Dave Isaac

@davegisaac

PHILADELPHIA — Travis Konecny doesn’t want his opponents to get the wrong idea.

He’s a skilled forward trying to find his footing in the NHL as a rookie, not that little pain in the rear end that he’s been the past few games.

So he says, anyway.

“Whether he wants to be or not, it’s in his personality,” said Wayne Simmonds, Konecny’s linemate. “You can just tell by the way he plays the game, he plays it hard. He finishes checks. The physical play, it’s in his nature. You can just tell.”

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From spraying opponents with water bottles to chirping them between whistles to fighting New York Rangers forward Brandon Pirri the other day after he hit Brandon Manning, Konecny has sure looked more like a Broad St. Bully than the diminutive speedster who was a fixture on Ontario Hockey League highlight reels last year.

“Being a (nuisance) isn’t a part of my game,” Konecny said. “Sometimes I just get caught up in the moment and I know I’m easily a target to be a (nuisance) because I’m a young player. Guys aren’t gonna like it if I’m doing stuff. It allows me to get under guys’ skin, but I’ve got to focus more on performing and helping out the team numbers wise. I’ve got to start finishing my chances and things like that. I’ve got to stay away from it, but it’s definitely happening.”

Heading into Tuesday’s game against the Boston Bruins, Konecny had four goals and 12 points in 23 games, but was riding an eight-game goalless drought. His recent penchant for physicality and confrontation isn’t a side effect of not finding the back of the net. It’s also not something the Flyers want to see on a regular basis. The 19 year old made the club to be a scorer, not an enforcer.

“Maybe TK can be a little more subtle about it, but to be honest I loved his mentality in doing what he did there,” coach Dave Hakstol said in reference to Konecny’s standing up to Pirri. “You also have to stick to doing things that help the team win hockey games. TK is a very competitive hockey player. He plays with a ton of energy and he has a bit of that grit to him. I don’t want to take any of those things away. I just want to channel it in the right direction.”

So does Konecny, but it’s perhaps another tool for him to use. It’s drawn a couple penalties this season and the offense doesn’t come as easily in the NHL as it did in the OHL when he had 101 points in 60 games last year.

“In the OHL, I could three times a shift try to take it end-to-end and see if I could make something happen and maybe one of the three times I get a good chance out of that,” Konecny said. “In the NHL I make that play and I turn it over and the puck could end up in the back of our net.”

He’s learning to take fewer risks for that reason, to eat pucks instead of trying to go coast-to-coast for a highlight-reel goal.

“I’m still making rookie mistakes as most would,” Konecny said. “Obviously it’s not an excuse and I want to eliminate them as fast as I can. I’m turning over pucks and getting reminders, little details that I have to get out of my game, just little habits I have from junior.”

In the meantime he won’t shy away from the physicality he has to have as a 5-foot-10, 175-pound rookie playing against huge guys for the first time in his career.

“I’m gonna start calling him ‘Taz’ because he’s like a little Tasmanian Devil out there,” said the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Simmonds. “He always gets the first bump on everybody no matter what. Some guys get a jolt. I can see guys try to hit him and they just stand up straight-legged. It’s unbelievable. He plays the game hard. He’s a heck of a player.”

World Juniors approaching

Fans may need to keep the TV remote handy next month during the World Junior Championship because the Flyers could have as many as eight prospects competing in the international tournament.

Tuesday Team Canada announced that goalie Carter Hart, a 2016 second-round pick, and Philippe Myers, a free-agent signing, will be invited to its selection camp. Pascal Laberge, also a second-round pick this year, is still recovering from a concussion and will not take part in the camp.

Others who could be in the tournament are American forward Tanner Laczynski (2016 sixth-round pick), Swedish goalie Felix Sandstrom (2015 second-round pick) and Swedish defensemen Linus Högberg (2016 fifth-round pick) and David Bernhardt (2016 seventh-round pick). This year’s first-round pick, German Rubtsov, of Russia, and 2015 fifth-round pick David Kase, of the Czech Republic, are both locks to make their rosters.

Konecny and Russian defenseman Ivan Provorov, both rookies for the Flyers, aren’t going to be released for the tournament.

“Something would have to change drastically for us to even consider that,” general manager Ron Hextall said.

Loose Pucks

Manning did not take part in the morning skate. He hasn’t played since that Rangers game with an “upper-body injury.” … Boyd Gordon skated with the team again, his second straight day. He is still on long-term injured reserve. … Nick Schultz was a healthy scratch for a ninth consecutive game.

Dave Isaac; (856) 486-2479;disaac@gannettnj.com.