The Philadelphia Flyers need some serious firepower up front right out of the gate this season, especially if they want to avoid another frantic sprint just to snag a playoff spot like last year. While no one expects a single player to carry the team on their shoulders from September through April, there are a few guys whose early contributions could be absolutely massive in the opening weeks of the 2026-27 campaign. You always look for those players who flip the switch early, and the Flyers might just have a couple of those in their locker room.
Konecny: The Early Season Dynamo
Travis Konecny is the definition of a hot starter. Seriously, if this guy could finish a season with the same fire he kicks it off with, an 80-point season would be practically guaranteed. We saw it loud and clear in 2024-25. In his first 20 games that year, Konecny was an absolute beast, lighting up the scoresheet with 11 goals and adding 12 assists for a staggering 23 points! And get this, two of those games were just insane. He snagged a goal and four assists in a wild 7-5 win over Minnesota back on October 26 of that year. Then, in early November, even in a tough 6-4 loss to Carolina, Konecny dropped a pair of goals and two helpers, chalking up a four-point night. He was routinely finding himself on the scoresheet, a pure playmaker from day one.
Last year, 2025-26, his opening 20 games weren’t quite the insane pace of the season before, but Konecny still made a fantastic impression. He buried five goals and dished out 12 assists for 17 points, and only three of those came on the power play, showing his five-on-five impact. Unlike his 2024-25 burst, those 17 points were spread out really nicely, with just a couple of two-point games in that stretch. Ideally, we need to see Konecny’s first few months mirror December 2025 and January 2026, when he exploded for 33 points during that period. Yeah, he did cool off a bit too much in March and April, putting up only 14 points after the Olympic break, which was tough. But when it comes to the start of the season? Konecny is just built different, he lights his own fire.
Zegras: New City, New Start?
Then there’s Trevor Zegras. He hasn’t exactly been a “gangbusters” opening act like Konecny, but Zegras is no pushover when it comes to getting off to a decent start either. His 2024-25 season with Anaheim was a bit of a tough scene. He only managed eight points in his first 20 games. That whole year felt like a sad goodbye to his time on the West Coast. Whether it was clashing with his coach, missing 25 games due to injury, or just knowing his tenure there was winding down, Zegras never really took off.
But this is Philly now, right? In 2025-26, Zegras was quiet in the season opener against Florida as he went without a point or a s. The hope is that this year, with a full season under his belt in orange and black, he can find that spark early.
The club doesn’t want to be in a position where they are scrambling for every point in March and April. The message is clear: these forwards, especially guys like Konecny, have to bring their A-game from the very first puck drop of the 2026-27 campaign. The fans are hyped to see if these early-season specialists can truly set the tone.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Broad Street Hockey.
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