Flyers’ Christian Dvorak believes a reunion with Rick Tocchet can help him take his ‘game to another level’
Dvorak, who played for Tocchet in Arizona from 2017-21, has established himself as a good faceoff man and penalty killer. He thinks his offense could bloom in Philly, too.
Familiarity may breed contempt, but it also breeds comfort.
For Christian Dvorak, there is no lack of respect for the Flyers’ new bench boss, Rick Tocchet. But there is also comfort with Tocchet, which is part of what led him to Philadelphia. The forward signed a one-year, $5.4 million deal with the team on July 1.
“That certainly helps being familiar with Tocc and the way he coaches,” Dvorak said via Zoom on Thursday. “He helped me out a lot in Arizona as a young guy — and we had a really young team there, too — and he was really good with us, and I know he’s going to be great with the young guys here in Philly.
“So, yeah, that helps a lot to know the way he coaches and talking to him, I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for me, and I’m really excited for it.”
Dvorak, 29, played for Tocchet from 2017 to 2021 with the Arizona Coyotes. He had his best NHL season in 2019-20, when he collected career highs in goals (18) and points (38). In 2017-18, his first year with Tocchet, Dvorak notched 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists), and in 2020-21, he set a career high in power-play goals (eight) and points (11).
It was evident on Thursday how much he loved playing for Tocchet in the desert.
“He’s big on communication, which is huge. He always has an open-door policy, which is nice,” Dvorak said. “Loves talking to everyone on the team and knowing what they’re thinking. So, yeah, I think that’s big. Always a well-structured coach; everyone knows where they need to be out there and, offensively, gives you some freedom too.”
Aside from a reunion, Dvorak, who is primarily a center but can play wing, came to Philly for a “big opportunity” because the Flyers are a little thin down the middle. A reliable 200-foot pivot, he spent the past four seasons playing for the Montreal Canadiens, racking up 103 points (38 goals, 65 assists) and winning 55.2% of his faceoffs across 232 regular-season games.
Unfortunately, Dvorak has dealt with injuries throughout his nine-year NHL career. Sandwiched between his two best seasons with Tocchet, he missed the first 62 games in 2018-19 with a lower-body injury and then tore a pectoral muscle during his rehab.
In 2023-24, he missed the start of the season after undergoing knee surgery the previous March before having surgery to again repair a torn pectoral muscle in January; he was expected to miss the remainder of the season but returned that April, fittingly by scoring two goals against the Flyers.
This past season, he hit the 82-game mark for the first time in his career and tallied 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists) before adding two goals in five Stanley Cup playoff games.
“Being hurt the previous couple of years, missing a lot of time, it’s hard to get in a groove and have your full confidence, and coming back from major surgeries, too. ... I felt really good health-wise and felt really good about my game, and it was a big step for me.
“Obviously wanted to be healthy the whole year, and that was huge for me. So, the body feels great, and I think I could take my game to another level as well.”
» READ MORE: Bryn Mawr’s Ajay White grew up a huge Flyers fan. He lived out a dream last week at their development camp.
The early expectation is that Dvorak could either slot into the fourth-line center hole left by the trade of Ryan Poehling to Anaheim or on the left wing alongside Noah Cates and Bobby Brink, with Tyson Foerster potentially set to miss time with an upper-body injury. If Dvorak is on the wing, he could help Cates out, who has struggled in the faceoff circle.
Dvorak won 55.8% of his faceoffs last year — including 56.1% at five-on-five — and took the majority in the defensive zone. The Illinois native ranked 19th in the NHL in faceoff win percentage among players who took 500 draws.
He was also a key penalty killer for the Canadiens, who ranked ninth in the NHL last season (80.9%), and could assume Poehling’s role on the penalty kill.
“Definitely excited for that,” he said about helping to boost a Flyers’ penalty kill that was 20th last season (77.6%). “I take a lot of pride in being good on the PK, and I could certainly help win hockey games. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to it.
“You always want to try to be top 10 in both categories, special-teams-wise, so doing those little things on the PK, like winning faceoffs, blocking shots, something I’ve done before, and always willing to do that.”
Dvorak has two career shorthanded goals and has also played on the power play, posting 45 of his 249 career points, including 22 goals, with the man advantage. And we all know that the Flyers’ power play needs help.
Now, with the ink dry, Dvorak has his sights set on heading to the City of Brotherly Love.
“I always loved playing there,” he said. “Passionate fan base. Heard lots of great things about guys that have played there before, playing there now. I know the fans are really, really passionate and hungry for the team to take the next step here.”