#6. Brett Connolly – 2010 Scouting Report
2010 Scouting Reports | 19 Jun 2010—————
#6. Brett Connolly | LW | Prince George (WHL)
Date of Birth: May 2nd, 1992 Height: 6.02 Weight: 181lbs. Shoots: R Season Statistics: Regular Season | 16GP 10G 9A 19P 8PIM Playoffs | n/a TSR Midterm Rank: 6 | Position Rank: 3rd Forwards League Rank: 1st WHL | Country Rank: 5th Canada
If Brett didn’t have bad luck he’d have none at all. Great expectations were placed on Connolly after being named the CHL rookie of the year in 2008-2009 beating out the likes of Evgeny Grachev and Dmitry Kulikov who was an early first round pick of Florida Panthers last year. But from the start of the season Connolly became the victim of the injury bug. It started in August when he injured his hip while playing for Canada’s U18 entry at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Slovakia. After trying to return from injury too quickly, Connolly re-aggravated the injury and ended up missing all but 16 games for the Prince George Cougars this year. After posting 10 goals and 9 assists in those games, Connolly was invited to play for Canada again, this time at the IIHF U18 World Championships in Belarus. Only this time, he encountered a bout of food poisoning that kept him out of a couple games there as well.
Despite the reoccurring hip injury and missing a huge chunk of his draft-eligible year, Connolly has still managed to keep his draft stock in check. He showed well despite still being hampered by his injuries and playing for a very weak and depleted Prince George squad. He claims to have finally taken care of the injury and does not expect there to be any lingering effects going forward.
Connolly is a big, skilled forward. He possesses very good speed and is effective at both ends of the ice. He uses his body effectively both to shield the puck from defenders as well as to take his man out when it is advantageous to do so. His soft hands allow him to get shots off both quickly and accurately. Connolly has a good sense for how a play is going to develop and he takes advantage of it by finding opens areas and seams in the defensive coverage.
Connolly was widely considered a Top 5 candidate going into the season and with the uncertainty of the injury status, Connolly becomes a high risk/high reward pick. Depending on how he tests at the NHL Combine and individual teams’ testing, he could move inside the Top 5 or be a draft day faller. With all the uncertainties around him, expect him to go anywhere from 3rd to 10th. He has too much talent to fall any further.
Plus – Size/Skill package, well-rounded play
Minus - Injury history
Style Comparable - Patrick Marleau
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Tags: 2010 nhl draft prospects, Brett Connolly, Scouting Report
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