I’d like to start this one off by wishing all of the father’s out there a Happy Father’s Day. Kick back and try to relax!!
I’ll follow that by pointing out the absurdity of writing about Trevor Connelly on Father’s Day and I’ll explain why.
Trevor Connelly
Position: Centre/Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 160lbs
The skinny on Connelly is that he’s an extremely gifted skater. His speed and agility are outrageous and he matches that with skill that can be used in full flight. He’s probably meant to go much higher in the draft than he is, as he has the skill to be a top 10 pick. So, we’ll jump right to the things that are preventing that from happening.
For starters, Connelly is obviously very thin. If he can retain his speed and skill while packing on 20-30lbs of muscle it will go a long way towards him developing into a top 6 forward. His lack of strength hurts him in puck battles, so while he’s very tough to defend when he has the puck, he’s also very easy to play against when he doesn’t. His defensive game is lacking as well, though he has been working on it and there was improvement this year.
Last, but certainly not least, he was involved in an incident a year ago where he posted the image of a swastika on his social media account. It was taken down quickly, but not quickly enough, as it had already spread. Some, but not all, believe that he wasn’t aware of just how much weight the image could hold and he speaks openly about the mistake and what he’s been doing to learn about it, such as attending diversity training courses and having visited the holocaust museum. He was also accused of uttering a racial slur on the ice a few years ago, but he denies that it happened and as of right now it simply stands as a rumour. These two things have combined to raise questions about his upbringing and I think that’s justifiable.
At the end of the day there’s a team out there that will be happy to draft a top 10 talent that is saying and doing all the right things after doing something stupid, but I’m not sure if that team should be the Maple Leafs. I’d have felt that way 10 years ago before I met my Jewish wife and have since had 2 beautiful Jewish daughters and I feel that way now. I find it difficult to brush it off as a childish mistake without picturing their faces, but I also think about all of the dumb things I said and did when I was his age and can easily imagine it being stupid actions from a stupid kid. If he isn’t actually a bigot then I wish him all the best in life, but if he was raised to be racist I hope that he genuinely sees the error of his ways and changes.
Either way, Happy Father’s Day and Fuck You and your swastika Trevor.