The definition of a leader as defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary is, “Something that leads.” Jakub Voracek continues to be that guy, while playing well Defensively. Much has been made about Voracek about not being the leader in the locker room, or off the ice However, Voracek has taken his game to another level this season, and he has answered the bell to Alain Vigneault’s calling.
Talk about taking his game to another level, Jake was a plus 14 this season, as he continued to play the game the right way. Voracek produced 12g,44a, and lead by example. Moreover, Voracek still received some criticism from time to time by some people. Unfortunately, Voracek didn’t practice yesterday, and rumors flew around saying you could have had close contact with somebody with Covid-19, but fortunately it wasn’t true, “Feel good,” Voracek said following practice today, “You guys panic so much it’s not even funny. You guys making it sound like I’m dying or something. Everything’s fine. My test Friday didn’t come… it was delayed, then it came back inconclusive, so they couldn’t tell if it was negative or positive. I did another one yesterday and it came back negative this morning. There was nothing wrong. Everything’s all right.”
To make things more clearer, Head Coach Alain Vigneault said he looked fine as he was filled with enthusiasm, “Jake looked fine,” Vigneault said, “He had a lot of energy, a lot of pop in his skating. I’ve really liked how Jake, and I talked to him about this a couple of days ago, came to camp. He had obviously skated back lastly, Jake hasn’t worn a visor I can’t, as it’s too hot and it’s been getting foggyhome a couple of times a week. He’s looked good out there. He’s looked focused. I like the energy and enthusiasm he’s bringing to our group.”
The 30-year-old in Voracek continues, “In some kind of way you want to protect the player’s privacy, right? Say if you get it, not everyone has to know it. If you decide not to share it with everyone, that’s okay to keep it to yourself and close friends and family. That’s what’s wrong with this world today. Everyone seems entitled to know everything about each other. It’s not a bad thing to have some privacy sometimes. I mean do you know all the cases every day that are diagnosed, do you know all the people and everything about them. No, somebody wants to keep it quiet. If you guys want to ask me what happened, ask me. I will tell you. You don’t have to dance around it.his is great to hear from a player like Voracek. Reading between the lines of this quote, it appears producing isn’t just about the points that Voracek puts up on the stat sheet, rather he can produce by playing sound.” Turns out he’s right, if he wants to tell us, he will tell us.
Jake has skated well since returning to camp, as he continues to back check on most plays. This is nothing new, as some can take a look back at the Pittsburgh Penguins game right before the holiday break in December. Voracek picked off at least four passes, and it lead to the first goal of the night for the Flyers. Practices help, Voracek loves to scrimmage, “We play a lot of scrimmages in the summer so that’s helping,” Voracek said, “Kind of get the timing a little earlier than in training camp. Yeah, it’s better. I was kind of pissed I missed the scrimmage yesterday because the more scrimmages you can get in, it’s better. It is what it is. There’s nothing I could do about it.”
Voracek has become a leader this young Flyers team has craved for the past few seasons. He is leading by example right now, as Voracek is committed to playing a two-way game, “Practices look pretty good, but then you go into the game and it’s a completely different rodeo,” Voracek said, “It’s going to be depending on how well prepared are the other teams are. In practice, when we do the scrimmage or when we do the drills, I think it’s a high paced practice that the passes look sharp. Obviously it’s going to be a completely different ballgame when you step on the ice for a game. I’m actually glad we get to play four games before the first playoff game so we can kind of work out some things and see where we’re at. It’s a little hard for me to comment on, but the practices, it’s looking pretty good and the boys are looking sharp. It’s actually surprising for me how good we look. I thought it was going to be more sluggish than we are showing.”
Lastly, Jake hasn’t worn a visor at camp for the most part, and he doesn’t know if he’s going to yet, “I haven’t had it since the first day of training camp. It’s real hot out there. It feels like you’re in a big bubble with your visor. I tried to take it off and you see better and get some more fresh air. That’s the focus on that. I still have to decide if I want to go without it.”
