BlackBook:
The former first overall pick in the 2013 OHL Draft stumbled out of the gates a bit this year but was much better in the second half. Konecny is a tireless worker with one of the highest compete levels in the draft.
He possesses high end speed / acceleration and is an explosive offensive player. He has high end puck skills and quick release. His vision and hockey sense are very good and is equally dangerous distributing the puck to a teammate or finishing himself. Despite his smaller stature, he plays with a physical edge to his game and isn't afraid of anyone. With that said, his reckless play at his size may have affected his health a bit as he suffered multiple injuries this season. As much as we like the tempo at which he plays with, slowing down his pace at times could be beneficial for him instead of going at full speed all the time. That could help for one avoid injuries and be in more control and more effective as a playmaker. In October he was named captain of the Ottawa 67s, organisation showed good faith in his leadership qualities. He has represented his country at various international events, last time was when he captained team Canada last August at the Ivan Hlinka U-18 tournament. More was expected out of Konecny this season after a superb rookie season in 2013-2014 where he was the OHL rookie of the year but injuries didn’t help him and playing one bad team with not much talent surrounding him didn’t either. Konecny has top six forward upside at the NHL level, but he will need to overcome his size and will absolutely need to get stronger and hopefully avoid further injuries in order to reach his potential.
