Although Travis Konecny didn’t stand out as a star on the Philadelphia Flyers’ this season, he didn’t disappoint fans and management either. However, he did face quite the setback compared to where he was before the pause of the 2020 season. He didn’t score as much, and his skills were somewhat lacking. Yet he did put the puck in the back of the net 11 times this season, ranking him 6th among the team, and the 5th with only one more. Obviously, his season wasn’t wonderful, but it definitely wasn’t terrible. Something that I think was beneficial for Konecny’s minor success was his line mates. Something that I think harmed his skills was, the COVID season. One last thing to talk about with the young player is his future. I do believe that Travis Konecny could become an important part of the Philadelphia Flyers, and in many ways.
One thing I think helped improved Travis Konecny’s playing this season was his line mates. He spent most of the season playing on the first line with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek or Sean Couturier. This truly defined lead by example. Even Konecny himself confessed to playing better on the first line. I believe any athlete can admit that playing with another athlete/teammate, who’s skills exceed your own, can motivate you to better your skills. After all, NHL players are humans too, so why would they be much different? Although Konecny fell behind this past season, I’m confident that with another season with advanced Flyers can really help improve Travis Konecny’s skills.
Even though this isn’t unique to Konecny, another thing that probably affected his season was the COVID-19 pandemic. Back in late February – early March, Travis Konecny was placed on the COVID-Protocol list. On March 2nd, Konecny returned for the Flyers vs. Penguins game. Philadelphia lost 5-2, and he wasn’t much of a help. Even TK himself said he “definitely felt a little out of it”. Yet he also reassured that he would return to his old self after a little training, which didn’t evidently didn’t happen. Although I’m sure lots of aspects of COVID likely affected his season, one of the main things was probably his recovery. The Corona Virus is undeniably an immensely demanding thing to recover from. This wasn’t any different for Travis Konecny. After his return on March 2nd, Alain Vigneault stated he put him in a “very tough situation”. Konecny was apparently thrown back into the game without the necessary training and recovery. With this condensed season lacking practices as well, he had no way to recover from COVID-19 during the season. This season was damaged greatly due to the Corona virus pandemic, and it was no exception to Travis Konecny.
Despite this season being somewhat disappointing for the player, you cannot forget about the more than promising season Konecny was facing before the season’s halt in March 2020. Not only this, but he also showed a strong sense of locker room presence during most of his career as a Flyer. This and his skills that could remain after this season, could lead to him receiving the title of Alternate Captain later in his career. Even if he doesn’t stay in Philadelphia for the entirety of his NHL career, he’s a strong enough player to get us a promising player out of a trade. Either way, Travis Konecny likely has bright future in the NHL.
All in all, Travis Konecny average 2021 season. From his line mates to the COVID-19 impact, there were many good and bad things about this season. Even if Travis Konecny’s future NHL seasons aren’t with the Philadelphia Flyers, its undeniable that whatever ends up happening with him will help the team. Travis Konecny is a talented player no matter what, and whatever happens will benefit the Philadelphia Flyers.
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