Connelly was largely excellent throughout the tournament. I watched all of USA’s games. Dominant at times. The Sweden game in the round robin was probably the best game I’ve seen him play. He looked like he should have been playing with the world junior team, not the world junior A team in that game. Everything he did was working. This goal was one was one of those ‘did he just do what I think he did?’ moments:
He’s had two very good showings now internationally. I’m guessing the crossover scouts are going to be higher on him than the regional/USA scouts at this point in time. He hasn’t kicked the doors down in the USHL the way I thought he was going to. He’s ranged from ‘good’ to ‘ok’, in the games I've seen which is probably about 1/3 of Tri City's games.
I’ve seen ranked in the 20’s on quite a few draft lists. That’s too low in my opinion. There’s just too much upside to fall that far. I’ve seen hockey sense mentioned as the main critique. I don’t think he lacks hockey sense. Oliver Moore is the poster child for someone who lacks hockey sense. Moore had/has no understanding for how to utilize his linemates to make himself more dangerous. Connelly is different. He’s excellent at drawing attention and finding his linemates backdoor. He’s really good at finding seams. He’s not Nicklas Backstrom, but that’s not someone who lacks hockey sense. I think the critiques come from the fact he so puck dominant and perhaps can try to do too much at times. Similar things were said of Barzal in his draft year. Connelly will need to adjust his game as he advances levels, but he's got the skating and skill to be an impactful player.
As a player today, Connelly is extremely dangerous at any point he has the puck. He's a creative player. He's always attacking the goal. Not afraid to drive the net, not a perimeter player. His ability to create something out of nothing is usually something you only see out of top picks. He's a primary puck carrying option. Off the rush, his top speed is quite good, not McDavid elite, but well above average. He’s got excellent hands where he can weave his way through traffic. The world junior A announcer described him as a knife through butter which I thought was an apt metaphor. In the o zone, he’s good at changing directions and creating space from a defender. He’s more of a playmaker than a goal scorer. He’s almost at an assist per game in the USHL and there have been numerous occasions where he’s fed a teammate backdoor for a tap in and they haven’t finished. It’s happened seemingly every game I’ve seen. His stats should be better than they are.
The biggest negative in his game for me is his lack of finishing (weird to say on the same day as a 4 goal performance, but it's been true in many games). For the amount he creates, he can be a bit frustrating in the sense that too many of those chance don’t result in goals. Too many ‘almost’ plays. Misses the net or the goalie saves it. His shot isn’t a huge threat from the outside at this point. It’s not a muffin, but improving his shot should be a focus for Connelly. There can also be some play style concerns. He doesn’t play a traditional straightforward game. He’s not a give and go type. He’s puck dominant and his game is centered around beating 1 or 2 guys then finding a teammate for chance. Ussually only the very elite can play that way in the NHL. So there will likely have to be some adjustments to his game. I also wonder how he would fare as a support piece on a scoring line. He’s not good enough to drive a line 1 on a Stanley Cup contender. So can he play next to a MacKinnon or next to a Jack Hughes and it works? Or will their styles clash since the both want to be the puck carrier? I’m not sure of that answer. I think he'd be fine, but Connelly may end up a line driver of a secondary scoring line who plays PP1.
Not a perfect prospect, but the skating, hands, and skill are very much projectable as a top 6 forward. Overall, I see a player with high upside as an NHL player.
