VandeVelde replaces injured Raffl on Flyers' top line
The Flyers received crushing news Wednesday: Michael Raffl, the emerging top-line left winger who shares the team lead with six goals, will miss six weeks because of an apparent foot injury he suffered blocking a third-period shot Tuesday in a 4-1 win over Edmonton.
"He's been a huge part of our line and our team," right winger Jake Voracek said Wednesday after practice in Voorhees. "It's tough to see him go down, especially after the start he's had . . . but like I said, hockey injuries happen."
Raffl, Claude Giroux and Voracek have combined for 39 points, making them one of the NHL's premier lines.
Surprisingly, Chris VandeVelde will be given a shot to replace Raffl. Vande Velde, 27, started the season with the AHL's Phantoms and has been playing on the fourth line.
"I'll try to get them the puck, and the odds are you'll get it back," VandeVelde said. "Definitely, two really good players, and I'm excited to be on the line."
"It opens an opportunity for someone else to play at a higher position, kind of like our back end," general manager Ron Hextall said. "Our back end has done a good job filling in for injuries, and we'll have to do the same thing up there."
Raffl, 25, turned awkwardly as he blocked Mark Fayne's shot, and it is believed he injured his right foot. He became the fifth Flyer who was injured blocking a shot since training camp, starting with Wayne Simmonds in a preseason game against the Rangers. The others: Vinny Lecavalier, Braydon Coburn and Andrew MacDonald.
The Flyers (5-5-2) do no release specifics on injuries, but all the players are believed to have been hit in the foot except MacDonald (right knee).
Hextall is upset that most NHL players do not wear skate guards.
"It's a pet peeve of mine, quite frankly," Hextall said. "I think the skates are inadequate. We give these guys sticks to shoot the puck 100 miles per hour, and we don't protect the feet well enough. . . . I think something needs to be fixed."
Hextall said the NHL Players' Association would have to agree to make skate guards mandatory.
VandeVelde, a former University of North Dakota standout, has two goals in 54 NHL games. He has one goal and two assists in eight games this season.
"I've been playing pretty well . . . and Coach rewarded me, so I'll be ready to go," said VandeVelde, who has been living in a Cherry Hill hotel with his wife and young son. He still has an apartment in Allentown near the Phantoms' arena.
Coach Craig Berube called the 6-foot-2, 190-pound VandeVelde a "big body, and he skates well. We're kind of looking for a simple player on that line. G and Jake do a lot of the puck work and carry the puck into the zone. We needed a big body who goes to the net, goes into the corners and is physical. Vandy has been physical this year."
Brayden Schenn, who started the year on the top line, remained on the third unit in practice. If VandeVelde doesn't click with Giroux and Voracek, Schenn could be back on the top line in the near future.
Breakaways
Forward Blair Jones cleared waivers but remained with the Flyers, and defenseman Brandon Manning was sent down to the Phantoms. . . . Hextall is not considering recalling Phantoms center Scott Laughton because he wants him to develop and he cannot play left wing.
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