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Quick Hits: Voracek, Flyers Daily, Herr's Fire on Ice, Phantoms, Prospects

February 26, 2021, 6:17 AM ET [52 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Quick Hits: February 26, 2021

1) Jakub Voracek, who was placed on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol on Feb. 11 after asymptomatically testing positive for coronavirus infection, exited the protocol yesterday. He is slated to be on the ice today at practice when the Flyers convene at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. Defenseman Justin Braun, who exited the protocol on Wednesday and participated in the Flyers' morning skate in Voorhees before their 4-3 win over the New York Rangers, will also practice today.

Shortly prior to the Flyers' participation in the NHL Outdoors event in Lake Tahoe, head coach Alain Vigneault said that Voracek was "champing at the bit" to get back on the ice. As an asymptomatic case, Voracek's main focus is to recover his game legs as much as possible in quick order after being off the ice for 16 days.

Some of his teammates who developed telltale symptoms of the virus said they experienced three to five rough days of feeling quite ill and, even now, were still in the process of regaining strength and energy. Team captain Claude Giroux acknowledged after Wednesday's game that he still "didn't feel great" even in the process of playing a dominant game and registering three assists.

The Flyers' COVID list now stands at three players: Scott Laughton (eligible to exit the protocol tomorrow), Oskar Lindblom (tomorrow) and Travis Konecny (Sunday). None of the three will be available for the back-to-back afternoon games this weekend in Buffalo but all should, hopefully, be ready to play by at least the second of the Flyers' three upcoming games in Pittsburgh (March 2, 4, and 6).

2) The Flyers will practice at noon today in Voorhees. After practice, the team will travel to Buffalo for the weekend set. Tomorrow's game is at 1:00 p.m. ET. Sunday's match is a 3 p.m. ET start.

3) Due to the four postponements of February games caused by the COVID-19 outbreaks on their own team as well as the New Jersey Devils, the Flyers are about to shift from their extremely light recent activity schedule -- teamwide quarantine from Feb. 9 to 16, three games and four bonafide practices since then including today's practice -- to an insanely busy slate that will leave very little time for practice. Starting tomorrow, the Flyers will embark on a slate of 19 games in just 33 days.

On the Feb. 26 edition of Flyers' Daily, host Jason Myrtetus and I discuss the things that will be crucial for the Flyers to thrive during this stretch in similar fashion to when they had 16 games in 30 days in Nov. 2019 and posted the best record in the NHL during that span -- a vital takeoff point to the team's rise last season. We also discuss Claude Giroux's return to the lineup, the impact of Brian Elliott, the team hopefully seeing its way to having a full lineup for the first time since early in Game 2 of the regular season (when Sean Couturier went down), and more. To listen to the podcast, click here.

4) In conjunction with sponsor Herr's Foods, the Flyers have launched a new fan-driven monthly initiative called the "Herr's Fire on Ice Flyer of the Month". Flyers fans can vote for this month's winner on the Flyers' Twitter page. After the final vote is in, I will write a PhiladelphiaFlyers.com profile of the player, highlighting his performance during the past month. Jason Myrtetus will interview the winner on Flyers' Daily.

The nominees for February are Sean Couturier, Joel Farabee and James van Riemsdyk.



5) The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (4-0-1) return to action on Friday night as they start a home-and-home set with the WB/S Penguins (2-2-1). The teams will clash in Wilkes Barre tonight and then rematch at the PPL Center in Allentown on Saturday.

One of the most encouraging signs so far of the belated regular season has been the early success of the team's young players. Even apart from his four goals and overtime assist, Zayde Wisdom has been tenacious on the forecheck, heavy on pucks, and shown underrated skill in seeing the ice. Tanner Laczynski, now back in the lineup the last two games after being out with a groin issue, collected a pair of assists in the 5-4 overtime win against Binghamton. The club's group of rookie defensemen, including Egor Zamula, Linus Högberg, Wyatte Wylie and 19-year-old Mason Millman (2 games played), have all shown promise.

Veteran goalie Zane McIntyre has started all five games to date. Felix Sandström, who recorded a shutout in the team's lone exhibition game before the start of the regular season, figures to get one of the games this weekend.

Linus Sandin, since returning from injury, has started to settle into the Phantoms' lineup and play effectively including scoring his first AHL goal in the OT win against the Devils. Meanwhile, the Phantoms will still be without the injured Wade Allison (ankle surgery), 2020 first-round pick Tyson Foerster (fractured shinbone) and second-year pro Isaac Ratcliffe (ribs, collapsed ling) for awhile.

6) Flyers collegiate prospects in action on Friday: Cam York (Michigan vs. Arizona State), Jay O'Brien (Boston University vs. Merrimack), Ronnie Attard (Western Michigan vs. Miami), Gavin Hain (North Dakota at Omaha). On Thursday, Denver rode a five-goal second period to a 5-1 win over Colorado College. Bobby Brink did not figure in the scoring.

7) Flyers goaltending prospect Samuel Ersson's Brynäs IF Gävle team is fighting to stay above the relegation cutoff line and push to at least get into the postseason play-ins in the SHL standings. If the season ended today, Brynäs would miss the playoffs but would be safe from having to fight to keep their SHL spot for next season. Although it's been a dreary season for BIF, Ersson's play in net has been one of their bright spots despite mediocre defense in front of him and modest goal support.

Ersson has appeared in 33 of his team's 41 games to date. Despite posting just 14 wins against 19 regulation/OT/shootout losses, he has posted a .917 save percentage and 2.80 GAA with three saves. He's kept his team in games far more often than not.

8) Flyers 2020 second round pick Emil Andrae has been thriving since being loaned from HV71 (26 games played) to get more ice time at the Allsvenskan level with Västerviks IK. He has been playing more varied situations, moving the puck effectively and also producing offensively (three goals, four points) in his eight games to date. He just turned 19 on Feb. 23, and there's no rush on him.

One of the impressive things about Andrae is his mental makeup. He didn't play much in his first World Junior Championship and had a costly defensive miscue on one of his first shifts in the tourney but he eventually started to settle in. It's been similar in club team play. He went through a rough patch early this season, had some ups and downs on an HV71 team that had had an awful season, but seemed to come out better on the other side.

9) Feb. 26 Flyers Alumni birthdays: Barry Dean (1955), Jarrod Skalde (1971).
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