A breakout season at the University of Minnesota has landed Connor Kurth his first professional contract. The Lightning announced that they’ve signed the forward to a two-year, entry-level deal that begins next season; financial terms were not disclosed.
The 21-year-old was selected in the sixth round (192nd overall) back in 2022 out of USHL Dubuque. With them, Kurth put up 50 goals and 72 assists in 114 games over two seasons but offensive production was much harder to come by when he made the jump to the college level.
Over his first two seasons with the Golden Gophers, Kurth picked up 14 goals combined, seven in each campaign. But this year was by far his best as he notched 18 goals along with 21 assists in 40 games, putting him in a tie for second in team scoring with Nashville first-rounder Matthew Wood, who signed his entry-level deal on Saturday. That performance was good enough to secure a contract and forego his final season of eligibility.
Even though his contract doesn’t start until 2025-26, Kurth will get a taste of the pros this season as he has signed a tryout deal with AHL Syracuse and will be eligible to suit up for them down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Connor Kurth has been a surprising development for a 7th round pick. It seemed to have clicked for him this year as he was a point per game producer this season in Minnesota. He also seems to like the clutch moments. Maybe Kurth can turnout to be another 7th round Ondrej Palat type that Tampa develops. It will be intriguing to see how he grows in the AHL.
What’s TB’s track record with 6th round picks? (Not being critical, FeeltheT, just poking.)
TB’s track record with mid-to-late round picks is relatively really good. You go through TB’s history in the past decade or two with late round picks as talents like Brandon Hagel who was a 6th round pick (TB didn’t draft him though) but his overall development & growth happened in TB. Nick Perbix is a 6th round pick TB drafted & has developed as a solid 3rd line defenseman. You have talents like Palat (7th), Pavel Kubina (7th), Martin St. Louis (undrafted), Yanni Gourde (undrafted), Jonathan Marchessault (undrafted), Tyler Johnson (undrafted), Darren Raddysh (undrafted), Mitchell Chaffee (undrafted), & etc. all developed through TB’s system in various capacities. I haven’t even touched on 2nd to 4th round picks which may be their true bread & butter. But surprisingly, TB doesn’t have a great track record with 1st round picks though, go figure lol.
B. Hagel was drafted by the Sabres; I think you might place them on the opposite side of the draft spectrum from TB. The team had a lousy draft record, and if possible, they developed worse. But, they’re getting better on both counts.