Connelly: Growing his Game Since the Best Experience of My Life

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AHL Henderson Silver Knights

Connelly: Growing his Game Since the Best Experience of My Life

June 27, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Henderson Silver Knights News Release


A lot can happen in a year, and Golden Knights prospect Trevor Connelly knows it.

It was almost exactly one year ago - June 28, 2024 - when Connelly heard his name called at The Sphere in Las Vegas and became the 19th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and the newest Golden Knight.

"Being picked by Vegas at The Sphere in Las Vegas was the best experience of my life," said Connelly. "Everything from getting picked here, going on the High Roller after and looking out at the city that I'd just gotten drafted to, being able to stay here for development camp - I met some of the best people at this development camp."

From the draft to development camp immediately after, Connelly's whirlwind first year with the VGK began in the Vegas Valley. Fast-forward to present day and Connelly is in Las Vegas again, but hard at work in the gym and looking to build on a campaign that saw him grow by leaps and bounds.

"I think this year I took so many steps on and off the ice," said Connelly. "Even having [Director of Player Development Wil Nichol] to talk to every week about different things in my game, it helps so much. I don't think you realize how much being in an organization can make you better as a player and a person."

The primary goal of developing young prospects is that at the end of each season, the organization wants that player to grow in strength, experience, and maturity. After his first 12 months in the Vegas pipeline, Connelly has packed on muscle and has a wealth of high-stakes hockey experience that few his age can match.

After two seasons with the USHL's Tri-City Storm, Connelly's 2024-25 campaign featured a season of Division I college hockey with Providence College, his first taste of pro hockey with the Silver Knights, and the bright lights of the international stage with Team USA at the World Junior Championships, where he won a gold medal.

"I think this year really helped me experience high-pressure moments. During World Juniors, that gold medal game, I've never been so locked in," said Connelly, who had four points in seven games at the tournament for Team USA. "In the semis and the Gold Medal game, you're so on your game and know you need to be dialed in. This year prepared me for harder, and it's only going to get harder as you move up in hockey."

Harder arrived in April, when Connelly moved on from Providence after his freshman season and turned pro with the Silver Knights. He notched a goal and four points in six games as a 19-year-old.

"At World Juniors and in this stint with Henderson, I gained so much confidence in the player I am and the person I am. Playing in Henderson was so eye-opening for me and gave me so much confidence," said Connelly.

"At school, maybe I didn't have as much offensive success as I would have liked this year, but when I got to Henderson I thought, 'Wow.' I felt like myself again and I was playing so hard on both sides of the puck. I was comfortable defensively but also my offensive side was coming out. I was trusted and they gave me opportunity. I wouldn't have been able to do that without how well I was treated there."

Connelly depended on veterans and rookies alike during his season-ending stretch with the Silver Knights, relying on the captains to learn what was expected of him at the pro level while also leaning on rookies who had already mastered the adjustments to a higher level of hockey. Some of those relationships were already established, with Connelly reconnecting with friends he made in last summer's development camp like Braeden Bowman and Kai Uchacz.

"When I played, I felt like my linemates were trusting me. Playing with Bowman and Uchacz for those last couple of games was so fun because they're closer in age to me. We would talk the whole time during games and after games about what we can do better."

While Connelly may not be hanging on every word that is spoken from the podium at the Draft like he was last year, he will still certainly be tuned in and watching closely. Last year was his turn in the spotlight, and this time around he has many friends and former teammates that hope they will get their moment.

Among the friends he will be pulling for is Boston College forward James Hagens, a teammate of Connelly's with Team USA and a player expected to go early in the first round.

Connelly has been talking to Hagens and other prospects regularly leading up to the draft, answering their questions as someone who has been through the thrill before.

And he has plenty of advice.

"I think this week for kids this age, you can't trade it for anything. It's the best experience of your life," said Connelly. "I've got a lot of buddies that I've been reaching out to this week and talking to them. I've been telling them different things that I did last year to stay calm and to enjoy the moment. It's been really cool to be a year out from it and see my friends go through it, and how they are experiencing it."

After the draft, prospects will dive right into the professional life, with many being whisked off to their respective development camps. The Golden Knights will hold theirs at City National Arena beginning June 30. And while Connelly recalls trying to shift his mentality from celebration to business, the joy of draft weekend still carries over.

"You get to go to the rink, you get to put on your Golden Knights gear for the first time, you get to throw on the team shirt - you're like a little kid in a candy shop," said Connelly.

"You get to see all the facilities. You're still celebrating. You're not making it obvious, but in your head, you're thinking about how cool everything is. But you want to show up and be the best player and person you can be at development camp."

Connelly has even bigger goals in mind than he did heading into his first camp last summer. He has been working out all summer, and will continue to do so until training camp. He is living the life of a pro, living on his own and enjoying all the responsibilities that come with it. He has grown significantly compared to the kid in the pictures from last June.

And yet, as Connelly prepares for his second development camp, the 'cool factor' remains.

"Ever since I got picked by this organization, I've felt so much love and there's literally nothing better than being here," said Connelly. "I'll show up for a 9 a.m. workout and it's the most exciting thing ever to walk around the rink and see Golden Knights logos. Being out here has made me realize how much fun it's going to be."

"I love this place, and I've never been a part of anything like it."

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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