Prospect Info: Round 1, Pick 24: Travis Konecny, RW, Ottawa (OHL); signed ELC 7/16/15 (post #338)

[Philly Fanatik]

I love Travis Konecny!
Poor man's Theo Fleury...Not saying he's going have the career as Theo had... but just reminds me of size and constant buzzing around!
Nice to see Travis put on a few pounds so he doesn't get pushed or rode off the puck so easily!
Skilled player but just needs a year or two to fill in!
Going to be a leader and have a letter on his crest for years to come with the Flyers!

 

[deadhead]

Konecny was really good again tonight. Hands down he's our 4th most talented forward (first three being all star level talents in G, Voracek and Couts). He constantly creates opportunities with everyone he plays with (just not goals lol). Wants he gels with someone with some offensive skills watch out

He's our 5th most talented forward, when Patrick is 100% he'll be 4th next year, and 1st in a couple years.
However, as a player, I don't see Konency as a top 6 forward yet, there's a big gap between him and Voracek (watch their zone entries) or Giroux (or how they control play).
To take the next step he has to become a player who makes his linemates better, not one who needs better linemates.
That's why I didn't mind the Schenn trade, I never saw Schenn as a top forward for that reason.

 

[Appleyard]

His defense needs work...

but offensively at 5v5 he is the Flyers 4th best forward

1.51 P/60 over 108 NHL games on a team that does not score at 5v5.

He is 4th on the Flyers this year at 1.44 P/60, after G, V and Couts.
Last year was 2nd to Couturier amongst guys who played 25+ games.

1.50 P/60 is objectively ~low end 2nd line level around the NHL over a decent sample. He is 170th in P/60 amongst NHL forwards since he entered the league.

 

[deadhead]

Needs to take it up a notch, from shooting to tempo to defense.
The kind of incremental improvements that most prospects make between 18 and 22-24.
He should get stronger, smarter and more polished over the next two years.
Giroux and Couts took that step up at 22, Giroux a bigger step, Couts another step at 24 (this year).
So I certainly don't see Konecny to be a finished product at 20.

But right now he's really a solid 3rd line winger, above average offense and below average defense.
Nothing wrong with that, same way nothing wrong with Patrick struggling as he gets in shape, but it also means this year's team right now isn't as talented as some people would presume. Come March, if Konency and Patrick progress and say Lindblom comes up, could be a different story.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

 

[Jtown]

see all thse breakaways. Woudln't be nice to have players on every line capable of that.

 

[FlyTimmo]

I like how incorrect the draft analysts can be during the draft about a players weaknesses. Button said TK was slow, he isn't. They said O'Brien is slow, he isn't.

 

[Curufinwe]

That's a lot of ES goals for a 3rd liner.

 

[wankstifier]

see all thse breakaways. Woudln't be nice to have players on every line capable of that.

Laughton was the best on the team at generating rushes last season. Now with JVR, the Flyers do have players on the top 3 lines who can drive play to the offensive zone. I feel that Martel could offer transition ability on the 4th

 

[Jtown]

Laughton was the best on the team at generating rushes last season. Now with JVR, the Flyers do have players on the top 3 lines who can drive play to the offensive zone. I feel that Martel could offer transition ability on the 4th

JVR is not capable of doing that anymore. In fact if you go back and look at his goals from the previous season they were generated by in front of the net opportunities. He did not drive any of the play.

Konecny is the only player in the organization that is capble of doiing what Konecny did so well last year and that is constantly put pressure on defenders with his speed. I was hoping that we would have been able to add to that this year but it seems like we werent

 

[flyershockey]

When Voracek doesn't have his head up his ass, he's one the best wingers in the game exploiting defensive gap control. He just needs to do it more consistently.

 

[Rebels57]

When Voracek doesn't have his head up his ass, he's one the best wingers in the game exploiting defensive gap control. He just needs to do it more consistently.

Just watch the highlight of that goal he scored in the final week of the season vs Carolina. Defensive zone faceoff and Jake just scorched his way up the ice, down the right wing, and roofed one short side.

 

[deadhead]

TK made big strides the second half, he earned his way onto the 1st line by cutting back on the bad mistakes, but he was also a product of playing with Giroux and Couts:

G - C - TK: 33-19 GF-GA 54.0% Corsi
G - C - Vor: 24-10 GF-GA 56.2% Corsi
G - C- Raffl: 8-5 GF-GA 55.8% Corsi
G - C - Simmonds: 5-3 GF-GA 52.8% Corsi
So playing with G&C was a big part of TK's success, everyone who played with them looked good.
And that's the primary reason they'd be crazy to break up that pair.

TK with others: 11-13 47.1% Corsi
Voracek with others:
Lindblom - Patrick 10-7 55.0% Corsi
Others - 15-11 47.7% Corsi

The difference between TK and Voracek is TK is linemate dependent whereas Voracek tends to improve his linemates.
This probably reflects Voracek's superior playmaking skills.

TK still has a way to go, he can still get stronger, and he can improve his Hockey IQ, learn to anticipate better, rely more on what he sees and less on his speed. He needs to learn to change gears, seduce opponents into slowing down by going at 2/3rds speed then blow by them.
He's become more physical and aggressive on the forecheck, still needs to improve on the back check.
And he has to work on his shot, he passes up on too many open shots and forces passes when he should shoot, more confidence in his shot would help there.
His struggles to score on breakaways and shootouts suggests he needs better puck control and more confidence, he seems to rush on scoring opportunities.
He'll be 21 this season, he may not even reach his peak until 2019-20.

 

[deadhead]

When Voracek doesn't have his head up his ass, he's one the best wingers in the game exploiting defensive gap control. He just needs to do it more consistently.

Three things could raise Voracek to elite levels:
1) use his size/speed combination more aggressively on the forecheck
2) back check more consistently, look at how Vegas forwards play, Voracek has the speed to break up plays and flip the ice
3) learn to shoot the damn puck, if he just had an average wrist shot he could aim consistently he'd get 10 more goals a year.

He frustrates me because he has so much raw talent but he's never raised his game to the next level, his best seasons are still
2014-15, 48 ES points, pp/60 1.61, xGF 52.58
2017-18, 50 ES points, pp/60 1.96, xGF 52.07
top 5x5 scorers are > 2.0 for an extended period

 

[Curufinwe]

Whine about our best players, while defending the trash players and making every excuse imaginable for the clueless coach. Over and over and over again.

If Voracek scored 10 extra goals per season he would be 3rd in scoring in the NHL over the past six years. Right in between Kane and Ovechkin.

NHL.com - Stats

 

[Jtown]

When Voracek doesn't have his head up his ass, he's one the best wingers in the game exploiting defensive gap control. He just needs to do it more consistently.

no he absotely is, But jake is also very important in his own end beause his skating ability is needed to move teh puck out of our own zone. Konecny cheats a bit, and righfully so because of his great ability to finish.

 

[Rebels57]

Whine about our best players, while defending the trash players and making every excuse imaginable for the clueless coach.

Over and over and over again.

Sad that I don't even have to see the comments to always know who is being referred to.

 

[Tripod]

Sad that I don't even have to see the comments to always know who is being referred to.

You are not missing out on the "dead"ly comments.

 

[Doodootheclown]

Don't you hate it when you look at HF not logged in and you see someone's post who you have on ignore.

 

[kudymen]

How many times does a lie need to be repeated to finally become truth?

Because I'm counting months on that shit and it's still a lie, no matter what buns does an essayist choose to wrap it in

 

[1865]

Whine about our best players, while defending the trash players and making every excuse imaginable for the clueless coach. Over and over and over again.

If Voracek scored 10 extra goals per season he would be 3rd in scoring in the NHL over the past six years. Right in between Kane and Ovechkin.

NHL.com - Stats

Just block him. It’s really easy.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

How many times does a lie need to be repeated to finally become truth?

Because I'm counting months on that **** and it's still a lie, no matter what buns does an essayist choose to wrap it in

 

[kudymen]

Heh Seinfeld's look there at the end always gets me

 

[Striiker]

Giroux and Couturier benefited from TK just he like benefited from them. It was the PERFECT match. His speed and shot were exactly what that line needed, and the results prove that.


Too bad it took months before it was put together and was then ruined at the end of the year.

 

[kudymen]

Shows the future coaches what the perfect mixture is - recipe for a perfect line: put a 3C on the left wing, put a "never hit 40" 3C on the center; and on the right wing, how about a winger who is 3 years away from making an impact?

Profit