Forward Connor Brickley, who spent his lone season in the Carolina Hurricanes organization as a Checkers player, joined the upstart Vegas Golden Knights during Wednesday’s NHL Expansion Draft.
Brickley, a pending unrestricted free agent, was one of 19 players on Carolina’s unprotected list for the draft, which resulted in the new Vegas team selecting one player from every team. Carolina sent a fifth-round draft pick to Vegas in exchange for considerations during the draft.
Brickley, a 25-year-old forward, ranked fourth on the Checkers with 15 goals, almost all of which came during a strong second half that saw him lead the team in goals following January’s All-Star break (12).
Brickley’s tenure with the Checkers will mostly be remembered for the quality rather than the quantity of those goals. He led the team and tied for fourth in the AHL with six game-winning goals, notably scoring four in a five-game span in March when the team went on its remarkable late-season run towards a playoff spot. He kept that going in the postseason, ranking third on the team in scoring with four points in five games including his overtime winner in Game 3 of the first-round series with Chicago.
Originally acquired by the Hurricanes in exchange for longtime Checkers center Brody Sutter last fall, Brickley has 102 points (50g, 52a) and 153 penalty minutes in 195 career AHL games with San Antonio, Portland and Charlotte. He has five points in 23 career NHL games, all of which came with the Florida Panthers during the 2015-16 campaign.
