Who Is The Flyers' Best Active Homegrown Player? Brought To You By Upper Deck
On June 26, 2015, in Sunrise, Florida, the Philadelphia Flyers might not have expected their selection at 24th overall to become the force of nature that he has been for the organization over the past nine years, but Travis Konecny has established himself as the face of the franchise—a quintessential Flyers figure for this generation of fans.
Courtesy of Upper Deck - Who Is The Flyers' Best Active Homegrown Player? Brought To You By Upper DeckOn June 26, 2015, in Sunrise, Florida, the Philadelphia Flyers might not have expected their selection at 24th overall to become the force of nature that he has been for the organization over the past nine years, but Travis Konecny has established himself as the face of the franchise—a quintessential Flyers figure for this generation of fans.
Some might call it destiny that Konecny was somehow still available when the Flyers made their No. 24 pick, selecting the London, Ontario native from the OHL's Ottawa 67's.
"I'm sure Mr. Clarke won't remember, but we were in the elevator and he had mentioned that, 'We really like you, but we would have to trade up to get you. You're gonna go before we get to pick,'" Konecny recalled in a video recounting his draft day. "And then I remember that Flyers traded their pick, and I was like, 'Oh gosh, imagine he was talking to me about it before and it ends up being me.'"
"They're gonna love him in Philadelphia, I'll tell you that," one of the broadcasters commented. "The way he plays—he plays on the edge, but he's got the skill level."
A high-octane performer with a fast and aggressive style and a penchant for rattling the cages of his opponents, Konecny has been the team's leading goalscorer in three different seasons, along with being named an All-Star twice. He was named an alternate captain in February, and received the Flyers' Bobby Clarke Trophy (awarded to the team's most valuable player) and the Toyota Cup (awarded to the player with the most points earned from Star of the Game honors).
Along with his significant contributions on the ice, Konecny is a clear fan favorite for his boisterous and amiable personality—and some pretty legendary chirping skills.
Being in Philadelphia for his entire professional career has gained Konecny immense amounts of respect from people on all tiers of the organization—from fans to teammates to coaches.
Head coach John Tortorella said of Konecny, "I love coaching him, because that's the give-and-take, that's the challenge for me—how much do you let him be him, and then when he starts getting a little too far away, with just his intensity, that's what I've got to coach. In the time I've been here, he's been a terrific player. We've had many conversations about letting him be him, but also, I've still got to coach him in certain situations when he forgets that he's getting really far away. It's great to have a player that you have to bring down off of that. It's very hard to get a guy to get to that level [in the first place]."
Konecny's leadership skills and genuine love and appreciation for his teammates were also evident in an article for The Athletic, where he gave encouragement to young player Bobby Brink after Brink recounted the disappointment he felt after being healthy scratched in what would've been his first NHL game in his home state of Minnesota, calling Brink "a great guy...a great f——ing human."
It's been a special journey for Flyers fans to watch the 27-year-old grow up in front of their eyes—he's developed into a crucial part of the Flyers' on-ice style, but also an essential figure in the identity of the team off the ice as well. He's seamlessly adapted into a "fun dad"-type of role, where his jubilant energy is palpable in any room he's in, but he's not afraid to exercise his authority when needed. He's young enough to relate to the up-and-coming players that are being prepped to take over the team in the near future, while also being experienced enough to teach them everything he knows.
Konecny is the enduring symbol for this generation of Flyers hockey, a figure that encompasses what it historically means to don the burnt orange and black while simultaneously carving out a contemporary definition of what it means to be a Flyer. There's a reason so many people supported and believed the ultimately false report that Konecny had been named the team's captain back in January—he's the player many fans want to lead the charge for postseason success in this "New Era of Orange."
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