Philadelphia Flyers F Travis Konecny Looking Too Good for OHL
By Marc Naples
Philadelphia Flyers forward prospect Travis Konecny sparkled last night against the Devils, demanding serious consideration for an NHL spot this year
The Philadelphia Flyers‘ selection of Travis Konecny late in the first round of the 2016 NHL draft is already looking like a steal. Similar to how a bout of mono knocked Sean Couturier down from possible #1 pick, all the way down to the 8th pick, lingering concussion effects hampered Konecny’s draft year performance enough that he was still available at pick #24.
With Konecny still dangling, the Flyers pounced by trading 2 picks to move up and select Konecny. 15 months later, that is looking like a fantastic move.
After registering only 68 points in 60 games during his draft eligible OHL season, Konecny exploded to 111 points in 60 games in 2015-16. This fueled plenty of speculation about Konecny’s chance to be on the full Flyers squad this season Those expectations, however, were always tempered by the Flyers logjam of forwards, plus GM Ron Hextall’s preference for slow prospect promotion.
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The calls for Konecny to be on the team will get louder after a sparkling performance against the New Jersey Devils last night. Konecny was all over the ice, scoring a goal and an even more impressive assist in the 2-0 Flyers win.
The assist shown above is a taste of why Konecny could help the Flyers. Konecny is a great skater and a highly skilled puck handler, but here he shows patience holding the puck before beating the defense with a quick, penetrating pass. That’s a killer combination, and makes you wonder if he wouldn’t be one of the Flyers’ top talents on the wing immediately.
Too Good for the OHL?
Presuming that Konecny returns to the OHL, he would be one of the top players in the league. In a recently conducted OHL coaches poll, Konecny was all over the list. He was rated tied for 2nd for top scorer, tied for 2nd for overall best player, 3rd for best hands, 3rd for best pure sniper, 3rd for top playmaker, and 3rd for best forward.
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He even appeared on the list for most underrated player and best bodychecker. Truly Konecny’s only peers with that level of respect in the OHL are Dylan Strome (2015 #3 overall pick) and Mitch Marner (2015 #4 overall pick). He was on the coaches’ lists so frequently I almost expected him to get a few votes as top OHL goalie!
Does this add up to “too good for the OHL?” Hextall doesn’t really believe in that notion. “I think any player can be the best player in junior hockey,” he says. That’s pretty much what Ivan Provorov was last season.
It seems that under Hextall’s prospect philosophy, Konecny can make the team if 2 things occur. One, Konecny will be a better NHL player than the guy he stands to replace in the lineup. Two, playing in the NHL next year will be the best thing for his long term development.
The latter question is one that is hard to definitively answer. On the first question, however, last night’s performance implies that Konecny could be a real asset to the Philadelphia Flyers top 2 lines.
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The Flyers have 4 remaining preseason games. Those games will see World Cup participants like Sean Couturier, Jakub Voracek, and Claude Giroux return to the lineup, and will also give Konecny a chance to show what he can do alongside that kind of NHL talent.
If Konecny simply matches how he looked last night, he can do an awful lot in the NHL right now.