Ottawa 67′s Travis Konecny with an assiduous assist for a 16-year-old (VIDEO)

At least once a game, Ottawa 67's rookie sensation Travis Konecny will do something that makes cynics giggle gleefully as reminds people he is on a faster lane to stardom than the typical 16-year-old in the Ontario Hockey League.

Take last Sunday, an otherwise nondescript second-division Niagara IceDogs-67's tilt. During a tied game in the third period, Konecny was shaken up after catching a cross-check in the back, apparently in an area not covered by his equipment. When the Clachan, Ont., native stepped on to the ice for his next shift, he made a terrific play for the tiebreaker: winning a puck battle behind the goal line; wriggling away from from IceDogs defender Blake Siebenaler while protecting the puck and then firing a behind-the-back pass to wing Ryan Van Stralen for the goal.

He does this all the time, people, although it does not always end with the puck in the net.

Konecny and the London Knights' Mitchell Marner have turned the rookie scoring race into a two-man heat. Each has 26 points in 24 games. Marner is a treat to watch, although he plays on a London team with a bottomless bevy of NHL draft picks up front whereas Konecny is playing on a rebuilding Ottawa team that has only one forward who's been drafted, Colorado Avalanche sixth-rounder Joseph Blandisi. That is not meant as a knock on the 67's. It's just meant to point out Konecny might have more work to do at getting in sync with linemates. That little snippet from last Sunday was quite a dish with the way he flicked the puck past two defenders to the charging Van Stralen.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.