When the Vegas Golden Knights called Trevor Connelly’s name on the podium, our team collectively exclaimed: “Of course.” The pick made perfect sense. Vegas covets talent first, and everything else is secondary. And they’re willing to go to greater lengths to acquire that talent than most other organizations. 

Connelly is a blue chip prospect. He could transform into a top-of-the-lineup player for Vegas in a few years or a valuable trade chip. His stock should rise as he strings together productive seasons of college hockey at Providence and tries to distance himself from his tumultuous past, which includes instances of sharing racist imagery on social media, allegations of bullying, and a history of short-lived stays in his young career.

We may have ranked it 27th overall, but the team’s prospect pool contains a few of our favourite prospects. We anticipate that at least one of the players in the middle of the list will become a regular in Vegas’ lineup with time.  If we had to bet, we’d place our money on Matyas Šapovaliv.