Vegas has a thin system, led by 2024 first-rounder Trevor Connelly, but overall, given how few picks the Golden Knights have made, they have a couple of players I think could play for them.

2024 ranking: 27

2025 NHL Draft grade: C+

Player Ranking

1. Trevor Connelly, LW

February 28, 2006 | 6-foot-1 | 161 pounds | Shoots left

Drafted: No. 19 in 2024
Tier: Middle of the lineup player

Skating: Above NHL average
Puck skills: Above NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Below NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average

Analysis: Connelly was up and down in college this season, scoring only four goals for Providence, although he scored four points in six AHL games after turning pro toward the end of the season. Connelly is a very talented winger. He’s a dynamic skater with clear NHL foot speed and edge work. He’s a great puck handler who makes a ton of difficult plays at an elite tempo. Connelly isn’t a great playmaker, but he sees the ice well enough and can flank a power play. His decision-making isn’t the best, though, as well as his consistency and discipline, which are connected to character flags that have dogged him for years. He projects as a middle-six winger.

2. Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, RW

February 1, 2007 | 6-foot-2 | 190 pounds | Shoots right

Drafted: No. 55 in 2025
Tier: Middle of the lineup player

Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average

Analysis: Ihs-Wozniak has had highly impressive stretches over the last 18 months where he’s dominated the Swedish junior ranks, but he’s also had stretches that make you question whether he will be an NHL player. I have no doubts about the tools. Forwards who are 6-foot-2, can skate, have a lot of offensive skill and can shoot the puck are difficult to find, and Ihs-Wozniak looks like a potential scoring winger versus men. I’d like to see him compete a bit harder at times, and I don’t think he’s a true playmaker, either. His game can lack a pulse, and I don’t think he’s so absurdly talented to overcome that issue. His tools should get him games, but I’m unsure if he can stick in the league.

3. Pavel Moysevich, G

September 29, 2004 | 6-foot-5 | 176 pounds | Catches left

Drafted: No. 83 in 2024
Tier: Projected to play NHL games

Skating: Below NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average

Analysis: Moysevich struggled as a 20-year-old this season in the KHL after an impressive previous year that led to him being a third-round pick. He’s still young and talented, though, with plenty of room to develop and is a huge goalie at 6-foot-5. He’s not super athletic or twitchy, but he moves well enough for his size. He’s a smart and competitive goalie who can make a lot of high-difficulty saves. He gets caught flat-footed at times due to the lack of high-end quickness, but I think the tools are good enough to potentially be a backup goalie in the NHL.

Has a chance to play*

Matyas Sapovaliv is a big center with good enough hockey sense and hands who plays hard and can help on both special teams. His skating is heavy, though, and his puck play versus men didn’t look great this past season. He could be a bottom-six center, though.

Jakub Brabenec, LW

September 11, 2003 | 6-foot-2 | 176 pounds | Shoots left | Drafted: No. 102 in 2021

Mathieu Cataford, RW

March 1, 2005 | 6-feet | 192 pounds | Shoots right | Drafted: No. 77 in 2023

Jordan Gustafson, C

January 20, 2004 | 6-feet | 183 pounds | Shoots left | Drafted: No. 79 in 2022

Arttu Kärki, D

December 8, 2004 | 6-foot-2 | 181 pounds | Shoots left | Drafted: No. 96 in 2023

Matyas Sapovaliv, C

February 12, 2004 | 6-foot-4 | 194 pounds | Shoots left | Drafted: No. 48 in 2022

Tuomas Uronen, C

March 19, 2005 | 6-feet | 190 pounds | Shoots right | Drafted: No. 192 in 2023

Lucas Van Vliet, RW

January 25, 2006 | 6-foot-2 | 181 pounds | Shoots left | Drafted: No. 197 in 2024

* Listed in alphabetical order

Player eligibility: All skaters who are 22 years old or younger as of Sept. 15, 2025, regardless of how many NHL games they’ve played, are eligible. Player heights and weights are taken from the NHL.

Tool grades: Tool grades are based on a scale with six separate levels, with an eye toward how this attribute would grade in the NHL (poor, below-average, average, above-average, high-end and elite). “Average” on this scale means the tool projects as NHL average, which is meant as a positive, not a criticism. Skating, puck skills, hockey sense and compete for every projected NHL player are graded. Shot grades are only included if a shot is notably good or poor.

Tier definitions: Tiers are meant to show roughly where in an average NHL lineup a player projects to slot in.

(Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic. Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)