Ottawa 67's turning corner, but NHL draft prospect Travis Konecny hasn't turned talent into points yet

There was a little Canadiana playing out after the game in Ottawa on Sunday, albeit laced with some tension that wouldn't make it into a Tim Hortons commercial.

The Ottawa 67's were right back on the ice after outlasting Guelph 8-5 to skate with children for a team promotion. It was hard to miss Travis Konecny treating it as more than an obligation, circling around the ice, giving rides to small children to whom Ontario Hockey League players seem like superheroes even though they are kids themselves. After that nice moment passed and parents collected their children, the 17-year-old Konecny got a stick and practised shooting on one of the empty nets, working out the frustration from having a bad game even as the 67's won big.

First things first: Ottawa's 9-8-0-1 record might seem modest, but the 67's have had an OHL-low six home games and also lost a week of practice at TD Place arena recently after an equipment malfunction caused the ice to melt. Plus there is the fact they were only above .500 once during their 'lost years' at Canadian Tire Centre — after winning the 2013-14 opener. Things are changing under the Jeff Brown/Pat Higgins regime, with or without the former OHL first overall pick and rookie of the year producing. Ottawa is also into a stretch where a run of home games gives it the chance to make further headway.

"It hasn't been fun, it hasn't been a good couple of months having to play out of a suitcase," Brown, the first-year OHL coach, said on Sunday after the win at Guelph that kept the 67's a blemish-free 6-0 at home. "For us to be finally home, it's just important that we win now. You look at the schedule and think, 'wow, this is awesome, 10 out of 12 at home.' But only if you win them. Our guys are working hard. It's not effort where we're having our issues. It's just some bad choices and decisions.

"It was a you don't know where you're going to practice sort of thing," Brown said of the arena-related disruptions. "I certain feel for [former coach-GM] Chris [Byrne] and his staff last couple years, being all over the place."

The 67's focus might have faded in and out against Guelph, but it still reflected their improvement. It still put seven pucks behind the Storm goalies even as Konecny, who had a giveaway that led to a Robby Fabbri short-hander, and linemates Erik Bradford and Brendan Bell seldom saw the ice over the final 40 minutes. Brown simply adapted by turning to the hotter hands; defensive forward Sam Studnicka scored his first OHL hat trick and 19-year-old Junior A signing Nathan Todd scored his first two in the league.

"We have a lot to work on at the defensive end of the rink, but there are a lot of good things," Brown said, stressing that he was talking about how his team defends as a whole. "A lot of guys were stepping up, with confidence. A lot of guys you wouldn't be expecting to be leading the way right now, they are. It's a tribute to them buying into the system.

It wasn't a sterling effort, but at least there was some killer instinct in both home wins last weekend over Belleville and Guelph. Ottawa was able to control the final 20 of each and get the two points.

"We want to develop a home identity and I think we're doing a real good job of that," the 19-year-old Studnicka said. "We're keeping things simple and it seems to be working for us.

"Last year was a long year and we want to forget that," Studnicka added.

It does seem like a conundrum that Konecny, fourth in team scoring with three goals and 12 points over 18 games, hasn't had his numbers goosed by the team's improvement. It is important to realize that Brown, having taken over a team that was out of the playoffs for two seasons in a row (and arguably underachieved at the peak of the Tyler Toffoli/Cody Ceci/Petr Mrazek era in 2011-12), is trying to change the culture. At the moment, that appears to mean  emphasizing what Brown calls "working hard, cycling, scoring tough goals — tough, gritty goals as opposed to perimeter stuff."

Konecny was also shaken up by a check to the head from Plymouth's Gianluca Curcuruto in an Oct. 19 game. It didn't cost him any complete games, but there have been whispers about a suspected brain injury.

An elite player will find a way to achieve within that framework, not unlike how Colorado Avalanche centre Matt Duchene did while developing with Stan Butler's Brampton Battalion in the late aughties. Konecny, who had a 70-point rookie campaign, might be feeling some frustration. The relief in his body language was obvious after he scored on a seeing-eye wrist shot to help put Belleville away last Friday.

Individual ambitions and team success. The two can come into conflict, but can also find a way to co-exist.

"It felt good getting that one out of the way, but it felt better seeing the team get the win and do well," Konecny said after the Belleville game. "It's more important to be a good home team in the OHL."

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