Brett Connolly

Brett Connolly (born May 2, 1992) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. During his major junior career with the Prince George Cougars, he was named Western Hockey League (WHL) and Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Rookie of the Year for the 2008–09 season. Selected sixth overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2010 NHL entry draft, he joined the team in 2011–12. He was later traded to the Boston Bruins, following which he signed with the Washington Capitals prior to the 2016–17 season. Connolly won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Capitals in 2018.

Internationally, Connolly has represented Canada at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships, 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, 2011 IIHF U20 Championships and 2012 IIHF U20 Championships.

Raised in Prince George, British Columbia, Connolly was selected by his hometown Prince George Cougars as their first selection, tenth overall, in the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft. As a 15-year-old, he played major midget for the Caribou Cougars in Prince George, while also appearing in four WHL games. He joined the WHL's Cougars full-time in 2008–09, scoring 30 goals and 30 assists in 65 games. In doing so, he became the first 16-year-old to score 30 goals in the WHL since Patrick Marleau performed the feat in 1995–96. He was named the winner of the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as WHL rookie of the year. The recognition made him one of three nominees for the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Rookie of the Year; he beat-out the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)'s Dmitri Kulikov and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Evgeny Grachyov for the national distinction.

Connolly's second full WHL season was marred with hip problems. He played in just 12 of the Cougars' first 46 games and was sidelined from December 2009 before returning for the last four contests of the regular season. He was named to play in the 2010 CHL Top Prospects Game, but did not participate. He recorded 19 points over 16 games.

Connolly was highly ranked for the 2010 NHL entry draft. He was listed as the sixth-best player amongst North American skaters for the draft in the International Scouting Services' midterm rankings and finished the season 13th among all skaters. The NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked him fourth overall amongst North American skaters in their midterm rankings, before moving him up a spot in their final rankings. The Hockey News listed him at fourth overall in their list end-of-year list. Scouts described Connolly as a natural leader with good on-ice awareness who plays in the style of a power forward. Connolly compared himself to Columbus Blue Jackets power forward Rick Nash. Connolly was selected sixth overall in the draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Attending his first NHL training camp in September 2010, Connolly was returned to the Cougars to continue developing at the major junior level for the 2010–11 season. Whilst playing in his fourth WHL season, he was named captain of the Cougars and recorded 73 points over 59 games, leading his team in scoring.

Connolly made the Lightning's NHL roster in October 2011 out of training camp. He then scored his first career NHL goal on November 1 against Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes. His first professional season, however, was interrupted when he was loaned to Team Canada for a second-straight appearance at the IIHF World U20 Championships.

On January 10, 2012, Prince George traded Connolly's WHL rights to the Tri-City Americans in exchange for a bantam draft pick and two conditional draft picks should Connolly return to the WHL; the condition was never met. Connolly finished his rookie NHL season with 68 games played and 15 points scored (four goals and 11 assists).