‘He just has so much try in his game’: Flyers’ Travis Konecny already gaining coach John Tortorella’s trust

In the eyes of Flyers coach John Tortorella, there’s something Cam Atkinson-esque about 25-year-old Travis Konecny.

Yes, part of that comparison has to do with height. Both Flyers players — Atkinson is 5-foot-8 and Konecny is 5-foot-10 — are undersized, slippery right wingers who buzz around the offensive zone and flaunt a shoot-first mentality. But one key similarity between the two transcends the physical.

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Atkinson and Konecny share the same “willingness” to play hard in all areas of the ice. Tortorella saw that firsthand in former Columbus Blue Jacket Atkinson during his six years as his coach. Seeing as Tortorella preached the value of work ethic starting with his arrival in Philadelphia, it’s no surprise that Konecny’s effort through camp and the first two games has grabbed his attention.

“He’s one of those players that you’re looking to put in all situations, because he just has so much try in his game,” Tortorella said. “You can’t help but look at that.”

After a self-described “difficult” 2021-22 season that saw him score on a career-low 7.3% of his shots (16 goals on a whopping 220 shots), Konecny is off to a roaring start under Tortorella. Through two games, Konecny leads the team with three goals and an assist.

But just as significantly as Konecny’s rediscovered finishing capability, he’s also being trusted by his coaches in each phase of the game. For the first time in his career in earnest, Konecny is killing penalties, averaging 1 minute, 55 seconds of shorthanded ice time through two games. Tortorella is giving Konecny the Atkinson treatment — before Tortorella’s arrival in Columbus in 2015-16, the now 33-year-old Atkinson wasn’t utilized much while the team was shorthanded. By the 2020-21 season, Atkinson was a penalty-kill mainstay and had racked up a franchise-record 16 career shorthanded goals.

“I don’t know how well I’m doing,” Konecny said of his comfort level on the penalty kill. “I’m trying to learn as I’m going here. I haven’t done a lot of it. But I definitely feel good. I feel like I’m in the game a lot. It keeps my legs going. However I can help, I just want to keep building and if I can help on the kill, I’ll help on the kill.”

On Saturday afternoon in the Flyers’ 3-2 comeback victory over the Vancouver Canucks, Konecny benefited from being in the right position in the middle of the ice on the penalty kill. When Scott Laughton and defenseman Justin Braun forced Canucks center J.T. Miller to make a careless centering pass, Konecny intercepted the puck. His nifty bank pass off the neutral-zone wall then sprung Laughton for a shorthanded breakaway, and he tied the game with a goal on Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko.

Even in the absence of offensive-minded penalty killers Atkinson (day-to-day, upper body) and center Sean Couturier (week-to-week, back), Konecny is channeling their efforts as he embarks upon this new responsibility.

“I think the two best killers are I think Coots [Sean Couturier] and Acts [Atkinson],” Konecny said. “They’re offensive guys. And when you see those guys buying in, blocking shots, and then creating offense off of it, it makes everyone buy in because you realize these guys are doing it, they’re top players, [they] are blocking shots and doing the right things and they’re getting rewarded. So you just follow it.”

With Atkinson out, Konecny is shouldering additional minutes and special-teams responsibilities. Through two games, Konecny is averaging 18:48 of ice time, a career high and a 1:11 increase over last season. That bump may not last when Atkinson returns, as he and Konecny may split those responsibilities once the elder winger is healthy.

Regardless, Konecny is on a path toward proving he’s more than the snakebitten, offense-only label he manufactured for himself last season. Not including a turnover behind the Flyers’ net that forced goaltender Carter Hart to make a sprawling, right-pad save on Canucks winger Andrei Kuzmenko, Konecny made positive defensive plays on Saturday.

Early in the first period, Konecny and defenseman Nick Seeler pressured Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes off the rush to force a turnover at the Flyers’ blue line to put them back in the offensive zone. Later in the opening frame, Konecny and defenseman Travis Sanheim stripped the puck away from center Elias Pettersson in the right circle. That play sparked an odd-man rush for the Flyers that led to a scoring chance for Sanheim.

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Konecny is beginning to buy into Tortorella’s method, which stresses that sound defensive habits create more opportunities to play with the puck. Now, it’s on Konecny to not get complacent with his early success and to continue to work on his details in practice.

“It’s a great start for him,” Tortorella said. “But he’s going to have to play better as we go through this year, because that’s the only way we’re going to be able to gain some respect in this league. Players like that to be better.”