Trevor Connelly was supposed to be one of the Vegas Golden Knights' promising young players. He's doing a pretty good job of making himself useful right now.
The 20-year-old rookie scored with 1:42 remaining Thursday to give Vegas a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, extending his goal-scoring streak to three games and bringing his season total to seven. That leaves Connelly tied for the NHL lead among rookies in goals.
For a team with Stanley Cup expectations and plenty of established offensive talent, that's a welcome development.
Vegas didn't get much going offensively through the first two periods against Detroit. The Golden Knights were held scoreless until the third, then needed to respond after Anton Johansson put the Red Wings ahead early in the period.
Braeden Bowman tied the game just over two minutes later, setting up Connelly's opportunity to become the hero.
With the score still tied in the closing minutes, Jack Eichel moved the puck to Connelly near the blue line. The rookie attacked down the left side, used a toe-drag to get around Michael Rasmussen and beat Daniil Tarasov with a wrist shot.
It was a confident play from a young forward in a situation where the slightest mistake could have sent the game in the other direction.
Connelly was selected 19th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, and the Golden Knights certainly didn't draft him expecting him to become a defensive specialist. His offensive ability was a major part of his appeal. But there's a difference between possessing that skill and translating it into meaningful NHL production.
Seven goals this early in the season is a strong start. Scoring in three consecutive games is even better. Delivering the winner in the final two minutes of a tied road game gives the Golden Knights another reason to keep finding opportunities for him.
The encouraging part for Vegas is that Connelly doesn't need to become its primary offensive option. Eichel, Mark Stone and the rest of the Golden Knights' established forwards already give opponents plenty to think about. A rookie who can take advantage of the opportunities available behind that group adds another layer to an offence that wasn't exactly short on talent.
There's still a long way to go before Connelly can be considered a dependable NHL scorer. Young players experience hot streaks, and maintaining production while opponents adjust is a different challenge altogether.
He'll have to continue earning his opportunities when the goals aren't coming quite so easily. For now, though, the results are difficult to argue with.
Vegas improved to 11-5-2 with Thursday's victory. Connelly has scored in every game of the team's current three-game road trip, and his latest goal secured another two points.
The Golden Knights already had plenty of players they could count on to win games. Connelly is starting to make a case that he belongs in that conversation, too.