While most of the headlines around the Henderson Silver Knights was whether Carter Hart would make his official return to professional hockey, it overshadowed the return of a player equally important in the Vegas Golden Knights’ farm system.

Back in July, forward Trevor Connelly suffered a lower-body injury during the World Juniors showcase. The Golden Knights held rookie camp without their top prospect, and the Silver Knights had to start their season without one of their X-factors.

However, fans got to see the moment they were waiting for, as Connelly made his season debut on Saturday against the Calgary Wranglers. It did not take long for Connelly to make his impact felt.

After Martin Frk got the Wranglers on the board 18 seconds into, Connelly and the Silver Knights were able to cash in on the power play. Connelly himself was instrumental on the goal, finding Raphael Lavoie for a chance to crash the net and push the tying goal across.

“Trevor played well. He has the puck, you can see the skill. It’s his first game since, for us, last April,” said Silver Knights head coach Ryan Craig.

“He’s playing catchup, and the league continues to get faster just like any league as it goes through. Trevor did a good job, I thought, with his first game. He can now take a deep breath in knowing that he gets through it healthy and we can work from there.”

The Wranglers would respond with a power play goal of their own from Justin Kirkland to take a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.

The Silver Knights would respond early in the second period, first with a Dylan Coghlan snipe from the point to tie the game, then with crisp passing leaving Jonas Rondbjerg with enough space to give Henderson their first lead of the game.

“Just the shot mentality. It was nice to get one four seconds into the power play, and the next power play, we’re snapping it around pretty good,” said Coghlan on the effectiveness of the Henderson power play unit.

Things quickly unraveled after that, however, with three unanswered Calgary goals pushing the score to 5-3.

Henderson would inch closer, however, thanks to Tuomas Uronen. The 2023 sixth-round pick looks like a steal so far in his first year with the Silver Knights, and he continued his impressive start with his seventh goal in his first ten career AHL games.

It would be the closest the Silver Knights would get to a comeback, as Frk completed his hat trick to give the Wranglers the 6-4 win.

However, the Silver Knights did not go down without a fight, which earned the respect of Craig.

“Tonight, after getting scored on 18 seconds in, our pushback and resolve, we go up 3-2 seven minutes into the second period, so not it’s how you manage those momentum swings. You know that they’re going to push back, there’s good teams that we’re playing each and every night. It’s how we respond to that,” said Craig about his team’s compete level.

Connelly and the Silver Knights will get another crack at the Wranglers on Sunday, with Hart’s return now looking on the horizon.