The Golden Knights’ prospect cupboard is looking pretty lean these days, and The Athletic’s latest NHL draft-prospect rankings made that plain.
In Scott Wheeler’s July 15 Top 100, Vegas placed just two players on the list: winger Trevor Connelly and goalie Carl Lindbom. Connelly was the only Golden Knights skater to make the cut, landing at No. 45, while Lindbom earned a spot among Wheeler’s Top 20 drafted goalies.
That scarcity tracks with how Vegas has built its roster. The team’s championship window has stayed wide open, but the price has been a steady drain on draft capital and the prospect pool as the organization chased superstars such as Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner.
Connelly, 20, is the lone Vegas skater in the rankings. Drafted 19th overall in 2024, the Tustin, Calif., native spent the full 2025-26 season with the Henderson Silver Knights in the AHL and produced 14 goals and 49 points in 46 games, a 1.06 points-per-game pace.
Lindbom’s path was different, and his numbers in the minors were the stronger part of his season. The 23-year-old from Stockholm, Sweden, got his first NHL action in 2025-26 and went 2-4-2 with a 3.00 GAA and .873 SV% in eight appearances for Vegas.
With Henderson, though, he put together a 24-5-8 record, a 2.16 GAA and .926 SV%, then added an AHL All-Star Game nod and post-season Second All-Star Team honors. Across two AHL seasons, the 2021 draftee taken 222nd overall owns a 42-20-11 record with a 2.41 GAA and .919 SV%.
Connelly is also one of only two first-round picks still in the Golden Knights organization, joining 2026 first-rounder Juho Piiparinen. Every other top pick in franchise history mentioned in the ranking - Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki, Erik Brännström, Peyton Krebs, Zach Dean and David Edstrom - has since been traded and is now with another team.
Lindbom stands out for another reason, too: he is the latest drafted prospect in Vegas history, and the only player selected in the 200s to appear in an NHL game for the club.
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