The NHL All-Star Game is this weekend, and while the Flyers are at home recovering on a much-needed break, Travis Konecny will be up in Toronto representing the Orange and Black in the league's annual showcase.
This will be Konecny's second go as an All-Star after earning his first nod back in 2020 when he was only 22, and, well, a whole lot has changed in the time since.
But as it pertains to the All-Star Game, here's a primer on what to expect from this week's festivities...
Why Konecny?
The Flyers, though in a plainly stated rebuild as an organization, have put together some extremely solid stretches of hockey throughout the first half of the season, which were good enough to have them in possession of a playoff spot entering the break.
They've played mostly well and have surprised a lot of people in the process, and Konecny has been at the forefront of all of it.
He's been all over the ice this season and skating in all spots – top line, penalty kill, you name it – racking up 22 goals and 42 points through 50 games to establish himself as the Flyers' leading scorer. Moreover, five of Konecny's goals have been scored while shorthanded, tying him for the most so far this season alongside the Islanders' Simon Holmstrom.
As the Flyers try to establish their new core, the 26-year-old winger has stepped into a much greater role, proving that he can be a face, and valuable veteran presence, for wherever this ship is headed.
And the league took notice when it came time to create the All-Star rosters – see the full list, with the injury scratches and replacements, HERE.
The order of events
Acknowledging that the format has gotten stale, the NHL made some tweaks for this year.
The 3-on-3 format that's been in place since 2016 is going nowhere, but instead of what's become the usual division-vs-division mini tournament, the Player Draft has been brought back into the fold.
Additionally, the skills competition has been altered with input from Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid to only utilize a select group of stars in a collective series of challenges rather than a set of individual fixtures that have the entire All-Star roster participate. It'll be a bit more of a subdued All-Star weekend for many players as a result, with Konecny being one of them.
The Professional Women's Hockey League, which has gotten off to a great start since its inaugural puck drop on January 1, will also be holding its own 3-on-3 women's showcase in front of an NHL audience.
Here's the full rundown, with all events taking place at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena...
THURSDAY
All-Star Player Draft, 6 p.m. ET (ESPN2, ESPN+)
• Four teams of nine skates and two goalies will be selected by groups consisting of a captain, assistant captain, and celebrity captain. Those groups are as follows
– Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs (captain); Morgan Reilly, Toronto Maple Leafs (assistant); Justin Bieber (celebrity).
– Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (captain); Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (assistant); Will Arnett (celebrity).
– Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils (co-captain, injured); Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks (co-captain); Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks (assistant); Michael Bublé (celebrity).
– Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (captain); Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche (assistant); Tate McRae (celebrity).
• PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
– Rosters
FRIDAY
All-Star Skills, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN, ESPN+)
• The participants:
• The events: Fastest skater, one-timer challenge, passing challenge, hardest shot, stick handling challenge, accuracy shooting, one-on-one shootout (against the All-Star goalies), final obstacle course.
SATURDAY
All-Star Game, 3 p.m. ET (ABC, ESPN+)
How'd Konecny do last time?
Back at the 2020 All-Star Game in St. Louis, Konecny earned himself three assists skating for the Metro division, so a pretty solid day.
In the skills competition, he was thrown into the fastest skater, and as far as that goes, well, it went.
The sweaters
The All-Star jerseys last far longer in memory than any result (just try and tell me what happened last year without looking) and can stand the test of time if the design gets nailed.
This year's jerseys:
They're different. I'll give them that.
Justin Bieber's clothing line drew house, since he hails from Toronto, helped design this year's jerseys with adidas and took a stylistic, sort of cartoonish approach to it.
Here's a look at what the full kits should look like thanks to EA Sports' NHL 24:
Personally, I'm for it, because if you're going to experiment or try something different, the All-Star Game is the place to do it. There's nothing to lose.
It's also adidas' last season making the NHL's jerseys before they turn it over to Fanatics, so why not go outside the box here?
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