Photo Credit: Katelynn Reiss
It has come to this writer’s attention that Philadelphia Flyers’ forward Travis Konecny might not be getting the respect that he deserves. Konecny was drafted back in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft in the first round- 24th overall- after a season in which he was a standout for the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Now, he has proven himself brave enough to take on a role that few players would ever dare once reaching the NHL level. That role is of an agitator, which by no means should be confused with a stereotypical knuckle-dragging fighter. On the contrary, the job of an agitator is to be a pest, an annoyance to the other team that not only distracts them from the play at hand but can retain their opponent’s attention. The goal is to keep this attention throughout the game and force the other team to take penalties against him so his team can then go on the powerplay. While no one agitator goes about doing this exactly the same, they all commonly master at least one (if not more) of the arts of trash talking, mocking, laying dirty hits, slew footing, or taking cheap shots behind the play. Although this may sound like fun it is no easy assignment: If an agitator is efficient in doing his job, he then quickly becomes loathed by the other teams in the league and often the referees as well.
Some of the best to have ever preformed this role are/were effective in doing this without taking penalties, or if they do take a penalty, it is because they were able to provoke one of the other team’s best players to either take a retaliatory penalty or join them in a fight- either of which would cause them to join them in the sin bin. Which is why Travis Konecny is so effective in today’s game as opposed to past agitators like Darius Kasparaitis, Sean Avery, or Darcy Tucker (who would not be able to keep up with today’s players’ speed, but probably wouldn’t be able to adhere to the much stricter calling of the game by today’s officials either). Instead, Travis reminds this writer of probably the best agitator to ever play the game- “The Rat”- and no I don’t mean Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins. I mean the original Rat, Kenny Linseman, who acquired that nickname after the Flyers drafted this 5’11 center 7th overall back in 1978, by none other than Bobby Clarke, because of the hunched over style in which he skated. In no time at all Linseman was arguably the best pest to ever play the game because he would not only incite full-on bench clearing brawls with his unmatched trash talking abilities, but he managed to produce on the score sheet as well- proving he was no one trick pony. Don’t believe me? Well, just go look at his stat sheet and you’ll see that Kenny finished his career with seven seasons of at least 20 goals and over 70 points. Perhaps his most productive season came in the 1981-1982 season where he scored 92 points in 79 games played for the Flyers. Strangely enough, Linseman was then traded the following season to the Harford Whalers where he was then immediately traded to the Edmonton Oilers where his style of play helped the team win a Stanley Cup in 1984. After winning the cup Kenny later moved on to play with the Boston Bruins and other teams as his career was coming to a close.
Like Linseman, Konecny stands under 6’0 tall, (5’10 to be exact), but what Travis lacks in size he makes up for with hustle and heart. He, too, is known to get under the opposition’s skin by using his innate ability to talk trash, lay big hits, give a stinky glove in a scrum, and/or preform cheap shots behind the play or after the whistle. But these antics don’t just stop when Konecny exits the ice, mind you. A true agitator like Travis continues to spew out verbal assaults on the bench while awaiting his next shift, while in the penalty box, or during a television time-out. Doing this ensures his opponents’ levels of haste and hostility towards him remain at their boiling point until his next shift where their attention is now solely focused on chasing after him rather than paying attention to the ongoing play.
But, unlike Marchand who then runs from the trouble that he’s created, once Konecny has a mob of players coming after him he instead channels his inner Linseman and demonstrates a level of fearlessness in which he never backs down from anyone despite his diminutive size.
Whether he’s standing up for his teammates:
Or getting under opponents’ star players’ skin so they take a penalty:
But, as amazing as Konecny’s unyielding personality may be, this provocateur’s ability to put the puck in the back of the net is equally as impressive. In fact, before Vigneault effectively hindered Travis’ abilities in which to do this by constantly moving him around the lineup so he could never establish any chemistry with his linemates, he was able to put up three sequential seasons in which he was able to produce 24 goals.
With Vigneault now gone and the Flyers’ new interim head coach Mike Yeo seeming to revitalize the team’s offense, maybe this still-young 24-year-old Travis Konecny will soon be able to rediscover his scoring ways and once again be that hard working dual threat that we all knew and respected. Who knows? The way the NHL’s commissioner Gary Bettman has this league going, Travis just may be the last of a dying breed!
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