a skill set that he brings to our group that not a lot of people in our organization have. I saw it firsthand last year in Henderson,” Craig said. “I thought he took real big steps as a player, a person, a teammate, all those things.”
Connelly is in an ideal situation, being with two veteran players with clear identities. Hertl has two shooters on his wings. Connelly has also proven to be a worthy playmaker along the walls.
Defense is going to be paramount. The third line has long carried a shutdown identity. With roster spots up for grabs in the bottom six, it’s shaping up to be different than in years past.
As much as Connelly has worked on his 200-foot game, there’s no denying what he can do with the puck in the offensive zone.
“He’s very skilled,” Olofsson said. “I feel he can do a lot of things out there with the puck. Very dynamic player. We’ve had a couple good practices here and I feel the chemistry has been really good so far.”
Injuries forced Connelly to miss the past two camps, wondering if he would ever be durable to last at the NHL level.
Connelly has turned over every possible stone to assure his injuries are of the past. He gained 12 pounds in the offseason and is pushing near 180 pounds.
“I think a lot of eating, a lot more than I was used to,” Connelly said. “A perfect diet, the right diet, then in the weight room. Doing a bunch of stuff to strengthen my legs and just working with the group up there to put my best effort on the ice for camp.”
Connelly will likely see extended time during the Knights’ first two preseason games, starting Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings. After that may come a chance to play with the veterans.
There’s urgency on all fronts to see what the Knights have in Connelly. He’s taking it one day at a time.
“I think just every practice, every game, go out there and give it my best effort,” he said.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
