Golden Knights Reassign Braeden Bowman, Trevor Connelly

The Vegas Golden Knights are giving their AHL affiliate some reinforcements for the Calder Cup playoffs. According to a team announcement, the Golden Knights have reassigned forwards Braeden Bowman and Trevor Connelly to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights.

Never believed to be a top prospect in Vegas’ pipeline, Bowman joined the organization ahead of last season as an OHL free agent. He performed quite well during his rookie season, scoring 14 goals and accumulating 36 points in 68 games with a -5 rating, while exclusively playing with AHL Henderson.

After a tremendous start with the Silver Knights and due to some injury concerns at the NHL level, Bowman was able to debut with the Golden Knights this season. He spent much of the year in Vegas, scoring eight goals and 26 points in 54 games with a -16 rating.

Although his production was well above-average for a young undrafted free agent, it’s important to remember that Bowman was relatively sheltered throughout his rookie campaign. Much of his time with Vegas was spent on a line with Jack Eichel, and he began more than 60% of his shifts in the offensive zone.

Meanwhile, unlike Bowman, Connelly is a very recognizable prospect in the Golden Knights system. Being the only first-round pick that the team has retained (up to this point), Connelly is arguably the top prospect in the Golden Knights organization by a country mile.

The 20-year-old spent the entire season with AHL Henderson and was only recently recalled to serve as injury depth for the postseason. Connelly had a more than respectable rookie season, scoring 14 goals and 49 points in 46 games with a +2 rating.

Both Bowman and Connelly have played for the Silver Knights so far this postseason, playing integral roles in their series sweep over the San Jose Barracuda. Since they weren’t being used in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the pair of forwards will now help AHL Henderson take on the Colorado Eagles in the Division Semifinal.