Flyers’ Travis Konecny ‘just trying to enjoy’ All-Star weekend the second time around

TORONTO — Leading into the NHL All-Star Game draft, Travis Konecny consistently said he didn’t want to reveal the team he hoped would pick him.

On Thursday, sitting on the ice as the player selections wound down, he finally told the crowd at Scotiabank Arena.

When asked which team he wanted to pick him by the in-house host during a commercial break, he responded: “At this point, anybody.”

Not long after that plea, he was picked by Team MacKinnon because, as captain and Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon said, “We need an agitator.”

» READ MORE: Flyers reportedly taking calls about trading Scott Laughton

Konecny may be an agitator, but he is also having a career year. The 26-year-old leads the Flyers in goals (22) and points (42) and with five shorthanded goals is tied atop the NHL leaderboard with New York Islanders forward Simon Holmström.

An All-Star for the second time in his NHL career, the “local” kid from Clachan, Ontario, (about a 2½-hour drive to Toronto) is excited to be at the game.

“The first time I was nervous coming into a situation like that,” Konecny said about the 2020 All-Star Game in St. Louis. “But now I’m just trying to enjoy it the best I can. I’ve got some relatives around, and some friends and family, so it should be fun.”

As for playing with MacKinnon, the two were on the 2017 Canadian World Championship squad together. Konecny “had a feeling” he would be picked by his buddy MacKinnon, who is excited to be paired again with his silver-medal-winning teammate.

“He’s a great guy, great player, and hopefully he can be a rat out there and get under some guys’ skin. That’s the plan,” said MacKinnon, who had a big grin when he added Konecny doesn’t give him too much mouth on the ice when they face off.

Cale Makar, MacKinnon’s assistant captain for the All-Star Game and Avalanche teammate, said he’s looking forward to skating with Konecny. The Flyers forward spends his summers in Calgary, where Makar was born and raised.

“He seems like a great guy, and he scored a pretty nice goal against us a couple of games ago,” Makar said. “Hopefully he brings that electric shot and bit of rattiness.”

Konecny has scored three goals in two games against the Avalanche this year.

The Flyers winger will play alongside MacKinnon, Makar, and Alexandar Georgiev of the Avalanche, Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov, Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman, Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho, the newest member of the Vancouver Canucks, Elias Lindholm, and Seattle Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand. Calgary-born pop star Tate McRae is the team’s celebrity captain.

The All-Star weekend has a dark cloud hanging over it because five players, including Flyers goalie Carter Hart, have been charged with sexual assault in connection to a 2018 Hockey Canada incident, according to players’ lawyers and reporting by TSN.

Konency would not answer any questions on Hart. Neither would his pod-mate at the All-Star media day, Robert Thomas of the St. Louis Blues, who was a member of that 2018 team.

Makar was also on the 2018 team, and has been adamant from the start that he was not involved and does not know much about the alleged events that took place in a hotel in London, Ontario, in June 2018 after a Hockey Canada banquet.

“I’ve been told, obviously, just to not comment on that ongoing — still — investigation,” Maker said on Thursday. “I’ve been kind of straightforward from the start that I wasn’t there. For me, obviously, just a very fortunate bounce to not be a part of something like that. But again, I’m just going to leave it back to the people who are handling the work right now.

“Again, I can’t stress enough that I wasn’t a part of that.”

» READ MORE: What we know about the Hockey Canada sexual assault investigation

Because he was a member of the team, Maka remains suspended from participating in international tournaments for Canada.

Makar addressed having his name attached: “I think for me, even finishing last season, it was a little bit weird because you have the World Championships that you can go over to, and I wasn’t eligible to play in that. So even having that in the back of my mind and not being possible, it’s tough.

“But at the end of the day, actions have consequences, and that’s what I was taught growing up. Regardless of that situation that’s going on right now. ... I’m just going to kind of divert back to what’s been said. I don’t know too much of any of the details.”