2020 All-Star Diary: Travis Konecny

Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny kept a diary for the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game in St. Louis. Konecny had three assists, but the Metropolitan Division lost 9-5 to the Atlantic Division in the semifinals on Saturday.
In his final entry, the 22-year-old forward reflects on his experience at his first All-Star Game.

Playing in the All-Star Game was a lot of fun.
It was my first one, so I was just soaking it all in. I met some new players that I hadn't met before. There was a lot of skill on the ice, so it was fun to watch. The guys just had fun with it. That was my favorite part.
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In the locker room, I sat between (Washington Capitals goalie) Braden Holtby and (New York Islanders forward) Mathew Barzal. I know Barzal a little bit and they are both great guys.
But I was a lot different than I am in the Flyers locker room. I was pretty shy and kept to myself.
I was just trying to be a sponge and soak it all in. I was having fun every step of the way and trying to meet guys.
When we were talking in the dressing room before the game, (Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman) Seth Jones said you never know how many you're going to go to, so just make sure you soak it up and I kind of settled in and that's what I did.
It was fun playing with (New Jersey Devils forward) Nico Hischier. We had a lot of fun together. We were talking before the game. We were nervous and weren't sure how the game is supposed to go with the effort level. It's not like you don't try, you still put some effort out there because guys are competitive, but me and Hischier had a lot of fun with it.

I saw my parents again tonight, like I did during the skills competition. They were sitting right across from the bench and they were waving away. It looked like they had a lot of fun.
Before the game today, I went with my parents, my brother and my girlfriend to tour the Anheuser-Busch brewery and got freshly bottled Bud Lights. While we were standing there, they were being made, so it was pretty cool. My brother and dad loved it, so it was a good time.
I didn't try to get any souvenirs or autographs from the other players in the All-Star Game. I got some stuff back at the hotel that they gave us, but I was trying to stay under the radar and not bother any of the guys.
We have a couple days off after this, so before heading back to Philadelphia, I think we're going pop over to New York for a few days. It's really close to Philly, so we can go there for a few days and do some stuff we usually don't have time to do.
After that, it's the home stretch to the end of the season. We have a great group of guys. They're a lot of fun to be around and the perfect group that you want to be around at this point in the season.