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The Philadelphia Flyers rookie camp is about to start, so that means a lot of Flyers hopefuls are looking to impress head coach Peter Laviolette in order to get a spot on the pro roster. One particular prospect, Petr Straka, aims to prove himself, especially when it comes to camp.
Straka has had a long and hard road to the Flyers organization. When Straka was eligible for the 2010 NHL Draft, the Flyers were interested in him, but he wound up going to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round. The Flyers had targeted him as a second-round talent, but had to change their plans when the Blue Jackets took him.
Being drafted by the team was not as Straka expected. The Blue Jackets decided not to sign him … but never actually told him.
This came after he had a few injuries in his first season with Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL, and he had issues with his coach in his second season. Straka ended up finding out that the Blue Jackets were done with him by a reporter rather than someone in the front office. It was a rude awakening for the young NHL hopeful.
He ended up going to Baie-Comeau and that’s when the Flyers started to get interested in the player again, especially after they saw his numbers and found out he was a free agent. With Baie-Comeau, Straka finished with 41 goals, 41 assists and 82 points in only 55 games. To put that in perspective, he had a Jakub Voracek-like season during the lockout.
The Flyers have high hopes for Straka during training camp, and so does the player himself. Due to his experiences, Straka will not take this invite lightly and will be working hard to get a spot on the Flyers’ roster. He will need to get signed into the organization before he does that, but if the Flyers are interested in the right winger, it’s likely that he might go to one of the Flyers’ farm teams.
Deanna Vasso is a Flyers writer for Rant Sports. You can follow her on Twitter, like her on Facebook and join her Google network.
