Trevor Connelly gets the opportunity of a lifetime with Team USA

Trevor Connelly's wild ride in the NHL continues. First, the Golden Knights draft him in the 2024 NHL Draft. Then, he joins the Providence Friars in the NCAA hockey scene and scores four goals and nine assists (23 games). Then, he's so good that he gets the call-up to the Henderson Silver Knights. Here, he scores a goal and three assists in six games.

Then, his rights get traded to the Penticton Vees as part of the 2025 WHL Expansion Draft. Now? He just got news that he received an invitation from Team USA. That's right, folks. Cue up "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd because Connelly's becoming an All-American.

Of course, this isn't the first foray into Team USA for the former first-round pick. Connelly was on the Under-20 squad for the World Junior Championship, scoring a goal and three assists in seven games.

The season prior, he lit up the Under-18 competition with the United States, scoring four goals and five assists (seven games). This was during the World Junior Championship, where the native of Tustin, California, has made it his domain.

Guess what? That calling has arrived again, coming in the form of a summer showcase. The winger will show the world why he has endless potential after dealing with a controversial past.

Trevor Connelly's next step is building off his current momentum

The Vegas Golden Knights picked Connelly with the 19th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. The hope was that he'd overcome his controversial past and become a top-six forward. So far, it's worked well for Kelly McCrimmon.

Getting an invite to showcase your talents to the world proves that Vegas made a successful gamble on their draft pick. But his AHL production from last season is also proof.

Sure, you might look at six games and say, "Wow! That's a small sample size for a player!" However, it's a big step when you can handle professional competition without many problems. The former first-round pick handled this without a hitch, where he'll likely get another call-up in the upcoming season.

If Connelly continues that momentum, it'll make it much easier to replace a player like Mark Stone in the future. You don't have to spend too much money on a big-name free agent here. Instead, you can do something similar to Pavel Dorofeyev's call-up and slowly integrate him into the system.

The same goes for Kaedan Korczak as he tackles a bigger role. The expectation is he'll become a cheaper option with Nicolas Hague gone.

Connelly's ascension is all a part of the Golden Knights plan

McCrimmon has harbored a reputation as wheelin' and dealin' with his first-round draft picks. It doesn't matter if it's David Edstrom (for Tomas Hertl), Zach Dean (for Ivan Barbashev), or Brendan Brisson (for a Reilly Smith return). He doesn't shy away from making his team better now.

However, this scenario might be different. Connelly would simply be too good to pass up. He's proven himself worthy of taking on larger roles throughout his professional career, elevating his game along the way.

What's ironic is some Golden Knights fans thought he'd be another casualty because of his Anti-Semitic incident involving Snapchat.

"There's NO way that McCrimmon will keep this guy around! He's trade bait for Connor McDavid (or something to that effect)."

Of course, that wasn't going to happen and it's trending towards never happening now. That's great if you want to balance your contention window and keep it open. Fans could see that with the upcoming World Junior Showcase invitation.

It doesn't hurt to have him be an American, either. Cue James Brown. It's time for Ivan Drago to run in fear.