Jakub Voracek
#93 / Right Wing / Philadelphia Flyers
6-2 | 214 | August 15, 1989
Kladno, CZ | 1st, 2007 (Columbus)
| Assets | Is a very good passer. Has excellent offensive skills, a good shot and sound hockey sense. He is also usually defensively responsible and has a great frame. Shifty, he works hard, is creative and can produce in the clutch. |
| Flaws | Tends to disappear for fairly long stretches, and generally lacks consistency in all areas of the game (though he is improving). Doesn’t score enough goals, despite all the tools required to light the lamp with regularity. |
| Career Potential | Outstanding scoring winger. (Assets, Flaws and Career Potential via The Hockey News player page) |
Career 25-Game Rolling Five-on-Five Corsi-For Percentage:
2015-16 Even-Strength Usage Chart:
Why you should know who he is: Voracek has been among the Flyers’ top-five scorers every season since arriving in Philly back in 2011, and more often than not has been second only to (and last year, ahead of) Claude Giroux in that department. His production slipped significantly this season, partly due to injuries that kept him out of the lineup for 10 games. He still finished the year with 43 assists, putting him into the top 25 in the League in that department (and 16th among forwards), but Voracek hasn’t been producing at nearly the rate they’ve come to expect from him in Philly, and his 11 goals marks the second-lowest goal total of his career. Even his possession rates are down, with his still-respectable 52.1% CF at even strength the third-lowest of his eight seasons.
That said, he’s still exceptionally talented and really likes scoring on the Caps; his 11 goals are the second-most he’s scored against any team in his career, trailing only the 13 he has on Pittsburgh. He’s also a big piece of the power play that has been so good for the Flyers in recent years (although not so much this season), racking up 22 power-play points (second only to Giroux’s 27).
How the Caps can stop him: Voracek usually makes up a third of the Flyers’ top trio, skating alongside Giroux and Wayne Simmonds, so stopping him basically means stopping the entire top line. Not an easy task, of course, but the Caps’ top line has proven to be an effective match for the Flyers – especially Nicklas Backstrom. If the Caps go power vs. power, and match the Flyers’ physicality, they may be able to minimize the damage done by that group… especially with Voracek perhaps not 100% just yet.
Previously: Steve Mason | Brayden Schenn