After being challenged by Vigneault, van Riemsdyk and Voracek carrying the Flyers through first 7 games
Through Alain Vigneault’s tenure, he’s been no stranger to challenging his team to play better. Whether it’s off an embarrassing loss or just when he expects more, he hasn’t been afraid to voice his frustration.
As the Flyers have slowly transitioned from a team headed by Giroux and Voracek to a younger team revolving around Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, and others, we’ve seen the roles of the veterans start to diminish a bit. While they’re undoubtedly still playing a large part, players like Voracek and van Riemsdyk have both found themselves in Vigneault’s dog house at times.
Both players are paid like stars. Voracek has four years left on his 8-year, $66 million deal. James van Riemsdyk has three years left on his 5-year, $35 million deal. Yet they’ve been star-crossed these past few seasons.
Shortly before the season began, Vigneault voiced his hopes for Voracek to elevate his game, saying “I think there are a lot of young players who are pushing him,’’ Vigneault said. “He is going to have to earn that ice time and he has been able to do that last few years. But I also want him to challenge himself. We are not in this to win one round and if our expectations are to win, he knows that he is going to have to be a top performer in the role that he is given. Our expectations of Jake are very high.”
Early on before Couturier’s injury, Voracek had spent time on the team’s third line and was removed from the team’s top powerplay unit.
Meanwhile, JVR was a healthy scratch at times during last year’s playoff run.
Both have had their games challenged by Vigneault, but through seven games, it seems to be working quite well.
JVR is currently tied for the league-lead in goals with 5 after a two-goal performance against the Devils on Monday. Jake Voracek has been on a playmaking tear so far with 7 assists, tied for fifth-most in the league.
Together on the top powerplay unit, their presence has helped the Flyers to a 29% conversion rate on the man-advantage which is ninth-best in the NHL.
With Couturier down, these two have elevated their games and certainly made their case to their head coach that they deserve more ice-time, even when Couturier returns.
Featured Image: Yong Kim/Philadelphia Inquirer
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Categorized:Flyers