The future had arrived for Brett Connolly.
And it's a big-time rush.
Tonight in Raleigh, N.C., the 19-year-old Prince George Cougars junior hockey star is expected to make his debut in the NHL, playing right wing for the Tampa Bay Lightning as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes.
"It's been a whirlwind month here and it's a dream come true, it's every kid's dream to play in the NHL and to be on the opening-night roster is pretty cool," said Connolly. "It's so much fun, I'm so excited, and I'm looking forward to my first NHL game."
Connolly was one of the biggest surprises in the Lightning camp, scoring three goals in the preseason to tie for the team lead. He also had two assists. Playing on a line with Marty St. Louis and Steven Stamkos, he scored two goals in a 4-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens last week in Montreal. Connolly rated that as his best game so far.
"It was nice that the coaching staff and management to throw me out with players like that and I just kind of ran with it and took full advantage of it," Connolly said. "It was a lot of fun playing with those guys and hopefully I can continue to do that for most of the season.
"I've been playing with a few different line combinations in practice today and yesterday, so we'll see. There's not a bad player on our roster, our forwards are so deep this year, it's exciting, I can't wait to get going."
The oldest son of Pat and Dawn Connolly of Prince George is still eligible to play two more seasons of junior hockey. The Lightning are allowed to keep him for nine games before his NHL contract kicks in. If he does play 10 games with Tampa and then gets sent down to the Cougars, the Lightning would be on the hook to pay him his full-season NHL contract of $900,000.
"I'm confident I will stay at this level," Connolly said. "I played the Montreal team that had a lot of their veterans in the lineup and I felt great there.
"I was not ready for the NHL last year but with another year under my belt and a good summer of training, just to think how strong I'll be two or three years down the road is encouraging."
Connolly was the top rookie in all of major junior hockey in 2008-09 but was sidelined with hip injuries in his sophomore season with the Cougars that forced him to miss 56 games. That cost him a shot at making Canada's world junior team, but the Lightning had faith he would recover and picked him in the first round of the 2009 draft, sixth overall. He returned to form last season and led the Cougars with 46 goals and 73 points in 59 games and helped Team Canada to a silver medal at the world junior championship in Buffalo.
Connolly now weighs 201 pounds, about 10 pounds heavier than he was last season. The six-foot-two native of Campbell River spent this past summer living in Toronto working out with personal trainer Peter Renzetti, a former strength and conditioning coach with the Detroit Red Wings, and that extra bulk has made a huge difference.
"The summer I had in Toronto made it easier for me, it's really helped me out and I can't thank him enough," Connolly said. "Not only am I heavier, I'm way stronger and my vertical jump is a lot higher. I had the talent and skills last year but this year I'm just stronger, faster, and more confident ."
Former Cougar defenceman Eric Brewer is a key cog on the Lightning defence, and until he was sent to the AHL earlier this week, former Cougar winger Dana Tyrell was also in the Lightning camp. Connolly and Tyrell were linemates with the Cougars during Connolly's rookie season in the WHL.
"Me and him hung around a lot when he was here and to see him go down it's not good to hear, it's definitely bittersweet," Connolly said. "Brew is a great guy and he's been good to me. All the older guys have been good to me.
"We have a deep team with a lot of veterans who have won the Stanley Cup and it's exciting to be a part of it."
