INSIDER: An NHL Debut became a Tre-but, for Angus Booth, Kenny Connors and Jared Wright

It’s not very often that a debut becomes a tre-but. 

Last night in Los Angeles, however, was one of those rare occasions. 

At the start of the day, we knew that forward Kenny Connors would make his NHL debut. Connors was slotted to fill in for forward Trevor Moore, who missed last night’s game with an illness. Connors was told on Sunday night that he’d be in the lineup, so he was prepared and took his gameday routine according to plan. It also gave his family time to get to Los Angeles to take in the big day, with his parents in attendance. 

“It was exciting, not just for me, but my parents, my sister, a lot of my family members, coaches and friends, teammates, just an exciting day,” he said. “It’s the culmination of a lot of smaller things that led to this. It’s a really cool moment, not just for me, but for them. The whole path of my career and them helping me throughout it, it’s good they were here for it.”

At the time, Connors figured he’d be the only guy coming up from the Ontario Reign, but at around 9:30 yesterday morning, defenseman Angus Booth was told that might not be the case.

Booth, who played with the Reign on Sunday in Ontario, said he got a heads up yesterday morning that there was a chance he might play for the Kings later that night. As the day went along, that chance only seemed more and more likely and by 2:30 PM, he got the official word that he would make his NHL debut later that night.

“They told me to nap but honestly, I wasn’t able to nap, I was too excited,” Booth said of the process leading into his NHL debut. “I tried to close my eyes a little bit, but to no avail.”

While Booth’s call came on gameday, it was nothing compared to the third member of the group, Jared Wright.

Wright was out in the Inland Empire that day at a community appearance with the Ontario Reign. He was reading books at a local school when his phone rang. Then it rang again. Only problem was, Wright had silenced the notifications to take in his commitment in fully. After several attempts to reach him, a staff member who was there was finally reached, to let him know to check his phone. 

Suddenly, his plans changed. 

His quickly hopped in an Uber back towards the South Bay and his mode switched from a day of giving back to one of the best of his life. He referred to the entire process as a “real whirlwind” of a day, but his story is certainly a unique one. On the long ride back from San Bernardino, what was going through his mind?

“I just couldn’t believe it,” he said. “Just thinking about all of my coaches, my friends, my family, I definitely got really emotional when I was out in the care ride back to my house. It was just a wild range of emotions. I didn’t nap at all, I was just thinking about the game and it was extremely fun.”

Wright said that after learning about this debut, his mother, who is a nurse in Minnesota, dropped everything to try and make it in time. After the game ended, he didn’t know whether she made it or not but was certainly touched to know she tried so hard to make a special moment even that much more special.

The last time the Kings hit the ice, on Saturday against Calgary, all three players were members of the Ontario Reign. Whether it be exactly liked you drew it up, like it was for Connors, or as unexpected as it could possibly be, as was the case with Wright, all roads led to Los Angeles.

For the Kings organization, it marked three 2022 draft picks debuting together. Not a bad way to introduce your draft class. It was the first time in 45 years something like this had happened. Take it all the way back to 1980, when current LA Kings broadcaster Jim Fox made his own NHL debut in October 1980, alongside fellow 1980 draftees Larry Murphy and Greg Terrion. Tonight was perhaps even more rare, as Connors, Booth and Wright were all drafted in the fourth round or later, continuing the organization's successful history in finding NHL players later in the draft. 

It’s special any time a player makes his NHL debut. You only get one, so it’s important to soak up the moment. For these three guys, however, they had an extra wrinkle involved, in that they got to do it alongside two of their friends. That only added to the experience, starting with the drive in, which they all took together.

“It was super cool, we drove in together and it’s easy to talk to those guys, you’re all going through the same stuff,” Connors said. “That definitely helped.”

It certainly made for a unique rookie lap.

It’s not all that often that a starting goaltender is the fourth member of the team to take the ice, but the occasion called for a special start. All three players took the ice without a helmet, as is custom, while Anton Forsberg waited in the tunnel for the players to have their moments. A moment they wound up being able to share together. 

“It was extremely special, Kenny’s my roommate and Boother is a second-year guy, we hang out all the time at our house,” Wright said of his teammates. “It was just a blast. Just going all three out there, I couldn’t believe it when I looked up and bright lights came on, it was pretty wild.”

With a 3-of-18 chance, odds felt a little higher than one of the players might mark the occasion with a point, on top of just the debut. Turned out to be the guy who was probably the least likely of the three to do so, in Booth, largely a defensive defenseman at the AHL level. 

The biggest surprise for Connors came in seeing where he wound up. He got the goal from a goalscorer's area, right in front, but his teammates who know him well couldn’t help but laugh in seeing him wind up there.

“I was mostly just shocked, like what’s he doing in the crease,” Connors said with a smile. “It was good for him, I’m super happy, he deserves it. He’s been playing really well all year, it’s a dream come true, first goal in the NHL. I was fired up for him.”

Perhaps the only player more surprised than Connors was Booth himself, who said candidly that he’s not a guy who scores a ton of goals.

“Honestly, I just put my stick there and he found it,” Booth said. “Other than that, I got to the net, which isn’t really my game, but maybe I should get there more often if it works. I think I saw that I was out there with some pretty good players, I was on with Panarin, Kempe and Kopitar and once I saw I was out there with them, it was just free play. I ended up there and it ended up on my stick.”

Wright actually called it his favorite moment of the day. 

For a guy who himself was making his NHL debut, that speaks volumes about his character and the bond between the three players coming up together from the AHL. 

“That was my favorite moment of the game, even his reaction on the Jumbotron when I saw it, it just brought a big smile onto my face,” Wright said of Booth’s goal. “He’s a hell of a player and he’s been doing a lot of great things in Ontario. It doesn’t surprise me at all that he did such a good job tonight.”

Ultimately, all three would have preferred their debuts come in a Kings victory, but the result should take nothing away from a job well done by all three.

Booth got the goal, and deserves the accolades that come along with that. But Connors and Wright looked the part.

Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith admitted it will be challenging to take guys like that out, if and when NHL regulars return from illness or injury and are ready to play. Smith gave a simple complement when asked about the trio, though perhaps it’s the best complement a coach can give a player.

“These three guys came up and the look like NHL players.”

They did look like NHL players. And they did so together. 

On a night when the Kings spent longer stretches in their own zone, against a powerful Colorado team, two players in total wound up either even or on the right side of the ledger in terms of shot attempts for and against. Those two players were Connors and Wright, with the former the only player in the lineup to post a positive split in that area, while Wright split things down the middle. In Booth’s time with those two players, which was in the 2-3 minutes range, they were all positive in that area together. 

Just a really strong showing for all three, in a moment that they got to share as a group.  In a season that hasn't had a ton of shining moments for the Los Angeles Kings, last night serves as one that was. And that’s pretty cool, for so many different reasons.