On their path to making Hockey Canada's roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Philadelphia Flyers duo Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim will face stiff competition, which has now been clearly defined months in advance.
Konecny and Sanheim were invited to Canada's 2025 National Teams Orientation Camp, where they'll be joined by 40 other NHL players in Calgary, Alberta, from Aug. 26 to Aug. 28.
Both Flyers featured for Canada at different points during the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off a few months back, but, with a clean slate heading into the offseason and most players presumably healthy, they'll have to start over from scratch and earn their places again.
Just amongst natural right wingers, Konecny will be jostling with the likes of Tom Wilson, back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Sam Reinhart, Seth Jarvis, Mitch Marner, Zach Hyman, and Mark Stone for a roster spot.
We can also assume that Wyatt Johnston and Connor Bedard can flex out to the wing if needed, too.
For the 28-year-old Konecny, there's a lot of competition for what will ultimately be a bottom-six roster spot, and he did himself no favors by ending his season with the Flyers with just seven goals in his last 44 games.
Ditto for Sanheim, 29, after his production took a major dip from 2023-24 to 2024-25. The talented defenseman managed only two goals, seven assists, and nine points in his final 44 games, mirroring Konecny and the Flyers' struggles overall.
But, Hockey Canada decision-makers will look at those two as the engines that drive the Flyers' bus.
If they aren't getting it done, even on a bad team, they'll find other players who can, especially if they fail to prove themselves ahead of the Winter Olympics.
Sanheim is one of 13 defensemen invited by Canada to the Orientation Camp, and he'll be competing with newcomers like Evan Bouchard, Noah Dobson, Aaron Ekblad, Brandon Montour, and MacKenzie Weegar for a place in the team.
Both he and Konecny have the advantage of having already played in the 4 Nations Face-Off, but the competition will be greater, at least for now, while everyone is still healthy.
Injuries will invariably play a factor a few months from now, but we have our first idea of what these two Flyers are up against when it comes to representing Canada internationally.
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