The Journey: Nikita Kucherov and Brett Connolly

Randall Buschmann

2014-09-20

NikitaKucherov

What does the future hold for these two Lightning prospects?

Welcome to the newest addition of “The Journey”, a weekly column highlighting up and coming prospects in the NHL. This is my first column with Dobber Hockey and I’m excited for the opportunity! Hopefully you enjoy the ride. Feel free to leave comments below. With NHL training camps underway, we’re going to kick this thing off by exploring the journey of two highly talented young prospects competing for ice time for Tampa Bay, both of which should be on your fantasy radar.

Nikita Kucherov – RW, Tampa Bay Lightning

Dobber Hockey Top 215 Prospects Rank: 5^th of 215

If Nikita Kucherov was Canadian, he would’ve gone in the first round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. The benefit of hindsight allows us to look back and scratch our heads in disbelief as to why certain players were picked ahead Kucherov. Obviously, we'll never know for sure. However, nobody that summer could deny the fact Kucherov was a first round caliber talent. Ultimately it came down to the player's nationality, as he was a Russian national playing in Russia. It was unclear at the time whether Kucherov would be willing to leave his homeland, and so, when? Tampa Bay General Manager Steve Yzerman and Director of Amateur Scouting Al Murray weren’t afraid of "the Russian factor" as evidenced by Kucherov's selection in the 2^nd round, 58^th overall, a pick regarded by some pundits as "the steal of the draft". The breakdown of Kucherov's game is simple, as it's based on puck possession and producing offense. He's a speedster, a sniper and a playmaker whose only notable weaknesses were lack of strength and defensive ability. Since being drafted, Kucherov has trending up as a prospect.

Brett Connolly – RW, Tampa Bay Lightning

Dobber Hockey Top 215 Prospect’s Rank: 40th

The Journey

Not all first round draft picks pan out as scouts envision. While some first round picks are good enough to step into the NHL right away, others take more patience and development. Brett Connolly is an example of the latter, with some bumps along the way. In the summer of 2010 at the NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles, California, Steve Yzerman approached the podium as Tampa Bay’s General Manager for the first time. Yzerman and his scouting staff’s first ever draft choice would end up being Brett Connolly. The year before as a 16 year old Connolly scored 30 goals in the WHL, the first time since 1996 a player had accomplished this feat.

He was regarded as one of the most talented players in his draft class, and Tampa Bay determined he was the best player available. Connolly is a prototypical goal scoring winger who skates very well, has good size and terrific hands. Yes, Connolly had missed most of the season due to multiple hip injuries. Anytime a prospect misses a large chunk of a season, it affects the player's draft stock. Yzerman and company did their homework. They knew the status of Connolly’s injuries and were confident about his health long-term. Yzerman said if Connolly he had been healthy all year he wouldn't have been available at the sixth pick.

Connolly's 2010-11 WHL season began just a few short months after being drafted by Tampa Bay. With the weight of the world on his shoulders (or rather, hips) Connolly emerged as one of the top goal scorers in the WHL again. Questions about Connolly's injuries grew further and further apart and became old news. Connolly appeared ready to challenge for a roster spot in Tampa Bay.

As training camp for the 2011-12 season began in Tampa Bay, it was either the NHL, or back to juniors for the 19 year old. Connolly played well enough during training camp to earn a spot on the roster. As a first year NHLer, he mostly played a bottom six role and didn't produce much offense. Speculation began on whether Connolly was ready for the NHL, was he brought up from junior too soon? The decision was made for Connolly to spend the 2012-13 campaign playing in the AHL. He needed to work on several aspects of his game and would receive significantly more ice time in the minors. Connolly ended up having a very successful season in the AHL as he finished second on his team in goals and points. Maybe just as important, the experience reportedly instilled a new level of confidence.

Last year Connolly started turning heads at training camp and finally looked on track to earn a full-time NHL gig. He was regarded as one of the best players in camp and impressed during preseason play. At the same time, the emergence of other young forwards created an excess of players battling for one or two roster spots. Coach Jon Cooper had his top nine forwards and Yzerman didn't want Connolly playing a fourth line role, so he was sent back to the AHL. Connolly struggled at times during the season but stepped up to be a leader for Syracuse and led the team in goals and points. Connolly did receive a couple short-lived call-ups with Tampa Bay which were uneventful and disappointing.   Outlook for 2014-15 Tampa Bay has been patient with Connolly and the team still seems very high on him. But the past two seasons has seen the likes of Alex Killorn, <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=3395&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Ondrej Palat</a>, <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=2716&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Tyler Johnson</a>, Nikita Kucherov, <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=2124&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Richard Panik</a> and JT Brown pass him on Tampa Bay's depth chart. It's been four years since Connolly was drafted and it's time to step up. This season Connolly is no longer exempt from waivers, which means to be sent to the AHL he would have to be exposed to waivers. There's no way Yzerman will risk losing his first ever draft pick for nothing. Expect Connolly to have a strong training camp which will cement his role as a top nine winger, playing with either <a href="frozenpool_profiler.php?players=2716&sent=go&games=2013-2014%3AR">Tyler Johnson</a> or Valterri Filppula. There's still big potential here and after Drouin and Kucherov, Connolly is the most offensively talented forward prospect in Tampa Bay's system. Like Kucherov, don't expect Connolly to have much fantasy value this year, but still a nice option for keeper leagues. <a href="http://prospects.dobbersports.com/tampa-bay-lightning-top-prospects/brett-connolly">Dobber Prospects Profile on Connolly</a>    <iframe src="http://www.eliteprospects.com/iframe_player_stats_small.php?player=23297″ width="100%" height="355″ scrolling="no" frameborder="0″ >

Randall Buschmann has been covering the Tampa Bay Lightning for DobberProspects since December 2012. He just finished binge watching Breaking Bad and wishes there were more Gordie Howe Hat Tricks in the NHL. You can reach him on Twitter @thehockeyhitman

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