VOORHEES, N.J. — The Flyers’ season is only half over. But when April rolls around, Dan Vladar is already the clear odds-on favorite to win the Bobby Clarke Trophy for Flyers’ MVP.
His performances have been nothing short of astounding. He has a career high for wins (16) and is a big reason why the Flyers are ahead of the schedule for improvement set by both general manager Daniel Briere and coach Rick Tocchet.
To no one’s surprise, Vladar was named to Team Czechia’s roster for the Winter Olympics in Italy. It wouldn’t be a shocker either if he leads the Flyers to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
After Wednesday’s optional practice at the Flyers Training Center, the modest Vladar said he owes much of his success to the players in front of him. Yet there have been nights when the team has not played all that well and Vladar has stolen a win here.
“It’s not just me,” he insisted. “The whole team, since day one, we’re really trying to build something special here. We know there are still a lot of games ahead of us. We are not too high, I’m pretty sure of that. Still trying to be humble.
“We are doing everything we can and if we keep doing that, we know we’re going to be in a good spot.”
Vladar has played 25 of the first 41 games, so there’s always the caution about burnout, especially when backup Sam Ersson has not played well. (His .868 save percentage is among the lowest in the league.)
“Get lots of sleep, nutrition,” Vladar said. “We have a lot of good people around the team who know what they are doing. For me, it’s just keeping my ears open. Take advantage of the facility here.”
As for the Olympics, Vladar referenced the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan. It was the first time NHL players were allowed to take part in the competition and the Czech Republic, though not the favorite, came away with its first and only gold medal.
“It (making the roster) means a lot,” Vladar said. “Especially growing up in a hockey country like Czech is. You know, the Olympics in 1998 in Nagano, the Czech team won. Lots of memories, saw lots of highlights from that.
“So obviously another dream come true for me. I’m really proud that I’m going to be able to go and be part of the group.”
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Both Jamie Drysdale and Bobby Brink, injured in the Anaheim game, did not take part in Wednesday’s practice.
“I talked to them a little bit,” Tocchet said. “They’re still getting evaluated. I don’t want to say they’re day-to-day because I don’t know yet. They were in a half-decent mood.”
If Drysdale is unavailable against Toronto Thursday, Noah Juulsen is the likely replacement. Lehigh Valley’s Ty Murchison might be called up to be a spare.
Matvei Michkov, who sat out Tuesday night after taking a shot off his left foot in Saturday’s game in Edmonton, practiced Wednesday. Tocchet said he should be ready to go for the Toronto game.
If Michkov is ready and Brink isn’t, there shouldn’t be the need for a call-up from the Phantoms.
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With the NHL schedule compressed because of the Olympics, there’s a chance you’re going to see more of these optional practices as the Games approach next month.
“We’ve got a bunch of games the next two weeks,” Tocchet said. “It’s a bit of a sprint here before the Olympics so we still have to manage it. Using your bench, rotating some guys in and out. Sometimes there are freak injuries.”
If there’s any fatigue on the Flyers’ roster, it hasn’t shown up so far.
“The (Travis) Sanheims, the (Noah) Cates, they’re less likely to get injured,” Tocchet pointed out.
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GM Daniel Briere said Tuesday night the Flyers exceeded expectations in the first half. Tocchet was pretty much in line with that evaluation.
“When I took the job, I know what the task at hand was,” Tocchet said. “You want to win hockey games. But it’s more: ‘What kind of player can Jamie Drysdale be? Or a (Cam) York? Can Trevor Zegras rebirth himself?
“That was kind of the job. . .you want to win but there are also situations where you want to let people play. I’m a big culture guy and that was big for me at the start. You’re not going to win if you don’t have it.”