Travis Konecny

Travis Konecny
Born	March 11, 1997 London, Ontario
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position	Centre / Right Wing
Shoots	Right
NHL team	Philadelphia Flyers
NHL Draft	24th overall, 2015 Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career	2016–present

Travis Konecny (born March 11, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and is currently playing for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Konecny was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round (24th overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Early life

Konecny was born in London, Ontario, but grew up in Clachan. 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."^[1]

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".^[2] In his final season, Konecny had 53 goals and 61 assists in 54 games for the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs.^[3]

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."^[4] 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.^[5][6]

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.^[7] That month the Ottawa Citizen wrote that in terms of top professional prospects, "Travis Konecny seems to be the next one-to-watch."^[8] 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^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11] 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 2 are conditional.

Professional

On the afternoon of October 10th, 2016, Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall announced that Konecny had made the final roster effectively marking the beginning of Konecny's professional hockey career.^[12]

International Play

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.

Personal

Konecny is a first cousin once removed of Vancouver Canucks forward Bo Horvat.

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
OHL totals				183	85	154	239	79		7	4	9	13	6

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
Junior totals					22	11	6	17	12

Awards and honours

Award	Year
OHL
Emms Family Award – OHL Rookie of the Year	2013–14	[13]
First All-Rookie Team	2014
NHL
E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence	2015	[14]

References

1. Aeden Hemler (April 6, 2013). "High praise for Ottawa 67's #1 pick Travis Konecny". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
2. Don Campbell (September 28, 2013). "Rookie Konecny delivers early". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
3. "Capital Rebuild: Ottawa 67's take Travis Konecny with first pick in OHL draft". NHL.com. April 6, 2013.
4. 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.
5. Don Campbell (October 24, 2013). "Monahan's gone, but 67's roll on". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
6. 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.
7. "OHL Top Performers of October". OHL. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
8. 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.
9. "Travis Konecny named OHL rookie of the year". Globe and Mail. April 3, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
10. Hofley, Chris (October 9, 2014). "Young star Konecny named Ottawa 67's captain". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
11. Hughes, Travis (July 16, 2015). "Travis Konecny signed by Flyers to entry-level contract". Broad Street Hockey. SB Nation. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
12. Carchidi, Sam. "Travis Konecny, Ivan Provorov will make Flyers roster, Ron Hextall confirms". Philly.com. The Inquirer Daily News. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
13. "Travis Konecny named rookie of the year". Ontario Hockey League. April 15, 2014. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
14. "Central Scouting to present E.J. McGuire Award". nhl.com. June 25, 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-30.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database