That’s Colonel Connor to you

CHICAGO — Kyle Connor isn’t expecting to become the next Peyton Manning or Charles Barkley as someone who is routinely called upon to promote a lengthy list of products.

Having said that, the Winnipeg Jets left-winger recently shot a commercial with KFC where he fully leaned into the Kyle Freakin’ Connor persona.

“I don’t think I’m getting any (lead) roles anytime soon,” Connor said before the Jets faced the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night at the United Center. “But it’s fun to be able to do something like that.”

Decked out in a white suit and a Kentucky bow tie that Colonel Sanders made famous, the video shows Connor arriving at the rink in a snazzy white sports car and entering the building before nodding at several staff members who are enjoying fried chicken.

Connor is shown briefly on the ice in his No. 81 jersey with KFC on the nameplate.

Near the end, a Colonel Sanders look-a-like compliments Connor on his suit, noting it has “finger lickin’ good” written all over it.

“They wanted to get something out and build off the bucket (hats promotion) last year,” said Connor, referring to the Stanley Cup playoff promotion that encouraged fans to wear buckets on their heads at a home game. “They said they had a great reception. Fans really took to it. It was such a fun and easy experience for me. It’s so lighthearted.”

Connor isn’t someone who necessarily craves the spotlight, but found the experience to be enjoyable.

“I’m not carrying anything crazy for 30 seconds,” said Connor. “There weren’t many words. It was pretty simple for me. They had a whole production crew and director and everything. It was pretty much show up and do what you’re told.”

The Kyle F#*@in’ Connor meal features a chicken sandwich, two wings, fries and a drink, all in a custom-designed box.

Might the response to the advertisement encourage Connor to bust out the white suit and bow tie for one of the games remaining this season?

“Yeah, I might have to,” he said.

Jets centre Jonathan Toews, who was called upon as a spokesperson at various points of his NHL career, is impressed by what he saw from Connor.

“Pretty good. Apparently, he had a couple of lines and those got cut, so I don’t know what that says,” said Toews, who took a good-natured shot at his teammate before praising him.

“Other than that, it’s pretty cool. Obviously, he’s very deserving of the success he’s had in his career. Those are fun things to do off the ice and he deserves that recognition.”

The Wrigley experience

Although he’s done it before, Toews was happy to have another opportunity to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field on Sunday before the Chicago Cubs faced the Washington Nationals on the opening weekend of Major League Baseball action.

“There have been a couple of times over the years. Not one of the worst ones, I don’t think,” said Toews, who was joined at the game by his Jets’ teammates.

“The last day we had one as a team was back in early November. Since then, it’s been all hockey. So, it’s nice to take your mind off hockey for one day and go out and just enjoy some time as a team. Obviously, the Cubs were really great in getting us to the game, so we were able to enjoy Chicago for a day. It was a beautiful day, too, so it was great.”

Salute to Murray

Toews was asked about the passing of former Blackhawks and Jets centre Troy Murray as part of his availability on Tuesday following the morning skate.

Murray, who played 15 NHL seasons, worked as an analyst for Blackhawks games during Toews’ tenure with the Original Six franchise and the two formed a bond, given their respective paths.

“You know how much he went through and how hard he fought and happy on some level he’s found peace with all the suffering he’s been through,” said Toews. “Troy was someone I looked up to. Obviously, I didn’t grow up watching a ton of his games when I was a kid but just getting to know him and who he was as a person, as a player throughout his career, he’s the kind of guy who makes it special to play for the Hawks and for the Jets.

“He wore No. 19, played at North Dakota, played for the Jets as well. It’s just cool in a lot of ways to follow in his footsteps and honour him. He meant a lot to me over my career.”

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