BOSTON ― Travis Konecny was quick to jump in and say “hopefully” when asked about his excitement level to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off final at his media availability on Tuesday.
It turns out hoping wasn’t enough, as Canada coach Jon Cooper revealed Thursday afternoon that he has elected to go with Seth Jarvis instead of Konecny for tonight’s much-anticipated tilt with the United States. Konecny, 27, played in Canada’s last game, a 5-3 win over Finland on Monday, while Jarvis sat.
“Jarvis is going to replace Konecny tonight, and it’s a lot of why it was reversed the last game,” Cooper said from a dais in a media room at TD Garden.
“It’s [about] needs and wants, and we built this team to win, and everybody’s going to have to chip in in their own ways,” Cooper said. “Some chip in in some games, some chip in in others, and some chip in in all of them, and they’ve all been a big part of why we’re sitting here. That was ultimately it.”
» READ MORE: 4 Nations Face-Off: Who has the edge between the U.S. and Canada in Thursday’s final?
Cooper’s words confirmed what many assumed watching Thursday’s morning skate when Jarvis participated on Canada’s special teams. The Carolina Hurricanes forward rotated with Konecny on a line with Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand at Wednesday’s practice.
The decision to go with Jarvis, 23, over Konecny comes as a slight surprise given that Konecny is the more experienced player and a lot of coaches are hesitant to tinker with a winning lineup, particularly ahead of a winner-take-all game.
Konecny did sit out the first game against the U.S. last Saturday in favor of Sam Bennett, so maybe Cooper sees a matchup he likes with Jarvis.
The benching is a downer for Konecny amid a career season. The feisty winger leads the Flyers in goals (22), assists (39), and points (61), and with 25 games remaining is only seven points shy of his high of 68 points. His 61 points are good enough for 17th in the NHL.
Though Konecny, who did not speak immediately after Canada’s morning skate, is surely disappointed, he said Tuesday that he would accept whatever decision Cooper made.
“If I’m in the game, really exciting,” Konecny said. “Whatever it takes to win, the whole team wants to win, and it doesn’t matter if you are playing or not.”
Konecny practiced what he preached on Thursday by staying out late to work with Jarvis on one-timers. Jarvis and Konecny were the last two forwards on the ice for Canada by a wide margin.
Flyers fans will hope that Konecny, who already plays with a boulder-size chip on his shoulder, will use this adversity to fuel his second-half performance. The Flyers return to game action on Saturday afternoon against the Edmonton Oilers (1 o’clock, NBCSP).
While Konecny won’t play on Thursday, his close friend Travis Sanheim will. Sanheim, 28, who picked up an assist on Monday, will partner with Drew Doughty on Canada’s third defensive pair.
“We’re so fired up, excited to get things going,” Sanheim said Wednesday. “We have the rematch that we want.”
The Manitoba native, whose hometown of Elkhorn has a population of fewer than 500 people, will have more than Konecny rooting him on in Boston. His wife, Alex, parents Kent and Shelley, twin brother Taylor, and sisters Kali and Shondalee, will all be in attendance on enemy territory.
Sanheim, who said before the tournament that it would be “an honor” to represent Canada and after the first USA game called it a realization of a “dream,” now will play in what will be the biggest game of his career — and maybe the biggest hockey game of the past decade — against the Americans with the whole world watching.
That’s quite an accomplishment and turnaround considering that the Flyers tried to trade him to get out of the defenseman’s contract two years ago.