Ottawa 67's and captain Travis Konecny face a unique challenge

Jeff Brown could hardly have scripted a better scenario for Travis Konecny's first game as captain of the Ottawa 67's.

Many a 17-year-old, seeing his team trailing early in a much anticipated home opener in a renovated rink, would have tried to do too much and perhaps unwittingly compounded the situation. Konecny, the surefire NHL first-rounder whom Brown compares to Steve Yzerman was just inches away from burying several chances Friday, when Ottawa rallied for a 4-3 triumph over the Niagara IceDogs to win its TD Place opener and give Brown his first Ontario Hockey League coaching victory.

In the second period, Konecny was stoned by Dallas Stars-drafted goalie Brent Moran with a left pad save on a clear breakaway. Later, he hit the post after centre Erik Bradford had done the tough sledding through traffic. In the third, to the delight of 4,713 fans, including a seemingly endless skein of relatives in No. 17 jerseys, he found ways to facilitate opportunities. There was an assured rush deep into the IceDogs zone, followed by a drop pass to Bradford for a goal to pare the lead to 3-2. He also got the primary helper on centre Dante Salituro's game-winning hat-trick goal, then helped Ottawa bar the door defensively.

"I had to just let it go," Konecny said afterward. "Just thing about the next shift and the next time you get that opportunity, Make something happen out of it. Really, for me, as long as the team's going, I know the guy beside me is going to pick  me up. Bounces weren't going my way tonight, but Sal [Salituro] stepped up and had a great night."

Trusting a 17-year-old as captain attests to a youngster's uniqueness, but it spawns all sorts of questions about how it's supposed to work in the dressing room. Another novel twist is last year's captain, overage left wing Brendan Bell, is still in the fold and is on Konecny's line. Brown wrestled with the decision, but for a franchise trying to throw off the yoke of two lost years at Canadian Tire Centre, giving the C to 'The Franchise' makes sense. Bell is the lone alternate.

Konecny, after all, has been earmarked for stardom for some time, likely since long before he was the subject of a London Free Press series entitled simply 'The Prospect' during his minor midget year. To think you know him is to get the sense he's become very self-directed, the way all the can't-miss prospects are nowadays.

"I know wearing the C, it kind of targets me as a leader," he said. "For the most part, everyone in the room is their leader in their own way. Everyone feeds off each other. It's a honour to be part of the historical part of it and be a captain, but everyone leads and everyone follows by example."

When an OHL team has back-to-back also-ran years, it means the following season's group will include a mix of ambitious young players with older guys who haven't shared success together. The challenge is to fuse that in a whole; it was writ large on Friday. While the team has a captain who's 17 and called the "future," there's a little matter of something called the present. The 67's veterans did respond after falling behind 3-1 in the second period. Konecny had a hand in the comeback, but it was a group effort.

"TK, he's a little frustrated," Brown said. "He was kind of getting down on himself and he stuck with it. He led the way. He was on the ice at the end. That's the kind of guy he is. When he's not scoring, he's got to be a defender and he was tonight. He had energy.

"Travis is a natural leader," Brown added. "But I don't want to take anything away from the older guys whom I challenged. I thought [16-year-old first-round pick] Travis Barron was our best player up until the timeout [that Brown used after Niagara jumped into a 3-1 second-period lead]. I said to our older guys, our '95s, our '94s, 'how can a '98 go out there and be our best player? It's time. Are you guys not sick of losing?' We challenged them and they responded."

Konency added that Bell has been giving him "hints here and there" about how to handle his newly bestowed duties. But it's one of those 'with great fortune comes great responsiblity' deals.

"I've been a leader before," the Clachan, Ont., native said. "I know how to deal with certain situations. I look back and see some of the names and it's a honour to be part of that.

"I just have to make sure we're doing the right things in the gym and on the ice at practice."

All of this is happening in the context of a franchise that, in the public's mind, lost its way while it lost its home for two seasons. No one is at fault for what was an untenable situation for two seasons while the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, which owns the 67's and the football Ottawa Redblacks, ran a two-minute drill to get ready for the CFL season. Brown is trying to put that in the past and make over some old habits that took root last season. Friday was the first time seeds began to bloom after an 0-4 start on the road.

"I was telling the guys: 'when you think you're working hard, work harder,' " said Brown. "I was telling the guys My old coach in St. Louis, Brian Sutter used to say, 'How do you gauge 100 per cent? How do you know what your 100 per cent really is?' At the time, I was thinking 'this guy is off his rocker,' but it makes sense now as a coach. You just always have to continue to push and push and doing more and more.

"Our guys just pulled together and it was a special, special night... we had more blocked shots in the last two minutes than we had in the previous seven preseason and regular-season games."

Meantime, Konency was quick to highlight that he already understands one part about leadership — putting everyone else at ease.

"It's a family in there. Anyone can speak up at any time. It's not about levels on our team. Whoever wants to be a leader can step up and play that  role."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.