The Vegas Golden Knights Development Camp is underway, showcasing the organization’s young up-and-comers and what they could bring to the team’s future. One of the standouts from Monday’s ice session was 2024 first-round draft pick Trevor Connelly.

Connelly is no stranger to the demands placed on players at this level, being one of the returning participants among the 26 who took the ice. Reflecting on his return to Development Camp, Connelly embraced his evolving role and what he hopes to get out of these next few days. 

“I think it's awesome to kind of come back as an older guy, have a role, kind of be a second-year guy, and just kind of teach young kids like we were taught last year,” Connelly said. “So I think just kind of coming back and helping the kids and just coming back stronger and kind of a different player as well.” 

The left-winger has made significant progress both on and off the ice this past year. Between his on-ice experience in Providence, the World Juniors, and Henderson, along with achieving his goal of gaining 20 pounds, he’s clearly been putting in the work. 

“This year really taught me how to play in high-pressure situations,” Connelly said. “Obviously, with World Juniors, playing in a college tournament for a game, we had a lot of competitive games against BC, BU, teams with star power. I think this year, I just kind of learned a lot more on how to play under pressure, and just kind of got really good at that.” 

This year's camp is much more focused, with only a few free agents, and more intimate with a smaller group, giving both the players and staff a chance to form strong relationships. Will Nichol, the director of player development, says that having relationships with each kid is by far the best part of his job. He spoke about his perspective on Connelly. 

“I'm really proud of him, what he's done this past season, both on and off the ice,” Nichol said. “He was 158 pounds last year at this camp, and he's just about 172 this year. That just doesn't happen. That comes with a lot of hard work and dedication, and he's done everything we've asked him and more. So he’s had a great year.” 

The future looks brighter by the day for the Knights, with even more promising talent still to come.