It is not how you start, it is how you finish.
That certainly applies to individual performances in professional sports, as relatively unknown right winger Jakub Voracek of the Philadelphia Flyers will learn.
The Czech has three-quarters of the NHL season remaining to sustain his impressive rise to the top of the league leaderboard. With seven goals and 22 assists for 29 points, he is tied with the man favoured to win the scoring title, Sidney Crosby.
The good news for Voracek, 25, and the Flyers is that his productive start may be less about a flukey streak and more about a talented young player changing his off-ice, off-season habits to improve his game.
Last summer, Voracek tried a leaner diet and a heavier cardiovascular workout to lose weight, and came back at a trimmer and fitter 6ft 2 ins, 97kgs
“I feel quicker, like from a standing spot,” Voracek told the website, Bleacher Report. “It’s the biggest difference for me because I have more time to make things happen.”
That could explain the boatload of assists, an ability Voracek already had when he broke in as a 19-year-old with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2008.
RJ Umberger, who played with Voracek in Columbus and has reunited with him in Philly, said the best thing a teammate can do when Voracek is on the ice is “get the puck to him. He finds people.”
At his current pace, Voracek would finish with 119 points, challenging Mark Recchi’s team record 123 points.
But it is a little silly to project from a 20-game subset, or compare points from this lower-scoring era to Recchi’s 1992-93 mark.
Not surprisingly, scoring titles and records aren’t something he wants to talk about.
“I don’t look at stats like that,” he told CSNPhilly. “I try to generate so many scoring chances, shoot the puck, help the team win. I don’t get carried away (with numbers.) Not even a little bit.”
Barring injury, he appears sure, at least, to top his career best 2013-14 season of 62 points (23 goals, 39 assists)
Voracek’s energetic start has not boosted erratic Philly into play-off contention. But if the Flyers can shore up a leaky defence, they do have a dependable, one-two scoring punch.
Star centre Claude Giroux’s 24 points are good for fifth in the league.
Voracek impressed at least one of his ex-teammates in a win last week, after the former Jacket collected a pair of assists at Columbus.
Blue Jackets Jared Bell remembered a “skinny” Voracek. “You could see the potential then,” said Bell. “In Philly, he kind of took off. He’s in good shape now.”
In five months, of course, we will know more.
sports@thenational.ae
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sav%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Purvi%20Munot%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24750%2C000%20as%20of%20March%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The 15 players selected
Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
SPAIN SQUAD
Goalkeepers Simon (Athletic Bilbao), De Gea (Manchester United), Sanchez (Brighton)
Defenders Gaya (Valencia), Alba (Barcelona), P Torres (Villarreal), Laporte (Manchester City), Garcia (Manchester City), D Llorente (Leeds), Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Midfielders Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Pedri (Barcelona), Thiago (Liverpool), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Ruiz (Napoli), M Llorente (Atletico Madrid)
Forwards: Olmo (RB Leipzig), Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Morata (Juventus), Moreno (Villarreal), F Torres (Manchester City), Traore (Wolves), Sarabia (PSG)
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
