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Philadelphia Flyers: Why Jakub Voracek Will Dominate Again

By Gus Richardson

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The Philadelphia Flyers went into last season expecting to be carried by their top forwards Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek to have any type of success. At first, Voracek was having a great start to the season all the way through mid-December. He led the league in points midway through the season, but went through a terrible slump that would last nearly all the way until the end of the season. Those big pockets of games without a single point killed his chances of a scoring title in a weak year for forwards

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This upcoming season he has something going in his favor that may stave off another mid-season slump and allow him to explode up the scoring standings and stay at the top. A new coach. Yet, just not any new coach, a coach that knows how to develop his players. But Voracek isn’t a prospect that needs developing, you say? You’re not wrong, you’re just not looking at it the right way. All players can work on their game, at any age, and still be able to perform at higher, or at least more consistent, levels than they might’ve.

Apr 1, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Jakub Voracek (93) skates with the puck as Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) defend during the first period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

New Flyers Coach Hakstol is known for getting the most out of his guys, and this is through his systems on and off the ice. It is not hard to believe Voracek will be able to produce more consistently when also his teammates are also performing better as the year goes on. Giroux will be his center for most of the time as long as the team doesn’t struggle, and as long as that doesn’t change they both will perform at high levels. But what about their left wing?

Our own Sean Rogerson wrote about the options for the top line left winger, mentioning Michael Raffl as one of the most likely options. He is another that could take advantage of the new coach’s system to get better this next season, but that is to be seen. Wayne Simmonds seems ideal to join the top line, but when considering the hole that leaves wherever he was plugged in before maybe not. Simmonds has been the Flyer’s “Swiss Knife”, as he is very versatile while his offensive ability is top-notch. He brought scoring and aggressiveness to any line he played on, and it will be up to Coach Hakstol to figure out where is the most effective place to put him.

It is an exciting season coming up. We could be seeing a few of the top prospects make NHL debuts and visits during the season including Ivan Provorov, Shayne Gostisbehere, Scott Laughton, and Sam Morin. Players like these could make big impacts on how the team as a whole succeeds, and in turn how Voracek can yet again get back to dominating form.

When it comes down to it, you want the least amount of pressure on Voracek to perform as possible. With young prospects coming up and Sam Gagner being traded for, there are other guys that can hopefully perform well enough that the team wont be looking at him to have to score all the time. A more comfortable and clear-minded Voracek is what gets us wins and, ultimately, gets us closer to a playoff run.

Next: Prospect Profile - Shayne Gostisbehere

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