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Bo Horvat laughed when his cousin Travis Konecny was selected in the first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. It was a laugh of appreciation and anticipation.

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Konecny is small in stature but big in ability and aggression, and Horvat knew the rookie forward would be a huge hit in a city where fans can be as tough as an opposing forward. There was obvious skill but an incredible will in the former Ontario Hockey League standout, who grew up in tiny Clachan, Ont., 10 kilometres from Horvat’s hometown of Rodney.

When Flyers teammate Brandon Manning had his head rammed into the sideboards glass by New York Rangers centre Brandon Pirri in a boarding incident in Philadelphia on Nov. 25, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound pitbull Konecny sprang into action. He attacked a perplexed Pirri, threw him to the ice and landed a series of punches. The crowd went crazy.

So score it one career NHL fight for the 19-year-old Konecny and zero for the 21-year-old Horvat.

“Kind of like The Broad Street Bullies,” marvelled Horvat, the NHL All-Star Game-bound Vancouver Canucks centre. “He fits right in there because he loves to be aggressive and hit guys and kind of gets in the middle of things. I’m sure he’ll be doing that against us on Thursday night.