F Trevor Connelly - Tri-City Storm, USHL (2024, 19th, VGK)

[Steve Kournianos]

If the kid was such an awful teammate and uncoachable cancer, why didn't USA Hockey just leave him at home? They clearly didn't need to bring him and obviously knew about the baggage.

The hit isn't going to change anyone's opinion on him. Those that are out on him were already out on him. Players make bad (even selfish) decisions in games all of the time. It is as old as the game itself.

Fair question and I asked that myself. The NTDP didn't have a good season but it was goalie-related. The offense kicked into high gear after the Feb. 5 nations, to the point where they were averaged well over four goals a game and blew out some USHL opponents. The agent has worked overtime cleaning up his image and I wouldn't be surprised if the Connolly camp asked USA Hockey for a favor instead of the other way around. This is just my speculation though.

The NTDP 18's were not very good this year. In fact, their pre-U18 WC pointd percentage was the lowest in the 10 years I've been covering them. The defense was turnover-prone and undisciplined, both goalies were terrible, the bottom-six rarely produced, and they coughed up late leads. I thought Finland or the Swedes would win.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

This guy has rocks for brains.

I pray the Blackhawks stay away at #20.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Not among the Top 16 "lottery" picks in Craig Button's mock draft last night?

Obviously, he's seen him play quite a bit more than some but I find it hard to believe he slips that much based on one incident.

More likely, it seems like TSN playing to a pro-Canada, pro-CHL audience.


Incidentally, Michael Hage was also not included in Button's picks and can't help thinking the team that drafts him is getting a steal (pardon the pun).

 

[BamBam1031]

Relieving yourself in your goalie's gear bag after a loss is not merely "bullying," it's sociopathic behavior. Connelly apologists who can't see beyond his projected skillset at 23 or 24 are hoping it's merely a "maturity" issue, but what if it isn't? What if he is fundamentally unable to distinguish between right and wrong, unable to prevent himself from doing harm to others? Would you want that kind of individual mixing into your team's chemistry, being the face of your million dollar team? Minimizing the red flags as "maturity" is hopeful, at best.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Everyone always talks about players needing more size and strength when they transition from juniors to pros... but I really think a massively overlooked area where so many players need to improve is their discipline. Kids are eager to make plays, and running on adrenaline, and in that eagerness I see so many really high-end kids with NHL potential take really bad penalties that they shouldn't take and would get them quickly glued to the bench if they did that on a pro team.

All that to say, it was a really bad penalty, it cost the team badly. It was compounded by the fact that they gave up 3 goals on a 5 minute penalty, which is just really bad, and the time/circumstance of when the penalty occurred. But it's not very uncommon. It is something to grow and get better at, since nobody is a finished product at age 17. It can be a learning experience.

 

[CanadienShark]

Relieving yourself in your goalie's gear bag after a loss is not merely "bullying," it's sociopathic behavior. Connelly apologists who can't see beyond his projected skillset at 23 or 24 are hoping it's merely a "maturity" issue, but what if it isn't? What if he is fundamentally unable to distinguish between right and wrong, unable to prevent himself from doing harm to others? Would you want that kind of individual mixing into your team's chemistry, being the face of your million dollar team? Minimizing the red flags as "maturity" is hopeful, at best.

I came to this thread hoping to hear more about his red flags. I googled, but didn't find anything. That seems shocking and awful, assuming the story is true. That would put a player on my "do not draft" list, personally. Any chance you could share the story/send a link?

 

[WarriorofTime]

Here's a true story:

It's post-draft 2020 I was hyping up this 2021 prospect a bunch -- tweets, podcasts, etc. I ranked him 22nd on my preseason ranking in my draft report and used the Ivan Hlinka and his impressive draft-1 as no-brainer reasons to be high on him. Knew nothing about the kid off the ice, but I know what I saw and didn't care about anything else. As far as i was concerned, he was a lock and it would take a complete meltdown to drop him.

Now we're still early into the 2020-21 season, and I start getting a few text messages or DMs from a few scouts -- U.S. scouts and a CHL scout who is now an NHL scout. And the gist of it was that this kid I was hyping up was an asshole, a braggart, a cocky, entitled, pain-in-ass teammate who rubbed people the wrong way and lacked humility. One text? Ok, just an opinion. Two, three, and then four messages? OK, so obviously there's something up.

Central Scouting watch list comes out and he gets a B grade. So now for the first time since the Puljujarvi debacle, I'm actually doubting myself because of external pressure -- pressure I didn't even ask for because I never ever trust anyone's advice when it comes to prospects. But I dropped him into the second round and wrote that he needed to mature and become more consistent. I easily could have played the "scouts told me" card that these prospect hacks use and wrote a hit piece for clicks, but I didn't, because a) there are a lot of lazy scouts with agendas, b) hit pieces are for grubby journalists and appeal to simple-minded sports fans

So draft day rolls around and he gets passed over in Round 1. Again, this kid had all the tools -- IQ, touch, size, creativity, swagger. I'm actually a little relieved he didnt go in Round 1, but I'm still mad I had to drop him. At this point, I'm hoping that he slips far down enough so the Rangers can draft him and I can dance an Irish jig and promote nothing but his qualities.

Day 2 rolls around, and with pick No. 57, the Toronto Maple Leafs are proud to select, from Tri-City in the USHL, Matthew Knies.

Fast forward to today, to this thread, and to what Matthew Knies has become, and L-O-L. So by all means, red flag Trevor Connelly because he was a shitty teammate and took a bad penalty, and best of luck.

Knies production didn't improve from D-1 to his Draft year in the USHL. Wouldn't that have been a bigger concern? This is the first I'm seeing that he was seen as a character red flag. From what I recall, the concerns with Knies were more so that he didn't have high-end skill or playmaking ability, and at least at the time, was pretty useless in the defensive zone. Seems like a player that basically hit on everything that he was good at as far as his shot, forechecking, net front play, and while you could still probably say that he doesn't have the high-end skill to become a superstar, his "weaknesses" didn't end up holding him back too much. A "safer" pick on Draft Day that has exceeded expectations. Interesting that there were supposedly character concerns.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Relieving yourself in your goalie's gear bag after a loss is not merely "bullying," it's sociopathic behavior. Connelly apologists who can't see beyond his projected skillset at 23 or 24 are hoping it's merely a "maturity" issue, but what if it isn't? What if he is fundamentally unable to distinguish between right and wrong, unable to prevent himself from doing harm to others? Would you want that kind of individual mixing into your team's chemistry, being the face of your million dollar team? Minimizing the red flags as "maturity" is hopeful, at best.

Get out of the basement and get some sunshine...please.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Can't call a kid a sociopath without really knowing him. Story like that needs more context, given the ages involved, feels like it may be two feuding players and a kid lacking maturity doing something stupid to escalate a situation. Athletic likely saw blood in the water with the swastika thing and wrote a hit piece with Connelly a stand-in for your typical white male privileged hockey dbag, in the sort of thing that has "broader society" undertones in current environment (and there's enough of an appetite for this sort of blood in the water ragebait coming directly off the heels of the investigation involving the Hockey Canada incident in London, ON). Personally, I think if a parent wants to trash a kid on the cusp of being Drafted, they should be able to stand behind it with their own name. But they don't want to.. maybe because they don't want every detail coming out on what was going on with their own kids that would make neither side look great, who knows, they won't put their names there so it's just speculation.

There are real on-ice questions regarding Connelly. Maybe there will be off-ice ones, certainly better to not have that, but if a lot of it ends up noise, someone could get a real steal for the draft position in a draft that isn't particularly deep.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Relieving yourself in your goalie's gear bag after a loss is not merely "bullying," it's sociopathic behavior. Connelly apologists who can't see beyond his projected skillset at 23 or 24 are hoping it's merely a "maturity" issue, but what if it isn't? What if he is fundamentally unable to distinguish between right and wrong, unable to prevent himself from doing harm to others? Would you want that kind of individual mixing into your team's chemistry, being the face of your million dollar team? Minimizing the red flags as "maturity" is hopeful, at best.

Where is the report of this happening? Not that I don’t believe you, but I haven’t seen it anywhere.

 

[Cancuks]

I foresee Vegas running up to the podium to draft him.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I foresee Vegas running up to the podium to draft him.

With what pick?

 

[saintunspecified]

I have a feeling he’ll still be a late 1st. I think a team with a second pick in round one may take a swing on his upside

I was trying to find comparable picks. Prospects with immaturity and selfishness concerns. Anthony DeAngelo and Bode Wilde fit the bill, however both D. The one name that stuck out for me was Josh Ho-Sang. High end skill, but a lot of red flags

Not the same. Ho-Sang had a questionable level of commitment, and has off puck issues. Tbh, as an Islanders fan, Oliver Wahlstrom is a better comparison. Both goofballs, but neither would piss in your beer (or your gear).

 

[William H Bonney]

The hit isn't going to affect his draft position at all, other than if he bombs his interviews when it inevitably comes up. And that's the easiest question he's going to get.

Connelly didn't destroy the U18s playing a 3rd line role. Button has an extremely prominent recency bias for the last international tournament. That's what is driving his non-lottery position for Button, not the hit.

I'm not saying Connelly goes in the top 16, even if his skill is top 16, but if he slips, it's not going to be because he threw one bad hit. The repercussion from the hit is that it's going to haunt him for a long time that he gave away the gold medal for his team. People are overreacting to its relevance to his draft stock.

 

[STL fan in MN]

I came to this thread hoping to hear more about his red flags. I googled, but didn't find anything. That seems shocking and awful, assuming the story is true. That would put a player on my "do not draft" list, personally. Any chance you could share the story/send a link?

Who will draft Trevor Connelly? Inside the NHL's evolving scrutiny of top prospects

Here’s a few snippets.

Many NHL evaluators were already aware that, in 2022, when he was 16, Connelly posted to Snapchat a picture of a teammate sitting on the floor of the children’s area of a library with building blocks assembled in the shape of a swastika. Connelly added the caption “creations.”

Four parents said they saw Connelly punch a teammate during practice; three of those parents said they saw it happen multiple times. It was usually in response to Connelly getting frustrated, those three parents say, such as when he lost a puck battle or a teammate wouldn’t allow him to cut in line during a drill. Five parents said he would slash teammates with his stick out of frustration. Four of those five parents said they also saw him slew-foot players — trip an opponent from behind with a leg or foot.

Sources involved in the school’s hockey program said that Connelly was suspended after urinating on another student’s belongings, among other alleged acts. Trevor Connelly said in a statement: “At 14 years old, I was the victim of a humiliating hazing incident in my dorm room and then harassed about it afterwards. I reacted poorly to the situation with an immature act. While I took responsibility at the time, I regret and am embarrassed by how I handled myself.”

 

[CanadienShark]

Who will draft Trevor Connelly? Inside the NHL's evolving scrutiny of top prospects

Here’s a few snippets.

Yikes. Thanks for that. Definitely some red flags. Hopefully for his sake, he matures.

 

[StrawHatEklund]

Want him nowhere near the Sharks. Assume Grier agrees and uses Pitt pick elsewhere. Hopefully he continues maturing though and has a solid career.

 

[themelkman]

Want him nowhere near the Sharks. Assume Grier agrees and uses Pitt pick elsewhere. Hopefully he continues maturing though and has a solid career.

The sharks as a franchise have to be very careful and deliberate with these kind of things compared to other teams, so I don’t think they would ever take that risk anyways.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Yikes. Thanks for that. Definitely some red flags. Hopefully for his sake, he matures.

Lost me at "The Athletic".

 

[CanadienShark]

Lost me at "The Athletic".

Huh?

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Huh?

Was in response to the article trashing a teenager.

 

[CanadienShark]

Was in response to the article trashing a teenager.

Are the stories untrue?

 

[57special]

Everyone always talks about players needing more size and strength when they transition from juniors to pros... but I really think a massively overlooked area where so many players need to improve is their discipline. Kids are eager to make plays, and running on adrenaline, and in that eagerness I see so many really high-end kids with NHL potential take really bad penalties that they shouldn't take and would get them quickly glued to the bench if they did that on a pro team.

All that to say, it was a really bad penalty, it cost the team badly. It was compounded by the fact that they gave up 3 goals on a 5 minute penalty, which is just really bad, and the time/circumstance of when the penalty occurred. But it's not very uncommon. It is something to grow and get better at, since nobody is a finished product at age 17. It can be a learning experience.

Agreed, 100%. Mental and emotional maturity are just as important as physical maturity with players. Getting yo-yo'ed around the country from team to team can be very tough on any teenager, just talk to any teen who has to switch schools even once during their formative years, nvm multiple times. Some kids make it work, others have a harder time with it.

Anyone who has kids knows that there are huge changes from the ages of 14- 21, give or take. The more secure and healthy their environment and role models are, the better the chances are of surmounting the challenges thrown their way. The path for elite young athletes can be completely at odds for developing a healthy young person.

I hope that Connelly gets taken by a team that allows him to develop in college for 2-3 years. Maybe he just needs to settle down a bit, and will benefit from some structure and regularity.

Was in response to the article trashing a teenager.

"Trashing", or reporting? Would you be happier if none of these things ever saw the light of day?

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

Being alone in a team where everyone knows each other must be destabilizing. The guy has talent and hard work. Maturity is not a problem, on the contrary. He is only 18 years old. He has plenty of time to mature. We ask too much of junior players to behave like adults in attitude when they are teenagers. Youth must be made.

1 action should not make us forget 3 excellent international tournaments.

 

[99ovr]

For those who care:


I never said scouts/GMs shouldn't be worried. He definitely has red flags, but these red flags are old red flags and he addressed them before the season. The fact that the tight-knit NTDP was willing to add him should have been proof of that, plus all the volunteer and community service he's done the past 12-18 months.

But since August, look at the benchmarks:

-Dominant Hlinka
-Dominant WJAC
-Dominant USHL season
-Good/productive U18 WC

So in the last 12 months, the only red flags that have appeared are the same old stories from when he was 13-16 that the media regurgitated for clicks, and a poorly-timed, decisive penalty in a big game. Sounds silly to me.

I can only go by what the public already knows, and what we know is that he was a shitty, entitled kid who was caught making a horrible mistake and worked hard to correct himself. Normally I'd say this is just a case of a PR fiasco that his parents paid big money to fix, but it really sounds like he's fixed himself and the people vouching for him in the present are totally objective. There is nobody on record saying he was a bad teammate or toxic in 2023-24, and he's not even done maturing.

Just curious do you know why he didn't play at the NTDP? I'm assuming he wanted to get sure-fire first line minutes?