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Jakub Voracek News & Rumors

Playoffs way better than Worlds for Voracek
May 7
Courier-Post
 
"Flyers right wing Jakub Voracek was reminded where he was this time a year ago and smiled. Not yet a Flyer, his Columbus Blue Jackets didn't make the playoffs, so he headed to Slovakia to represent the Czech Republic in the 2011 Ice Hockey World Championships. During down time, he'd jealously check his phone and laptop to see who was doing what in the Stanley Cup playoffs. "You didn't have time to watch any games, but I'd look on the internet," said Voracek, whose Flyers lost 4-2 Sunday night to fall into a 3-games-to-1 hole in their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the New Jersey Devils. "I paid attention to hockey all the time. I was watching to see who scored, how many points"
Admiration is mutual for Elias and Voracek
May 2
Courier-Post
 
"When Flyers forward Jakub Voracek was growing up and playing youth hockey in Kladno, Czech Republic, he had no shortage of local heroes to inspire his journey to the NHL. The most prominent role model was Jaromir Jagr, who has become Voracek's teammate and a mentor of sorts in Philadelphia. New Jersey Devils forward Patrik Elias was also near the top the list. Now in his 15th NHL season — all with the Devils — Elias has quietly been one of the league's most consistent performers over the course of his career. Elias hails from the town of Trebic. However, he got his start in the famous HC Kladno system, which produced both Jagr and Voracek among numerous prominent NHL and international"
For Voracek, the goals will come
April 1
Courier-Post
 
"Jakub Voracek would have loved to have just gone home this time a year ago. His Columbus Blue Jackets were wrapping up a terrible 2010-11 season and his wasn't great, either. His personal numbers were decent for a talented young forward, but the public criticism he'd received from a head coach who lost his job earlier this season stung. Voracek certainly didn't appreciate Scott Arniel challenging his work habits or believe the unkind words were warranted. So going home to the Czech Republic was entertaining. He's single and unattached at 22, but home is where his loved ones are. Voracek is very close to his parents, his sister, her husband and their children."
Flyers' Voracek could return Tuesday
March 13
CSN Philly
 
"Pavel Kubina, Kimmo Timonen and Jakub Voracek all skated Monday at Skate Zone as a group with the assistant coaches. The Flyers had a day off from practice. Among the three, only Voracek, who has missed three games with concussion-like symptoms, remains a possibility to play Tuesday in the Flyers rematch with New Jersey. Voracek skated hard Monday. "Wasn't bad," he said. "We'll see tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be good to go.""
Voracek faults himself for clean Kronwall hit
March 8
CSN Philly
 
"Hindsight is always 20/20, but there was no doubting in Jakub Voracek's mind how he felt about the hit he took Tuesday night against Detroit's Niklas Kronwall. "The hit was clean," said the Flyers' winger, who remains questionable for Thursday's game against Florida under a concussion watch. The NHL obviously concurred on the hit being clean, as it did not fine or suspend Kronwall. Replays show Voracek had his head down and turned right into Kronwall's shoulder."
Niklas Kronwall's booming hit leaves Jakub Voracek groggy
March 7
Detroit News
 
"If there's a video out highlighting Nikas Kronwall's biggest hits, the one Tuesday on Flyers forward Jakub Voracek will be among the classics. Kronwall's collision with Voracek along the boards in the second period of Philadelphia's 3-2 victory brought audible gasps from the sellout crowd and left the Flyers steamed — and Voracek woozy. "He was coming up and, I haven't seen the replays, but I felt he was coming up the boards and I took a stride forward," said Kronwall, who felt there was nothing illegal about the hit, and doesn't feel any suspension or fine is forthcoming. "That's what it felt like. We'll take a look at it to see if any circumstance that needs to be addressed.""
Flyers win, Jagr and Voracek hurt
March 7
Courier-Post
 
"Claude Giroux has been trained well by Flyers management. He wasn't going to admit to playing hurt even though he was basically working with one good hand Tuesday night. The All-Star center, in fact, concocted up a comical tall tale to explain left wing Scott Hartnell taking 16 faceoffs to his two. Coming in, Hartnell had taken just 18 draws for the season to Giroux's 1,259, but according to G and coach Peter Laviolette, the Flyers were just prepping for playoff hockey when Giroux sometimes gets kicked out of the circle. OK, whatever. What mattered is Giroux was out there doing his usual thing on an emotion-filled night at Wells Fargo Center after he was absent from Monday's practice and"
Jagr out; Will Voracek return?
February 16
CSN Philly
 
"Tough to get an accurate read on Thursday's optional morning skate as the Flyers prep for tonight's game against the Buffalo Sabres. Jaromir Jagr confirmed that he will be out of the lineup tonight. Eric Wellwood was recalled and will play in Jagr's place. Jagr admitted this week he has been bothered by a flu that isn't going away. General manager Paul Holmgren said Jagr was home and resting. Also missing from the optional skate were defensemen Marc-Andre Bourdon and Andrej Meszaros. It appears both those players exercised their option to skip the skate as neither was listed as injured."
Voracek learning from his hero, Jagr
November 6
Columbus Dispatch
 
"Two months later, Jake Voracek still hasn't quite come to grips with the fact that a legend puts on his uniform only eight stalls from his in the Philadelphia Flyers dressing room. If Voracek was stunned to be traded by the Blue Jackets this offseason in the deal that brought center Jeff Carter to Columbus, a chance to play with Jaromir Jagr turned his shock to joy. Not only are both from the Czech Republic, but from Kladno, an industrial city of 110,000. "As a kid, my dream was to one day meet him," Voracek said. "When I play hockey growing up, I wanted one day to play against him. But the year I got to NHL (2008-09) is the year Jagr signed and left for Russia. So that was dead, I"
Flyers have high expectations for Voracek
October 4
CSN Philly
 
"Among the varied expectations for the Flyers this season, there's the one pertaining to 22-year-old Czech winger Jakub Voracek. There's an expectation Voracek will net more goals. Like, perhaps, 25. This is a brand new start for Voracek, who came to the Flyers as part of the Jeff Carter trade last June. It's no accident he played in all seven preseason games. Management, as well as the Flyers' coaching staff, wanted to see him, encourage him and impress upon him that they think there is much more to his current game."
Voracek sent packing in deal that brings Jeff Carter to Blue Jackets
June 24
Columbus Dispatch
 
"Four years ago, Jake Voracek walked across a stage in Nationwide Arena, accepting a Blue Jackets jersey and hearty congratulations from Scott Howson on being the No. 7th overall draft pick. On the eve of 2011 NHL Draft, the general manager who picked Voracek has sent him packing. The shaggy-haired right wing was traded along with this year's first- and third-round picks to Philadelphia for All-Star center Jeff Carter. "I'm going to miss Columbus," Voracek said. "I love it there. It was a lot of fun. I had three great years there with the boys. It's a great group of guys. I had a lot of fun." Voracek registered 39 goals and 95 assists in 241 games. He heads to a Flyers' organization in"
Back with a bang
January 1
Columbus Dispatch
 
"With the Blue Jackets' locker room nearly empty, Steve Mason sidled up to right winger Jake Voracek yesterday morning. If anyone could relate to Voracek's recent misery, it was a goaltender whose confidence had been battered and whose name had been harangued by some of the very fans who once cheered it. Mason was starting to play better and he offered Voracek, a healthy scratch the past two games, words of encouragement and motivation. "You know, I was there, too," Mason said. "I told him he just had to keep working hard. I told him to come back and show everyone he should have been in the lineup." Voracek made quite the return. He rescued the Blue Jackets from the brink of collapse,"
Voracek is latest to feel wrath of Arniel
December 30
Columbus Dispatch
 
"Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel has sent a first-round draft pick to the minors, benched his highest-paid defenseman and made the club's much anticipated third jerseys a healthy scratch. Arniel has proved he isn't afraid to make hard choices. But he said the decision to sit his fourth-leading scorer, right winger Jake Voracek, on Monday against the Minnesota Wild was surprisingly and disappointingly simple. "Jake is too good of a player to be put in that position where it was an easy choice to take him out of the lineup," Arniel said. "He's gone a long time where he hasn't played very well." Arniel hinted the 21-year-old might play tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. His potential"
Voracek's game, hair growing fast
March 19
Columbus Dispatch
 
"Blue Jackets forward Jake Voracek's head is in full bloom again. Coincidentally, so is his game. "I haven't cut my hair since November, since after that game against Detroit," he said. Acting on a suggestion from then-coach Ken Hitchcock, Voracek trimmed his shoulder-length mane after a 9-1 loss to the Red Wings on Nov.11. The fortunes of the team and player soon plummeted. To suggest a correlation, Voracek said, is follicle folly. "I just wasn't playing well," he said. "Nothing was going right." Beyond his hair, there has been growth in Voracek's confidence and offensive play. With the help of assistant coach Gary Agnew, Voracek is working to improve his wrist shot and to better position"
Bounce jump-starts Voracek
March 9
Columbus Dispatch
 
"Nothing was going right for Jake Voracek. He couldn't score. He couldn't pass. Every play he made seemed like the wrong one. Voracek was a 20-year-old bereft of confidence on Feb.2, the night he finished with a minus-4 rating in a 5-1 loss to Colorado. "We weren't winning; nothing was working," Voracek said. "I'd try to make a play, and the puck would wind up on someone's skates. It was everything at once." It's amazing how, at even the highest levels of sport, one fortuitous bounce can swing a player's fortunes. For Voracek, it happened Feb.6, when he snapped an eight-game scoreless streak with a secondary assist on a fluky goal by Milan Jurcina. He finished the night with three points"
Voracek could play tonight
January 26
Columbus Dispatch
 
"On Saturday night, Jake Voracek stayed home and watched his first Blue Jackets game on television. He didn't enjoy the experience. "It was weird not to be there with the team," he said. Voracek hopes to return to the lineup tonight against the Nashville Predators. He missed his first game of the season and just his third in two seasons because of an apparent head injury."
Voracek close to returning
January 25
Columbus Dispatch
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"D Rostislav Klesla will join the Blue Jackets at practice on Monday morning. He won't stay for the entire session, but he'll take part in the shooting and passing drills from the start of practice. This is the latest significant step forward for Klesla, who is expected to return before the Olympic break. RW Jake Voracek faces a big day today. He'll work out off ice. If all goes well, he could dress on Tuesday vs. Nashville."
Team remains vague about Voracek's injury
January 24
Columbus Dispatch
 
"Blue Jackets right winger Jake Voracek missed his first game of the season last night because of an upper body injury. Beyond that, information about Voracek's situation gets murky. Voracek, who was elbowed in the face Thursday by the Boston Bruins' Michael Ryder during a 3-2 Blue Jackets win, remained in Columbus last night while the team played at the Minnesota Wild. "I'm feeling pretty good. Not bad," Voracek said. "We're going to be safe with me not playing, but hopefully I'll be back on Tuesday (against Nashville in Nationwide Arena)." The Blue Jackets are not calling it a concussion, and Voracek said he had not taken any tests Friday or yesterday. He declined to discuss any symptoms"
Bluejackets Voracek Out Saturday
January 23
Columbus Dispatch
 
"Blue Jackets forward Jake Voracek will miss Saturday's game in Minnesota with what coach Ken Hitchcock is terming an upper-body injury. Hitchcock did, however, say the injury is related to the first-period hit administered by the Bruins Michael Ryder. Voracek was bloodied on the play, but stayed in the game. He played just 11-minutes, 50-seconds. Any time a player takes a blow to the head, your first impulse is to think concussion. Hitchcock was asked if neurological testing would be required. "He is day to day," Hitchcock said. "We are not down that path yet." Voracek will be evaluated again on Sunday. The Jackets held a spirited practice in the Dispatch Ice Haus this afternoon. Voracek"