Travis Konecny

Travis Konecny (/koʊˈnɛkniː/ koh-NEK-nee;[1] Czech pronunciation "kaw-necz-nee" born March 11, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Konecny was selected in the first round, 24th overall, by the Flyers in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Travis Konecny
Konecny with the Flyers in 2020
Born	(1997-03-11) March 11, 1997 London, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position	Centre / Right Wing
Shoots	Right
NHL team	Philadelphia Flyers
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	24th overall, 2015 Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career	2016–present

Playing career

Early life

Konecny was born in London, Ontario and grew up in Clachan, a small community in the township of West Elgin. He played youth hockey for the Chatham-Kent Cyclones before moving to the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs of the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario for his bantam and minor midget seasons. His minor midget coach Darren Kelly has said of him that, "When he was 10, we were in the Ontario finals in Oakville, and we were down 2–0 to the Toronto Marlies going into the third period ... Travis came out and scored four goals and an assist and we won 5–2. He was named the tournament MVP, and from that point on, his name was kind of on the radar." Konecny said at this point of his career that, "I feel I'm more of a playmaker and I try to win all my puck battles and races ... I find that an assist is just as good as a goal, and points don't matter to me as long as the team is winning."[2]

The first scouting report from the team that would draft him into the OHL after his amateur career said of him: "Top-end forward with great hockey sense as well as skill. Moves the puck well at all times and competes in all situations." The assistant general manager that filed the report stated that over Konecny's time between that first report and his drafting he filed about 15 reports and stated of his consistency that "he never changed from first on my list 'til the day we drafted him".[3] In his final season, Konecny had 53 goals and 61 assists in 54 games for the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs.[4]

Junior

Konecny was drafted first overall in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection by the 67's, winning the Jack Ferguson Award for first overall draft pick. After his first preseason training camp with the team he laughed that, "I took a few shots from the older guys, they were just letting me know I'm still a rookie ... I'm going to work hard and do whatever I can control and let things fall into place."[5] He earned two primary assists in his first OHL game on September 20, 2013, and became a draw for fans in his first month with the team.[6][7]

In October 2013 he was named the OHL Rookie of the Month, scoring four goals and five assists in eleven games over the month and remaining tied for OHL rookie scoring at the end of October.[8] That month the Ottawa Citizen wrote that in terms of top professional prospects, "Travis Konecny seems to be the next one-to-watch."[9] Konecny had a strong first year in the OHL, leading all rookies in points and goals. He was awarded the Emms Family Award for OHL rookie of the year[10] as well as being named to the OHL's first rookie all-star team.

At the start of the 2014–15 OHL season, Konecny was named captain of the 67's.[11] He finished the season with 68 points, good for second on the team in scoring. Konecny was drafted in the first round, 24th overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. On July 16, 2015, Konecny signed a three-year entry level contract with the team.[12] In the following 2015–16 season, after producing 45 points in 29 games, Konecny was traded by the 67's in a blockbuster trade to the Sarnia Sting on January 7, 2016 for Sasha Chmelevski, Chase Campbell, and 10 draft picks, of which two are conditional.[13]

Professional

On the afternoon of October 10, 2016, Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall announced that Konecny had made the final roster for the 2016–17 season, effectively marking the beginning of Konecny's professional hockey career.[14] In his NHL debut on October 14, 2016, Konency notched two assists for his first multipoint game.[15][16] On October 25, 2016 Konecny scored his first NHL goal to help clinch a 3-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres.[17] At the conclusion of his rookie season, Konecny recorded 28 points in 70 games.

Konecny recorded his first career NHL playoff goal on April 13, 2018, in a 5–1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 1 of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs.[18] The Flyers ended up losing the series to the Penguins in six games.

On September 16, 2019, Konecny and the Flyers agreed on a six-year, $33 million deal with an average annual value of $5.5 million dollars.[19] On December 30, 2019 Konecny was selected to the 2020 NHL All-Star Game after having 34 points in his first 36 games.[20] The NHL decided to pause the 2019–20 season on March 12, 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. At the time of the pause Konecny led the Flyers in goals and points with 24 and 61 respectively in 66 games.

International play

Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2017 Germany/France
IIHF World U18 Championships
	2014 Finland

Konecny made his international debut playing for Canada at the 2014 IIHF World U18 Championships. He went on to play at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, winning a gold medal as the team captain. Konecny was selected to represent Canada at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships in Finland, tallying 2 points.[21]

In 2017 Konecny represented Canada at the 2017 World Championship. Konecny recorded eight points, all assists, to go along with a +6 rating in his first World Championships.[22]

Personal life

Konecny is second cousins with Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat.[23]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2012–13	Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs	AMHL		54	53	61	114	—		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Ottawa 67's	OHL		63	26	44	70	18		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Ottawa 67's	OHL		60	29	39	68	34		5	3	7	10	6
2015–16	Ottawa 67's	OHL		29	7	38	45	6		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Sarnia Sting	OHL		31	23	33	56	21		2	1	2	3	0
2016–17	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		70	11	17	28	49		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		81	24	23	47	46		6	1	0	1	10
2018–19	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		82	24	25	49	40		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		66	24	37	61	28
NHL totals				299	83	102	185	163		6	1	0	1	10

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2014	Canada Ontario	U17	5th		5	1	3	4	8
2014	Canada	IH18			5	5	1	6	2
2014	Canada	WJC18			7	4	1	5	2
2016	Canada	WJC	6th		5	1	1	2	0
2017	Canada	WC			10	0	8	8	4
Junior totals					22	11	6	17	12
Senior totals					10	0	8	8	4

Awards and honours

Award	Year
OHL
Emms Family Award – OHL Rookie of the Year	2014	[24]
First All-Rookie Team	2014
NHL
E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence	2015	[25]
NHL All-Star Game	2020

References

1. 2015 National Hockey League Top Prospects Pronunciations.
2. Aeden Hemler (April 6, 2013). "High praise for Ottawa 67's #1 pick Travis Konecny". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
3. Don Campbell (September 28, 2013). "Rookie Konecny delivers early". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
4. "Capital Rebuild: Ottawa 67's take Travis Konecny with first pick in OHL draft". NHL.com. April 6, 2013.
5. Aeden Helmer (April 13, 2013). "OHL No. 1 pick Travis Konecny hits ice at Ottawa 67's rookie camp". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
6. Don Campbell (October 24, 2013). "Monahan's gone, but 67's roll on". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
7. Neate Sager (September 21, 2013). "Ottawa 67's Travis Konecny, OHL's No. 1 pick, is game's No. 1 star in debut". Retrieved November 10, 2013.
8. "OHL Top Performers of October". OHL. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
9. DARREN DESAULNIERS (October 13, 2013). "Nail-biting game as 67's beat the Wolves: 67's 5, Wolves 4 SO". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
10. "Travis Konecny named OHL rookie of the year". Globe and Mail. April 3, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
11. Hofley, Chris (October 9, 2014). "Young star Konecny named Ottawa 67's captain". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
12. Hughes, Travis (July 16, 2015). "Travis Konecny signed by Flyers to entry-level contract". Broad Street Hockey. SB Nation. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
13. Campbell, Don (January 7, 2016). "Travis Konecny 'blindsided' by trade from 67's". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
14. Carchidi, Sam. "Travis Konecny, Ivan Provorov will make Flyers roster, Ron Hextall confirms". Philly.com. The Inquirer Daily News. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
15. "Travis Konecny makes the most of NHL debut with two assists". NBCSports.com.
16. "Sean Couturier scores two goals, Flyers defeat Kings". NHL.com. October 15, 2016.
17. Panaccio, Tim (October 26, 2016). "Flyers Notes: Travis Konecny sparks power play with 1st NHL goal". NBCSports.com. NBCSports.
18. Rosen, Dan (April 14, 2018). "Flyers stick with plan, respond in Game 2". NHL.com. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
19. Hall, Jordan (September 16, 2019). "Travis Konecny, Flyers agree to new 6-year contract". nbcsports.com. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
20. "Travis Konecny named to 2020 NHL All-Star Game". nhl.com. December 30, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
21. "World Junior Championships Blog". NHL.com. January 5, 2016.
22. "WHC WRAP UP: Six Flyers win medals at World Championships". NHL.co. May 22, 2017.
23. Isaac, Dave (January 12, 2017). "Family reunion, new position for rookie Travis Konecny". Courier-Post. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
24. "Travis Konecny named rookie of the year". Ontario Hockey League. April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
25. Mike G. Morreale (June 17, 2015). "Flyers pick Konecny wins inaugural McGuire Award". NHL.com. Retrieved April 1, 2018.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Connor McDavid	Jack Ferguson Award 2013	Succeeded by Jakob Chychrun
Preceded by Connor McDavid	Winner of the Emms Family Award 2014	Succeeded by Alex DeBrincat
Preceded by Ivan Provorov	Philadelphia Flyers' first round draft pick 2015	Succeeded by German Rubtsov