Lightning sign Connor Kurth to a two-year, entry-level contract
‘Tis the season of college free agent signings.
Tampa Bay Lightning vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced they have signed Connor Kurth to a two-year, entry-level contract beginning with the 2025-26 season.
We have signed forward Connor Kurth to a two-year, entry-level NHL contract beginning with the 2025-26 season.
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Kurth will report to the Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, on an AHL Tryout contract for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Tampa Bay originally drafted him in the sixth round, No. 192 overall, of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Kurth spent the 2024-25 campaign with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, where he racked up 18 goals and 39 points with a team-leading four game-winning goals. He led the Gophers skaters in plus-minus with a plus-31 rating, tied for third among all NCAA skaters.
The Lindstrom, Minnesota, native ranked first for plus/minus, second for goals and tied for second for points among all Golden Gophers skaters. In 2022-23, he helped the club capture the B1G Regular Season Championship.
Throughout his NCAA career, Kurth racked up 32 goals and 71 points in 115 games with the Golden Gophers.
Prior to his NCAA tenure, Kurth spent two seasons with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL. During the 2021-22 campaign, he amassed 35 goals and 46 assists for 81 points in 62 games, earning him the USHL Junior Player of the Year and a USHL Second-Team All-Star nod.