Inside the Flyers: Voracek opening eyes with his fast start

When the Flyers' fathers joined their sons on a recent two-game trip to Florida, right winger Jake Voracek wondered if he was going to be able to take his usual pregame nap.

Voracek was hoping his father, Milo, didn't also decide to get some afternoon shut-eye in their hotel room.

"He keeps me up with his snoring," Voracek said. "Snores like crazy."

As it turned out, Voracek was able to get some rest. He looked refreshed that night and, like most games this season, seemed to have more energy than anyone else on the ice.

In the first month of the season, opponents have had a difficult time keeping up with the explosive Voracek. He lost 10 pounds in the offseason ("No carbs. It was tough.") and is noticeably quicker. Playing alongside star center Claude Giroux, the 6-foot-2, 204-pound Voracek seems to be in the middle of a scoring chance every time he's on the ice.

Fans are calling him Jake Score-a-cek.

"I played against him for a couple years, and you definitely see his maturity and the way he's improved over the years," said Carlo Colaiacovo, the Flyers' recently signed veteran defenseman. "He's all-star caliber now."

Voracek, 25, has never made an NHL all-star team, but if he is chosen this season, it would be extra satisfying because the game is being played in Columbus, where the right winger started his career and where his coach then, Scott Arniel, called him a lazy player who didn't take conditioning seriously. In 2011, Voracek was dealt to the Flyers with two draft picks - they turned out to be Sean Couturier and Nick Cousins - for high-scoring Jeff Carter.

He has spent three-plus productive seasons with the Flyers, and he has proved Arniel wrong.

"It's too far ahead," he said of the All-Star Game. "Everyone knows I'm having a good start, but I don't want to get carried away with everything."

Heading into Friday's games, Voracek had 19 points and was tied for the NHL scoring lead with Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. He registered his 19th point in his 13th game; last year, he didn't score his 19th point until Game 34, on Dec. 17.

Colaiacovo, the Flyers newcomer, was told that club chairman Ed Snider said Voracek had superstar potential before the season.

"He has good eyes," Colaiacovo cracked.

Voracek, selected by Columbus in the first round with the seventh overall draft pick in 2007, had career highs in goals (23) and points (62) last season; he is on a 120-point pace this season, and he scored points in 12 of the Flyers' first 13 games heading into Saturday.

"He's playing with a lot of confidence," Giroux said. "With that kind of confidence and skill, it's a dangerous combination."

Voracek, a gregarious sort who spends a lot of his spare time trying to improve his fantasy football teams, downplays his impressive start, noting it's too early in the season to talk about being in the scoring race with the likes of Crosby, Anaheim's Corey Perry, and Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin.

"We can talk about it 55 games in," he said.

The Czech Republic native conceded it's "good to hear" his name mentioned with some of the league's elite players. "But I don't want to get overconfident," he said. "They have been doing it the last 10 years, and like I said, we need to focus on winning games."

When he was younger, Voracek's father played in juniors and in men's leagues. He is a student of the game - and someone who keeps a close eye on his son's game. They are on the phone constantly, talking about Voracek's game and how he can improve.

"For a guy who's never played professional hockey, he's got good opinions on the game," Voracek said. "Without him, I don't think I'd be where I am."

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