Coates: Jordan Weal A Pleasant Surprise
Since joining the Flyers lineup on February 11th, Jordan Weal has been paired with two of the top players on the team: Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds. In the last eight games the Flyers are averaging 3.125 Goals For Per Game and Weal has a Plus/Minus of 3 with 2 Goals and 1 Assist. His line mates have played well also with Wayne Simmonds scoring Five Goals and Claude Giroux compiling Five Points.
Flyers Radio Analyst Steve Coates joined The Sports Bash on Thursday and discussed the play of Jordan Weal:
"What a pleasant surprise (Jordan Weal) has been playing on the wing with Giroux and Simmonds. I'd really like to see him play his natural position (of Center) but he can't on this team....When you take a look at Jordan Weal going to the off wing and playing as well as he has, as a rookie that is really impressive....Giroux is playing an awful lot better and I think that has to do with Jordan Weal. Jordan Weal is getting him the puck; as (for) Weal it's pretty good to be able to get on a line with Simmonds and Giroux but on the other hand I would say Simmonds and Giroux are pretty happy to have Weal because Weal gets them the puck. So every time I watch that line play I think it's going to get better and better as they become more familiar with each other."
Hear what Coates had to say about the Flyers playoff hunt, the Goaltending situation, and the play of Claude Giroux