Weal’s game growing in eyes of teammates, fans
PHILADELPHIA >> Fresh off a road trip that ended with a refreshing victory, the Flyers introduced their home fans to a version of playoff-form hockey Tuesday night.
Relentless forechecking, only a few defensive mistakes (but one doozy on the Senators’ second goal) ... and ultimately a preview of how much of an impact their most surprising roster addition could be to them next season.
That was Jordan Weal, the diminutive (to put it nicely) late-season sparkplug who was in the right spot at the right time to tie the game up with just under six minutes remaining in regulation, then scored the lone shootout goal that produced a 3-2 Flyers victory over the Senators.
Weal, better known as the kid that pretty much stood around at the end of last season after being included in the trade that was made with Los Angeles to finally free Vinny Lecavalier from a Philadelphia nightmare, made his presence felt in the AHL this season, leading the Phantoms in points and being one of that league’s scoring leaders.
Officially listed at 5-10 and 179 pounds, he doesn’t bother to try to prove those numbers halfway correct. Instead, he’s ignoring such trivial matters in favor of building up his NHL resume and reputation.
It took an injury to Travis Konecny for Weal, 24, to finally make his way back to the bigs, where he’d squeezed in four quiet Flyers games after that trade a year ago, and had played 10 times for the Kings, who were impressed when he’d earned a Calder Cup MVP award while winning the AHL title with Manchester in 2015.
His Philadelphia/Lehigh Valley re-start at that level was going well. He was far from the guy who hardly played during last season for the Kings, and even less after he was traded here.
Weal was different during his half-season with the Phantoms, getting a career recharge when he needed one. Now he’s doing the same thing for the Flyers, even if this last-minute jumpstart is almost certainly too late.
“I think from the start, that first practice I had, it just felt a little differently than it did last year,” Weal said of his Feb. 11 recall to the Flyers. “I was in Allentown and playing every night and was comfortable. My mojo was going, I guess you could say. So coming up here I felt like I could get right in the mix. Those first games against San Jose and in Calgary, I just felt different and knew I could do a lot of things I can do.”
“He’s very strong for his size,” linemate Wayne Simmonds said of Weal. “He doesn’t get knocked off the puck too much. He’s been a great addition to our team and has played well since he’s been up.”
Told that goalie Steve Mason had compared Weal to retired forward Marty St. Louis, Simmonds added, “He’s extremely strong on the puck, but Marty St. Louis is a borderline Hall of Famer . ... I think he’s got a little bit ways to go there. But he’s a bulldog with the puck.”
Weal’s influence on the Flyers wasn’t immediately apparent in the scoring column as he didn’t register a point in his first four games here this year. But he’s been a very steady player in March, especially lately, scoring three goals (plus the shootout winner) in the Flyers’ last five games.
Weal’s game-tying goal on this night came when he intercepted an ill-advised clearing attempt by Senators goalie Craig Anderson. He shot the puck from behind his net right onto the sneaky Weal’s stick in front of an open net. Sure, anyone could score on that play, but a few Flyers said Weal actually practices things like that.
“I’m watching film every day, trying to see what I can continue to do better and just trying to work as hard as I can and put my best foot forward,” Weal said. “This is one of the best leagues in the world and nothing’s given to you here. You’ve got to keep working all the time.”
Despite a dire outlook (six points out of a playoff spot with six games to go), the Flyers are still doing that, too. They have won four of six games, and largely dominated play in Columbus in a 1-0 loss there.
“That’s the frustrating part,” Mason said. “We know we can do it. But we lacked consistency and it put us in the position we are in. It’s not a good position but we’re staying alive right now.
“I don’t know what happened (elsewhere) tonight, but we did our part. If anything, if you’re watching the other teams, it’s more stressful. Teams are going to win, teams are going to lose. But we obviously have to win, so that’s all that really matters.”
Despite having a large personal stake in his current run of NHL success, Weal said his team’s success is all that’s motivating him right now. Weal turns 25 on April 15, so he’ll enter the offseason as a pending Group VI unrestricted free agent (any player 25 or older with at least three professional seasons who has not played in at least 80 NHL games).
Considering former Los Angeles front office worker Ron Hextall made sure Weal came over in the Lecavalier deal, it would figure he’d be out to re-sign him, then work to protect him in the expansion draft.
That’s exactly what he should do.
Weal, no matter what size he really is, has been showing shown that his game and his gut are NHL sized.
“I’m not really thinking about that right now,” he said. “We’ve got six games left and those are big games. We’ve got some points to be had and if we can get them, we can put some pressure on teams and hopefully squeak in.”