A setback last season turned out to be no setback at all for Kyle Connor, who is gunning for full-time employment — without interruption — with the Winnipeg Jets.
Following a tremendous pre-season, he earned a spot in the Winnipeg lineup. In the team's season opener — a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes — Connor recorded his first-ever NHL point, an assist on career goal No.1 for Finnish rookie Patrik Laine.
Eighteen games and an upper-body injury later, Connor was demoted by the Jets on Dec. 9 — his 20th birthday, to be precise — to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League after struggling to find success or consistency in his game.