Potential Bounce Back Candidate: Travis Konecny

Photo Courtesy of, Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Throughout the 2019-2020 season, forward Travis Konecny was in the midst of a breakout campaign. The winger notched an impressive 24 goals and 37 assists for 61 points in 66 games. After the remainder of this season was cancelled because of a global pandemic, Konecny finished this regular season as the Flyers leading goal scorer and the team’s leader in points. Due to such a performance during this regular season it could have easily been argued that Konecny was becoming the Flyers most dangerous and consistent offensive weapon as the winger not only had the most points on the team but was essentially scoring at a point per game pace. Unfortunately, after such a promising regular season and the expectation such play would continue into the 2019-2020 playoffs Konecny did not look like the same player within these playoffs as he did in the regular season. In 16 playoff games in 2019-2020, the young forward struggled to find his scoring touch with any real consistency as he only scored 7 assists in 16 games while posting an astonishing 0 goals considering he was the Flyers leading scorer in the 2019-2020 regular season. Clearly, Konecny was not himself and performing up to his capabilities in the playoffs that took place in the bubble and the forward admitted this within the end of playoff press conferences. Therefore, Konecny knew he had more to offer and could contribute on the score sheet much more prominently. 

As a result of this, it was expected that the forward would return to his previous form shown in the 2019-2020 regular season in the upcoming 2020-2021 season. With the season just beginning it seemed as though Konecny had returned to his level of play from the previous regular season. The winger impressively had 5 goals in his first 5 games and a total of 6 points. Despite this strong start, Konecny could not consistently continue such play as over his next 9 games the forward managed to score 0 goals and only 3 assists. In addition, Konecny was also sidelined with Covid-19 for a period of a few weeks which likely directly impacted his performances for the rest of this regular season. Nonetheless, Konecny’s play from the 2019-2020 playoffs seemed to continue into the 2020-2021 regular season as the consistency shown in the regular season where the winger was the team’s leading scorer was nowhere to be found. Konecny finished the 2020-2021 regular season with 11 goals, 23 assists and only 34 points in 50 games. These totals were nowhere near the point per game pace Konecny was scoring at in the prior regular season. After an extended period of time in which the winger has not played up to the level of his breakout 61 points in 66 games season the question that must be asked is can Konecny bounce back in the upcoming regular season and return to playing at the level of a point per game scorer that the forward showed he was capable of. 

Putting the probability of Konecny returning to such form into consideration, the forward should have a good chance to bounce back in the 2021-2022 regular season. Not performing up to the previous standards set for the winger should act as a motivator to be a more consistent point scorer for the team. Additionally, Konecny has stayed in the Philadelphia area this off-season meaning he has had access to the team’s facilities for training purposes and has been around the team’s training staff. This can definitely be seen as beneficial in terms of ensuring the forward is prepared for the season and the prospects of increased ice time for the winger. With the trade of Jakub Voracek, it’s quite likely that Konecny will be receiving more ice time this season than he has in any other previous season, as well as, more power play opportunities. Coupling all these factors together it seems like this is the perfect opportunity for Travis Konecny to return to being the Flyers most dangerous offensive weapon. The forward staying in Philadelphia this off-season affirms his dedication in regards to his preparation for the upcoming season. In light of this, I would not be surprised whatsoever to see the winger start off the season in a similar fashion to last regular season. However, the hope is that there is another level of consistency to Konecny’s game matching that of his play in the 2019-2020 regular season. Not to mention the increased offensive opportunities that will come through playing on the Flyer’s first power play unit. If Konecny can find the consistency within his game and remain on the first power play unit all season it’s presumable the forwards point totals will jump considerably from the 34 points scored last season. Only time will tell if Travis Konecny’s play can get back on track and show similarities to the season in which the forward scored 61 points in 66 games. Ultimately, it can be rationalized that the commitment to training this off-season and staying in the Philadelphia area will have positive impacts on the forwards overall game and consistency. Along with this, an increase in ice time and playing with the Flyers top players more frequently will put Konecny in a position to have a successful season and regain his past form.  

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