‘I have no timeline’: Flyers winger Travis Konecny taking it slow as he rehabs upper-body injury

Just like any professional athlete working back from an injury, Travis Konecny is eager to jump back into game action. Since sustaining an upper-body injury on Feb. 20 against the Calgary Flames, Konecny has watched his teammates compete without him from afar, longing to finish his breakout season on a high note.

However, Konecny understands that rushing back from injured reserve — and risking reinjury — isn’t an option.

“Playing games is why we do this,” Konecny said. “But for me, it’s more about just making sure I’m 100%. And that’s why I have no timeline. I’m just going to go about it every day and make sure I feel better every single day and just kind of go from there.”

Konecny participated in morning skate Friday in advance of the Flyers’ game against the Buffalo Sabres while wearing a yellow noncontact jersey. As Konecny stayed on the ice for extra drills afterwards with skills coach Angelo Ricci, injured center Sean Couturier, and the healthy scratches, he skated under the watchful eye of head athletic trainer Tommy Alva, who observed along the glass.

Throughout the rehab process, Konecny has worked closely with Alva and his staff. They have helped ensure that the winger is ramping up properly before potentially returning to game action before the end of the season.

“I think it’s more the good balance between us and the trainers and the staff to kind of bring you down to slow down,” Konecny said. “You get so excited about one day, I haven’t been doing upper-body workouts, and then I do one and I’m feeling like I’m on top of the world and ready to go. So it’s all about just listening to everybody’s opinions and making sure we’re on the same page and making sure we’re working together to get to the same solution.”

The last couple seasons have been plagued by injury for the Flyers, from defenseman Ryan Ellis’ multilayered pelvic injury that has kept him sidelined since November 2021 to Couturier’s pair of back surgeries. Players such Konecny, Couturier, and Cam Atkinson (neck) have been taking it slow in their rehab processes this season.

But most importantly, Tortorella said that the team’s medical process has been “stabilized,” which was one of his top priorities when he was hired.

“Are the players happy that it may take a little bit longer sometimes?” Tortorella said. “Players are never going to be happy. It’s just the way it is. But I think we’re instilling some confidence that you’re going to be taken care of. And we’re not going to jump the gun into operations and this, that, the other thing. I think the biggest thing is try to instill confidence that you’re going to be looked after.”

Tortorella has been impressed with 25-year-old winger Wade Allison’s growth within his identity this season, playing a north-south game and winning battles along the wall.

But it’s hard for Allison to be consistent in his game when, as Tortorella puts it, he’s “always hurt.”

Allison is expected to make his return to the lineup against the Sabres after a three-game layoff because of injury. He has missed a total of 22 games this season due to various injuries, including a monthlong hiatus from mid-November to mid-December (oblique muscle strain and hip pointer). In 45 games, Allison has collected eight goals and five assists, averaging 12 minutes, 34 seconds of ice time.

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Overall, Tortorella has seen Allison improve “tremendously” throughout the course of the season. But injuries will factor into Tortorella’s evaluation of Allison as he ponders what the Flyers’ roster will look like next season.

“We’ve still got another month,” Tortorella said. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen there. But it has to. Organizationally, too. And not just the coach, but organization, when you talk about contracts and stuff like that, that has to come into play. So we’ll see where it goes.”

Injuries are not foreign to Allison, who is approaching the end of his third season of professional hockey. Last season, he sprained his ankle during rookie camp, forcing him to miss the start of the season. When he returned to NHL action on Jan. 22 against the Buffalo Sabres, he sustained yet another injury that kept him sidelined for two months. He played the last 21 games of the season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Allison’s hard-nosed style of play can make him vulnerable to injury. But Tortorella said that Allison has shown a better understanding the angles of the game, allowing him to be smarter and more efficient in his forechecking.

“It’s easy to be that guy running in and chasing down a guy but you don’t even get the puck or him,” Tortorella said. “You bang the boards. I think he’s beginning to understand that, and I know Rock’s done a little work with him, we all have, as far as why we’re forechecking, how you forecheck, puck placement, using your body, holding onto pucks. He’s shown improvement.”

Now, Allison is eager to get back to work, stay healthy, and continue to prove why he belongs at the NHL level in the final 15 games of the season.

“Stuff happens,” Allison said. “You keep pushing forward. Minor setback, but we’re good now.”

Goalie Carter Hart (17-21-10, .906 save percentage) will start against the Sabres, per Tortorella, marking his first game back from an illness that kept him out of Tuesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. ... Defenseman Justin Braun and winger Kieffer Bellows are expected to be healthy scratches.