In case you didn’t know, Flyers’ star forward Jakub Voracek has a really good sense of humor. In fact, he’s really funny and not afraid to give you a great answer in an interview. He has a dry, sarcastic sense of humor. My type of comedy. To give you an example he was asked at practice Thursday about Alain Vigneault and his response was great:
“I love talking about coaches. If you think I’m not going to bash him because I don’t want to get my ice time cut. But I don’t want to be a suck-up….” Awesome stuff, Jake.
Voracek has been the target of Flyers fans throughout the season. However, Voracek is not one to back down:
Voracek has scored fewer goals this year than normal. He currently has 12 goals in 64 games played. The lowest goal production of his career was back in 2014 when he scored 11 goals in 71 games. He is just five goals off his career average. Since being reunited with Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier, Voracek has seen a noticeable difference in his game. He appears to be faster and stronger with the puck. He looks like Jake Voracek of 2017-2018 when he had his career-high in points, 85, and was an All-Star.
Confidence and having fun. The key to winning.
The Rangers came into South Philadelphia having won eight of ten. They also had won their last nine road games heading into the contest. The Flyers too were hot, having won four in a row and are very tough to beat at home. The Flyers appear to be playing on a whole other level. After dropping the first goal, Voracek and the Flyers took over.
Voracek looked like the 2018 version of himself, with four assists. Although he didn’t heed his own advice he tweeted out above about shooting more, we will all take that type of passing.
When asked his thoughts on why he felt the team was clicking, Jake stated the following:
“Just confident group… So you’re going into every game, not that you can lose but that you know if you’re confident if you play your best there’s a 99% chance you’re gonna win.”
The Flyers have pretty much-dominated teams in the second and third periods of late. Jake gave his opinion on why this is the case.
“I think it comes down to how we prepare for the game and how prepared we are physical. In the second and third, we want to wear teams down. It is not easy to play 60 minutes all out and grinding games. We have a lot of skill to take over in the second and third. It has been like that all season long. We are physically well prepared, and it shows.”
Jake Takes the Newest Flyer under his Wing
Last night, the newest Flyer, 15-year-old cancer patient, Blake Steigauf, took to the ice with the Flyers as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Steigauf took the ceremonial rookie lap and took part in warm-ups. Afterward, he and Voracek were the last two on the ice:
Voracek stated the following regarding his time with Steigauf:
“As athletes, we have an opportunity to make people happy. We’re kind of idols to some people. It’s nothing for us but it is huge for somebody else. It can make a huge difference.”
Voracek and the Flyers travel to New York to play the Rangers again on Sunday at 1 PM. They are currently in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 81 points, just three points shy of the first-place Washington Capitals.
Mandatory Credit – © Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
