Philadelphia Flyer of the Week: Jakub Voracek

By Deanna Vasso
Jakub Voracek is the Flyers all star
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

If Matt Read wasn’t injured, I think I might be writing this about him–even though I’ve already done that in three other posts. I’m just really impressed with him this season, and am seriously upset over his injury. But you know who else has proven themselves at the mid-way point of the season? Philadelphia Flyers point leader Jakub Voracek.

Voracek has been a huge part of the Flyers’ current success in the past couple of games. He’s been put on the top line as a starter with Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell for a reason. That’s because he knows how to put up goals and everyone is taking notice. Voracek shares the most goals (nine) with Wayne Simmonds, but he also is the team leader in assists (16) and points (25), so he’s really become a rising star in the city of Philadelphia.

When the Czech Republic native joined the team last season, I didn’t know much about him or if he was any good. He came over from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Jeff Carter trade, so I wasn’t optimistic. He made some smart moves to get himself a lot of ice time and he definitely made an impression on head coach Peter Laviolette. This season, he has impressed everyone–even the league as a whole–as he was given one of the three stars of the week a few weeks ago. It was definitely well deserved.

I started to really take notice during the game against the New York Islanders, where Voracek did not score any goals, but was a key asset with four assists. When he scored his first career hat trick in the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, my initial reaction was, “Wow, this kid knows how to dangle, snipe and celly.” That was followed shortly by, “OMG, look at that epic hockey beard!”

Even though the Flyers lost to the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs , Voracek made attempts to pull them out of it with a goal in each game. He also gave the Flyers momentum on Saturday to win against the Ottawa Senators by scoring the first goal of the game.

Voracek is a rising star on this team and the Flyers definitely need him to continue to step up and keep harassing opposing goaltenders. I’d say he’s not only the player of this week, but the player of the last two weeks for the Flyers. Let’s be perfectly honest, with a beard that epic, he’s already ready for the playoffs.

Let’s go Flyers! Deanna Vasso is a Flyers contributor for www.rantsports.com. You can follow her on Twitter @Dmvasso.

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