Flyers rookie Konecny reminds Lecavalier of Tyler Johnson

By foxsports
Published

Philadelphia Flyers prospect Travis Konecny is receiving lofty praise before even competing in his first regular-season NHL game.

Konecny casually weaved through the defense before backhanding the puck into the net for a goal in the Flyers' 5-3 victory over the New York Islanders in a preseason game on Monday.

"He's fast," veteran Vincent Lecavalier told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "He's turning one way, turning the other way. I don’t know him that much, but on that one shift, I was just kind of watching him, mesmerized by what he was doing.

"Nobody could catch up. Kind of like (Tyler) Johnson in Tampa. He reminds me of him a little bit."

Like the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Konecny, Johnson is also an undersized center who uses his speed to his advantage. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound Lightning forward tied for the league lead in playoff scoring (13 goals, 10 assists) last season to help lift his club to the Stanley Cup final.

The Flyers opted to trade up to select Konecny with the 24th overall pick of the 2015 draft. The 18-year-old Konecny will have a tough time immediately cracking the lineup and likely will be sent back to the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League, where he served as captain.

(h/t Courier-Post)