The Philadelphia Flyers must have read my game preview where I said forward Jakub Voracek was the MVP of the team, because when the Flyers handed out awards prior to their game on Thursday, Voracek was crowned the MVP.
All kidding aside, Voracek had an amazing season this year and I can’t stress enough how much he improved this season. Philadelphia sports broadcasters and writers voted on all the Flyers awards to give Voracek the Bobby Clarke Award (MVP) and the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy (Most Improved Player).
“Scoracek” definitely deserves both of these awards. As I have stated in many blogs over the season, Voracek has appeared to be the only player who could hold it together for the crumbling Flyers team. He has led in goals for the majority of the season, and has been there finding the back of the net when his teammates could not.
So, is it really surprising that he was awarded the MVP trophy? No, he definitely deserves the honor.
Voracek was also able to eclipse his goals total from last year by logging 21 this season in 48 games. Last season, he only scored 18 goals in a full 78-game NHL season, and this year he improved upon it in half the games. Eight of those were power play goals, and two were game winning goals. Those are pretty impressive numbers, so giving Voracek the most improved player trophy was definitely a must.
Voracek has been solid not only through his innate ability to find the back of the net, but in his penchant for helping his teammates find it too. In this season, he helped lead his teammates to a goal 24 times. Voracek ends this season as the No. 2 ranked Flyer with 45 points, falling behind captain Claude Giroux by only two points.
His prowess on the ice has been phenomenal and it’s good to see that despite a terrible season, Voracek is being recognized for the things he has been doing all season long. He has quickly become a fan favorite this year and surprised even me this year.
I thought he was a decent player last year, but I never expected his season to turn out like this. I would really like to see him repeat next season, but no pressure or anything.
Deanna Vasso is a Flyers writer for www.rantsports.com, you can follow her on Twitter, like her on Facebook and join her Google network.
