The Flyers may have a lone representative at the 2020 NHL All-Star game, but he’s a dynamic talent that should play very well among his fellow stars this weekend.
Travis Konecny is a first time All-Star, and is enjoying a breakout campaign in his age-22 season, but provides plenty of the added flair that helps makes All-Star weekend such a fun event for fans, players, and media alike.
On pace to shatter his career highs in nearly every major statistical category, Konecny’s production has caught up with some of the chirping he’s come to be known for in his young career.
Never one to shy away from conflict on the ice, All-Star weekend is full of microphones and allows the national audience to get a front-row seat to the TK show. Some great moments —and sound bites— have taken place at the skills competition the night before the actual All-Star game. The 2020 version features the Flyers’ free talking forward and it should be wonderful.
Konecny will be joined on the Metropolitan roster by the likes of Kris Letang, Mathew Barzal, Nico Nischier, Chris Kreider, T.J. Oshie, John Carlson, Seth Jones, Jaccob Slavin, Braden Holtby, and Tristan Jarry. It’s a young group that features six first-time All-Stars including Konecny.
We’ll have to wait to see how that young group does in the All-Star game on Saturday, but tonight all eyes will be on the 2020 NHL All-Star Skills and our guy TK will be there repping the Flyers in his lone event.
Event he’s actually in: Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater
From NHL.com: Eight players will compete in the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater. Each skater will be timed for one full lap around the rink. The skater may choose the direction of their lap and can be positioned a maximum of three feet behind the start line located on the penalty box side of the center red line. The skater must start on the referee’s whistle and the timing clock will start when the skater crosses the start line. In the event of a clock malfunction, the official time will be recorded by the referee’s stopwatch. The skater with the fastest time is the winner of the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater, and if there is a tie for the fastest time, the tied players will skate another lap to determine the winner.
Participants:
Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
Looking at that list and TK has some pretty stiff competition, with names like MacKinnon and McDavid jumping out as flat-out blazers. Jack Eichel can really scoot, too, and Quinn Hughes is about as fast and smooth as they come on defense.
Despite the hard Flyers bias, it’s going to be hard seeing anyone other than McDavid or MacKinnon winning this thing.
Events we wish he was in:
Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting™
This is really a two-horse race here between the accuracy competition and the brand-new Shooting Stars event. Now we’re going to give the nod here to accuracy since TK leads the Flyers in shooting percentage at 15.6%, which is an elite mark in the discipline.
Not only is TK a sniper, but he’s got a sneaky quick release that tends to play well for those who hit all targets but places a premium on time. If this is an event that he ends up participating in, he’s a dark horse to win the darn thing.
Gatorade NHL Shooting Stars™
This is the new event, which will feature players selected by social media vote. Here’s the NHL.com event summary: Players will be positioned on an elevated platform behind the goal, approximately 30 feet above the ice surface, where they will shoot pucks at a variety of targets located on the ice, with each target possessing different point values. One at a time, each player will attempt seven shots and earn points for each target hit.
Just feels like something that a guy that has come to be known for scoring some pretty bizarre goals would excel in. Though there aren’t goalies involved here, the potential for TK chirping some of his peers perhaps struggling to hit the targets would be great content for everyone.
2020 NHL All-Star Skills takes place tonight (8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT, NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS) and the 2020 Honda NHL® All-Star Game follows tomorrow evening (8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT, NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).
For the fifth straight season, the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game will feature a three-game tournament, played in a 3-on-3 format, showcasing teams from each NHL division competing for a $1 million winner-take-all prize pool.
