February 10, 2012
Posted in BC Edition, Professional
BY MARK JANZEN/
When Brian Connelly first threw on an Abbotsford Heat jersey, it didn’t quite feel real.
After playing his first three years of professional hockey with the Chicago Blackhawks AHL affiliate Rockford IceHogs, putting on the Heat sweater for the first time at the 2012 AHL All-Star Skills Competition, after being traded to the Calgary Flames in a deal that sent Brendan Morrison to Chicago, just didn’t exactly have the right feel.
Not only was the logo emblazoned on the front not a hockey stick-chewing hog, but the Heat jersey he was wearing wasn’t even authentic.
With the 5-11 defenceman, who was born in Bloomington, Minn., traded just two days before the skills competition and the Heat equipment folks already on their breaks, it was up to the local equipment guys in Atlantic Ciy, N.J., where the all-star festivities were being held, to come up with a Heat jersey for Connelly.
So where did they go? The gift shop, where they picked up the same replica jersey Joe Fan would have purchased. And the numbers feverishly sewn on the back were white instead of the usual black.
So there was Connelly, 25, wearing his Rockford-issued pants, socks and gloves and a replica Heat jersey.
But when he hit ice, it didn’t seem to matter. He won the fastest skater competition with a time of 13.851 and everything started to feel a little more comfortable.
Since then, while wearing an authentic Heat jersey in his first three games with Abbotsford, he’s already proving to be very much the real deal.
In three games with Abbotsford he has three assists, giving him 39 points in 47 games this year, which is good for second in the league amongst blueliners.
And with former Heat defenceman Brendan Mikkelson now playing in Tampa Bay with the Lightning after being traded in early January, Connelly is exactly the type of player Abbotsford has been missing.
“He gives us that element of skill that we kind of lost with Mikkelson…but this guy obviously has higher skill,” said Heat coach Troy Ward. “He allows us to be a better offensive team. He helps develop young players and players in general because he facilitates the puck so well. It’s a big difference for us.”
If you’re looking for a comparison, both Ward and Connelly suggested current Heat all-star defenceman Clay Wilson is a pretty good one: an offensive defenceman building himself into an all-around player.
“He’s in the process of learning how to take time and space away from people,” Ward said. “And playing in traffic and covering really big guys. Those are things that develop over time because they’re like hockey sense and experience things. But he’s going to have to do those things for us here.”
For Connelly, who played at Colorado College for three years before turning pro, this was the first time he’d ever been traded. He’s taking it in stride and hopeful the move will give him a better chance to get the NHL level; something he never got in Rockford.
“It was mixed emotions as first,” said Connelly who has been partnered on the blueline with Brett Carson. “It’s a different transition. It’s a good fresh start. I think it will be good for me and I’m excited about the opportunity.”
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