Jiricek has a shot to make Flyers’ starting lineup

VOORHEES, N.J. – There was a bit of a revolving door at the Flyers’ No. 6 defense spot last season but those days may be coming to an end.
David Jiricek, who was picked up in last year’s trade which sent forward Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild, appears poised to become a fixture on Philly’s third defense pairing.
One big reason? He’s got a cannon of a shot and the Flyers need all the help they can get from the point on the power play.
Right now, it appears Jamie Drysdale will get the majority of time at the blue line when the Flyers are on a man advantage. But it never hurts to have a little competition.
In fact, the Flyers instructed Jiricek to work on his point shot over the summer. Make it more accurate, maybe a bit quicker release.
“I tried to work on it everyday,” he said after Saturday morning’s intrasquad scrimmage at the Flyers Training Center. “I think that’s my biggest asset. I try to bring that to the table everyday.”
Jiricek is still trying to catch up to the systems employed by the Flyers. They’re not the same as the ones he played under in Minnesota and Columbus.
“There are some different things which I have to learn,” he said. “Your habits on the ice. . .when you go from a different team you have to adapt, you have to change your habits. Sometimes it takes time. I try to do it as hard as I can.”
Jiricek has the offensive skills. Defense might need some work.
“The offense is there,” he declared. “Just got to play defense, right? Sounds easy. Be good on defense, don’t make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. Try to do it the best you can.”
Coach Rick Tocchet believes Jiricek has a lot of potential.
“It’s hard to really judge after two days. Some guys play better in games (as opposed to practices),” the coach said. “There are guys who are good practice players but there are guys in the game, wow!
“With the short runway, you have to make quicker decisions when it comes to that. One guy might get two (games). And guys are fighting for it. It’s really hard to give them three games. And we have got to get ‘Sanny’ (Travis Sanheim), ‘Risto’ (Rasmus Ristolainen) going.”
Nothing new here as far as Tocchet is concerned.
“Every organization is going through it,” he said. “I know some kids are going to the team right from day one. With a short runway, who knows what’s right? There’s some competition there.
“We need to give him (Jiricek) a chance. He’s obviously got a hell of a shot. He’s come in with a real good attitude so we’ll see where it goes.”

>Vladar’s busy summer

The Flyers were so impressed with goaltender Dan Vladar’s first year, they tore up the second year of his original contract and gave him a five-year extention.
They also sent goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh over to watch some of Vladar’s summer workouts in his native Czechia.
“I’m super glad I’ve got a guy like ‘Dilly’ who is being nothing but honest with me,” said Vladar, who is ranked No. 8 goaltender by NHL.com. “He even came over to Czechia this summer. So that’s something I really appreciate. We know we’re on the same boat here.”
Vladar said he doesn’t plan to rest on his laurels.
“It’s part of life,” he said. “Nobody cares what you did last year. Just have to take it day by day, week by week, game by game, period by period, shot after shot.
“That’s just my mentality, focus on every single day. I’m not looking too (far) forward, it’s more about what is going to happen next week. I’m just focusing on today. That’s all I can do, come in, compete, be a good teammate and just enjoy my time here.”
Vladar said it was right back to business after the Flyers’ playoff run ended in mid-May.
“I basically started skating earlier than I’m used to,” he said. “Not as many shots, more skating. Hopefully I did everything I could over the summer to get ready for the season.”
Having new partner Joseph Woll around is a big help, too.
“We were both here a couple weeks before the camp started,” Vladar said. “Heard nothing but great things. I’m super glad that he’s here with us. Great guy and I’m looking forward to spending some time with him.”