Trevor Connelly, coach of the “U14 team of players of color”

For those of you who follow Simon Boisvert, you know as well as I do how much he adores Trevor Connelly.

He’s said it over and over again, he’s one of the most underrated prospects around, and if he were at the helm of an NHL team, he wouldn’t have hesitated to draft him second overall in the last draft. He even told Processus (by the way, the podcast starts again next week) that if Montreal drafted him, he’d buy season tickets.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) for him, Connelly was drafted 18th by the Golden Knights, two spots ahead of the Habs (20th). The Habs have always liked Michael Hage and probably wouldn’t have drafted the American if he were available anyway.

But then, we’ll never be…

In 2021, Connelly, a very good hockey player, had off-ice problems. He was accused of racism. Although he and his family denied it, the details were brought to light by The Athletic, among others.

Today, the forward is determined to improve his reputation. He has just won a silver medal at an U14 tournament as coach of a team of “players of color”.

VGK Prospect Trevor Connelly spent part of his summer coaching the U14 Hockey Players of Color team at the Amerigol LATAM Cup!

Read about his involvement with the tournament and his preparations for his freshman year at Providence Collegehttps://t.co/vr4O722paL

– Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) September 6, 2024

Very nice gesture.

I don’t know if he coached because he really wanted to or he was “forced” to by the Knights PR team. Regardless, it’s a very nice gesture and he seems intent on improving his image.

He took this tournament very seriously and loved the experience.

I’ve never felt so involved in a hockey match that I wasn’t playing. My heart was beating very fast and I could feel the sweat pouring down my body. I had to pull myself together several times and remind myself that I wasn’t playing the game. – Trevor Connelly

The Knights’ hopeful eventually lost 4-0 in the final, but according to him, winning was never important. Developing great connections with players of color was his priority.

Well done, Trevor, truly!

Overtime

– Yes.

Mike Matheson this season:

82 games
– 11 goals
– 62 points (9th most from a defenseman)
– 186 blocked shots (10th most from a defenseman)
– 11 bursts of speed of 22+ mph (6th most from a defenseman)

Probably the most underrated defenseman in hockey. pic.twitter.com/wJgW4w2Q6u

– Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) September 8, 2024

– A whole club.

The 2016/17 Florida Panthers had:

– Aleksander Barkov
– Jaromir Jagr
– Jonathan Huberdeau
– Roberto Luongo
– Jonathan Marchessault
– Vincent Trocheck
– Thomas Vanek
– Aaron Ekblad
– Mike Matheson
– Reilly Smith
– Mackenzie Weegar
– Jared McCann
– Keith Yandle

Maybe the best… pic.twitter.com/GiYKAaImXW

– Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) September 8, 2024