Kings sign forward Kenny Connors to two-year, entry-level contract

The LA Kings have signed forward Kenny Connors to a two-year, entry-level contract, beginning with the 2025-26 season.

Connors joins defenseman Otto Salin as 2022 draft picks to be signed to entry-level contracts this week. Connors was the team’s fourth-round pick at the 2022 NHL Draft and is now the fourth player from that draft class in total to sign an entry-level contract with the Kings, joining Salin, defenseman Angus Booth and forward Kaleb Lawrence. Connors is the second forward signed of the four selected by the Kings that year and he brings a game that offers a lot of different touch points. He’s not necessarily known for just one thing, but his compete is what ultimately shined through and as the rest of his game rounded out around it, he became a legitimate prospect at the USHL and NCAA levels.

The entry-level contract for Connors will not start until the fall. Connors would be eligible to join the AHL’s Ontario Reign on an amateur try out, should he so choose, without burning off a year of his deal.

Instant Analysis
Connors brings a nice blend of abilities, intangibles and compete, which is what led the Kings selecting him as a overaged player during the 2022 NHL Draft.

“[Connors] played heavy and his compete level really showed through,” Kings Director of Scouting Mark Yannetti said of Connors after the Kings selected him. “Most young players don’t do well defensively in leagues like the USHL. Connors showed a pretty good defensive game. That said, you need to do more than just that to get drafted, there needed to be more offensive production and that’s why we didn’t take him the last year. Our scouts went into this year with [Connors] as a guy to watch because we liked some of the things about him……we felt that a lot of the offensive improvement was made from specific skillsets and learning the game.”

At the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Connors was extremely consistent. He played for three seasons, posting between seven and 10 goals in each season, between 15 and 19 assists and between 22 and 29 points. In his final two seasons, 2024 and 2025, Connors helped lead his team to the NCAA Tournament, winning one game here this past tournament before falling by a 2-1 final score against fellow Kings prospect Hampton Slukynsky and the Western Michigan Bulldogs in the regional finals, with a chance to go to the Frozen Four on the line.

Part of the beauty of the game that Connors plays is that he does produce offense and has capabilities at that end of the ice, but if the offensive game doesn’t translate to the professional level, he has other ways in which he can become a successful professional player. When Connors made Team USA’s squad for the 2023 World Junior Championships, he did so as a fourth-line player, despite producing solid numbers playing in a higher role at the college level. In those roles, international teams typically target players with other things in their game. Connors wound up playing important minutes for Team USA, winning a bronze medal in the process. At the professional level, he’ll certainly need development time, especially in order to find the offensive game, but there’s a well-rounded player to work with for Ontario Reign Head Coach Marco Sturm and his staff.

Connors described his own game to me over the summer as someone who wants to be on the frontlines of the forecheck, pushing the pace with his speed and aggression. Coming into development camp this past summer, Connors tried to take a more aggressive approach, using his abilities to “attack” the camp as opposed to potentially letting it come to him. That mentality came from having more confidence, which has led tot he pursuit of more offensive production, without sacrificing the two-way game that not only was required at UMass, but will be required within the Kings organization as well.

As LAKI contributor Jack Jablonski reported on the latest episode of In The Pipeline, Connors is not 100 percent healthy at the time of signing, having suffered an injury this season that he has played through during his team’s run to the postseason. It’s something that was manageable, but does need some time to heal. Therefore, while he is eligible to join AHL-Ontario between now and the end of the season, it remains to be seen if he will, and in what capacity. If he does, he’ll likely gain some valuable experience, whether it be through playing in AHL games or just being around the AHL club and learning, in preparation for next season.

From the team’s official release –

Connors, 22, recently completed his junior season of collegiate hockey at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (H-East), where he recorded 10 goals and 29 points (10-19=29) with four game-winning goals, 101 shots and 313 faceoffs won. His four game-winning tallies were tied for the team lead and was one of five Minuteman skaters to reach the double-digit marker in goals. He set UMass-Amherst program history by establishing a program-record six-game goal scoring streak (7-1=8) from Jan. 24 – Feb. 14, 2025.

Selected by the Kings in the fourth round (103rd-overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, Connors has appeared in 109 games during his three-year NCAA career, accumulating 26 goals and 77 points (26-51=77) with five power-play goals, nine game-winning goals and 28 penalty minutes (28). In his freshman season (2022-23), Connors finished second on the team in scoring with nine goals and 26 points (9-17=26), including 17 points (6-11=17) in 24 conference matchups, to earn Hockey East All-Rookie Team honors.

Prior to joining the collegiate ranks, the 6-2, 210-pound forward played two seasons of junior hockey with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League (UHSL), collecting 74 points (28-46=74) across 113 appearances. Internationally, the Glen Mills, Pa. native represented the United States at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Junior Championship, scoring a pair of goals (2-0=2) in seven tournament games.