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Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne and J. Tyge O’Donnell
It seemed like a strange draft pick by the Vegas Golden Knights Friday.
The NHL franchise that talks a big game about having players of high character picked an 18-year-old native Californian who posted a social media photo of a friend in front of building blocks that were arranged in the form of a swastika when he was 16. Connelly removed the post.
Connelly was also accused of using the n word in a game in 2021 before an investigation was held and did not confirm the racial slur.
Connelly said he has changed. He apologized for the swastika photo and denied dropping the n word in the game.
He went through diversity training and volunteer work and acknowledged he made mistakes as a kid.
Golden Knights owner Bill Foley constantly talks about his franchise moving forward and never retreating and having players of high character. Foley is a 1967 West Point graduate and you wonder what Foley thought about his team drafting an 18-year-old with that kind of baggage.
Here’s VGK General Manager Kelly McCrimmon discussing the Connelly selection.
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Big news broke Saturday morning when the Golden Knights traded goalie Logan Thompson to Washington for third round draft picks in the 2024 and 2025 draft. He received the call from McCrimmon in the morning.
The announcement at the NHL Draft happened at 9:40AM, a mere 20 minutes before Thompson was scheduled to appear at an Upper Deck booth in the lobby of the Sphere as part of a promotion for the NHL Draft advertiser.
Thompson said he wanted to see the fans for his autograph signing and also the Sphere. Thompson was a frequent attendee at Las Vegas Aces WNBA games.
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This is the first and final time the NHL will hold its Draft event at Sphere Las Vegas. The NHL is going to Zoom for the next draft.
The Draft presentation at the Sphere was superb.
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With the 83rd overall pick, the VGK picked goalie Pavel Moysevich.
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The Knights traded Paul “Unwelcome Back” Cotter to New Jersey Devils.
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LVSportsBiz photographer Hugh Byrne photos of the venue.