New LA Kings prospect Kenny Connors will begin his career at UMass in the fall and the school’s coach, Greg Carvel, is very excited.
The 2022 NHL Draft has come and gone and, after a quiet night on Thursday, the LA Kings were busy on Friday. That’s because the silver-and-black drafted seven players, including centerman Kenny Connors.
A native of Glen Mills, PA, Connors spent the last two seasons playing for the USHL‘s Dubuque Fighting Saints. This past season, the 19-year-old celebrated an offensive outburst, increasing his goals total from three to 25 and his points total from 18 to 56.
This coming fall, however, Connors will be transitioning from the USHL to the collegiate ranks where he will suit up for UMass-Amherst. — the alma mater, by the way, of one Jonathan Quick. There, he will play under head coach Greg Carvel.
Carvel, who will be entering his seventh season as the Minutemen bench boss, discussed the newest Kings prospect. More specifically, he touched on how eager he is for the youngster to join his team.
“I’m very excited about getting Kenny committed to UMass for a number of years,” the 52-year-old beamed. “I watched his development and I love him because he’s going to fit our identity really well.”
The UMass head coach continued, stressing specific factors from Connor’s game. In fact, the 6′ 1, 195-pounder’s arrival is helping the collective excitement level in Amherst reach a crescendo.
“He’s a hard-nosed kid, he’s got good size, he has good hands, good sense,” Carvel added.
There is a little something, however, that Connors lacks in his game. Of course, that is nothing that some collegiate experience can’t fix.
“He’s a well-rounded player who we want to try to add a little bit of creativity and a little more offensive to his game, which I think he’s fully capable of,” Carvel noted. “So, we’re really excited. We think he fits our identity: a fast, hard player, responsible without the puck, and hard to play against.”
It is notable to mention that Carvel has some coaching experience at the NHL level himself, serving as an assistant with Anaheim and Ottawa between 2003 and 2011. In his latter stop, he helped the Sens reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2007. Nevertheless, having been there himself, Carvel may just be advantageous to Connors’ preparation for the professional ranks.
Only time will tell, of course.
The conclusion of this year’s NHL Draft is still fresh. So, there will be plenty of analysis and opinion on Connors and the rest of the Kings’ draft choices from 2022. As of now, though, Rob Blake and company appeared to have a very good showing in Montreal.
As for Connors, he may not be expected to crack the Kings’ roster this season. However, do watch out for him at the club’s training camp this fall.
Fans may like what they see.