Two United States Hockey League (USHL) alumni, Jared Wright and Kenny Connors, made their NHL debuts for the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, March 2.
 

Wright played 59 games with the Omaha Lancers in 2021-22, racking up 15 goals and 19 assists before getting drafted and embarking on a three-year career at the University of Denver, where he had 32 goals and 32 assists and won an NCAA title. He played in 53 games with the Ontario Reign in the American Hockey League (AHL) earlier this season. Wright, a Burnsville, Minnesota, native, played for St. Thomas Academy and the Minot Minotauros of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) before his USHL career.
 

Connors played two seasons in Dubuque from 2020-2022, where he amassed 18 points (3-15-18) in 50 games in his first season and 56 points (25-31-56) in 61 games the following year. He played three seasons at the University of Massachusetts before joining the Reign full-time this season. Connors is from Glen Mills, Penn., and played youth hockey with the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers and Mount St. Charles Academy.
 

About the USHL
 

The United States Hockey League (USHL) and its 16 teams are committed to being the world's leading junior hockey league. This season, more than 50% of NCAA Division I men's hockey players and nearly 25% of NHL players have USHL experience. The USHL has developed more than 285 direct NHL Draft picks since 2020, and eight of the last 10 Hobey Baker Award winners, including Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel).
 

Elevated through the recently announced Declaration of Excellence with the NHL and USA Hockey, the league's player-first approach, including a 2:1 practice-to-game ratio and a schedule with 92% of games played on weekends, provides its players with the optimal environment for athletic and personal growth, creating pathways for the next generation of stars like Auston Matthews (NTDP), Kyle Connor (Youngstown Phantoms), Jeremy Swayman (Sioux Falls Stampede), and Johnny Gaudreau (Dubuque Fighting Saints).