Let’s take a poll here. Raise your hand if you’ve ever yelled, “Shoot!” at Jakub Voracek when he gets a good look. Ok, now put them down. Now, raise your hand if you think Voracek doesn’t shoot enough. Keep them up during the length of time it takes you to read this article, because you need to look like an idiot after reading these numbers.
Back in 2011 when Jake joined the Flyers, Voracek had an immense amount of potential, and Philadelphia seemed to be the place where he was going to reach that potential. Having acquired Voracek as part of the Jeff Carter deal, the pressure was on for the Flyers to get a good return. Voracek did not disappoint.
In 8 years with the Flyers, Voracek has 505 points in 605 games, and 18 points in 30 playoff games. However, Voracek still seems to be the scapegoat. People will fault his lack of production in direct correlation to his salary. What people will always scream from the mountain tops is that Voracek doesn’t shoot the puck enough.
What’s funny is that Voracek shoots the puck aplenty.
Since joining the Flyers in 2011, Voracek is 22nd in the league in shots registered, according to NHL.com. To put this into even greater context, there are over 1,800 people on that list. Voracek is in the top 2 percent among people who have played a game in the NHL since 2011.
Names like Ryan Johansen, Anze Kopitar, Brad Marchand, even prolific goal scorer Steven Stamkos and the (reluctantly) great Sidney Crosby. All those names have registered fewer shots on goal than Jake Voracek since 2011. You think Los Angeles Kings fans are yelling for Kopitar to shoot? You think Pittsburgh is screaming at Crosby to shoot the puck?
Over the past 8 seasons, Voracek has consistently been in the top 10 percent in shots taken. He ranked as high as 15th out of 888 players during the 2016/17 season, and his lowest was 2011/12 when he ranked 86th out of 894. Voracek’s average rank over the last season is around 47th.
If you haven’t put down your hand yet, you can do so because I need you to use that hand to do something else. The next time you find yourself saying “Jake Voracek doesn’t shoot enough,” take that hand, and place it over your mouth very gently.
Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
