The 2019-20 NHL regular season has concluded and the race to the Stanley Cup is on in the 24-team tournament. The Flyers are hungry and ready to battle it out, but that is thanks to the hard work from back in October.
In an End to End series, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Brooke Destra, Joe Fordyce and Jordan Hall have graded players based on individual performances.
Today, we finish the series by looking at Jakub Voracek.
Destra
Voracek had a rather slow start to the season. With the winger as one of the top veterans on this team and a key leader, head coach Alain Vigneault expected more out of him and others in similar positions. When Vigneault was looking at Voracek’s line at the time, which also consisted of Kevin Hayes and James van Riemsdyk, he made his expectations for them known.
“All those guys, I love the person,” Vigneault said back in November. “I love Kevin Hayes as a person, James and Jake I’m starting to know, they’re great people. I need more from the hockey player. Two different distinctions, right?
“It’s time. I’m not telling you anything that I haven’t told them. Obviously they feel pressure, but that’s why they’re paid the big bucks. You’ve got to deliver, you’ve got to produce, and we expect those guys to produce.”
NHL
Following that, in terms of production, Voracek had one heck of a season. He finished with 56 points, which was third best on the team, and his 44 assists earned him the top spot. This was his sixth consecutive season in which he finished with 40-plus assists — you can’t ask for much more consistency than that.
In fact, he passed Hall of Famer Eric Lindros and Flyers Hall of Famer Rick MacLeish for sixth on the franchise’s all-time assist list. With just three more regular-season assists, he’ll also pass Hall of Famer Mark Recchi.
Voracek rightfully deserves a B+ for this season.
Fordyce
Voracek is another player for the Flyers who is extremely streaky. When he’s on a hot streak, he can pile up points at the same pace as anyone in the NHL. Voracek’s vision is the best part of his game and his 44 assists this season led the Flyers. In fact, Voracek was third on the team in points behind only Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier.
Voracek is a player at times who seems hesitant to shoot. You could even say he’s too unselfish sometimes (if there is such a thing) and, at times, passes up goal-scoring opportunities. If Voracek were to think shot first a little more, those numbers could look even better. When Voracek is an aggressive player, he’s one of the top wingers in the sport. He just needs a little more consistency.
B+ for Voracek.
Hall
Voracek had a very good 2019-20 regular season.
There were some early growing pains under a new head coach and in a new system, but that's understandable. The Flyers as a whole took until November to get things going.
Since Nov. 1, Voracek had 47 points (eight goals, 39 assists) and a plus-14 rating in 58 games. And since Nov. 23, just after he moved to Couturier's line, Voracek recorded 43 points (eight goals, 35 assists) and a plus-17 mark in 47 games.
In a system predicated on balance and depth, Voracek played 17:03 minutes per game, his fewest since 2011-12, his first season with the Flyers. As a result, the veteran was more effective in all three zones because he had greater help offensively and still finished with a team-best 44 assists to go along with a career-best plus-14 rating.
An A- for an underrated 2019-20 regular season from Voracek.