Vladar 'having a blast' with Flyers, hopes to play at Olympics for Czechia

PHILADELPHIA -- Dan Vladar signed with the Philadelphia Flyers because he saw an opportunity for more playing time.

So far, the goalie has maximized every second of ice time he's gotten and helped turn the position from a question mark to an area of strength.

Vladar is 11-5-1 with a 2.50 goals-against average and .908 save percentage in 17 games. He's allowed two goals or fewer in 11 of his 17 starts, his .862 high-danger save percentage is fifth in the League, and his .919 even-strength save percentage is eighth (minimum 15 games).

He'll have a chance to improve those numbers when the Flyers host the Vegas Golden Knights at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, ESPN, SNP, SNO, SNE).

"I'm just trying to be myself, do my best since Day 1," Vladar said. "Not trying to be anyone else, just trying to be me and obviously be supportive for other guys. Bring the energy, bring the positiveness. Us Czechs, we don't like grumpy moods and stuff, so always positive and smile on your face. And that's what I'm trying to bring in here."

Vladar has had a smile on his face in part because he's finally healthy. He had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip in April 2024 while with the Calgary Flames, fixing a problem that had been bothering him for nearly a decade.

"I just always felt it like it was tight," he said. "And then last season I had issues going down in practices and games. I was eating a lot of painkillers and stuff. It was just tough because then I got to the point where I couldn't walk up the stairs, and I was hoping no shots are going to go blocker side, because I knew that my hip is hurting."

Selected by the Boston Bruins in the third round (No. 75) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Vladar spent time in the American Hockey League and ECHL before debuting with the Bruins during the 2020-21 season, and he didn't become a full-time NHL player until he was traded to the Flames in 2021.

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Because of the fear of losing ground on his upward trajectory, he tried to push through the pain rather than miss time recovering from injury. Older and wiser now, the 28-year-old realizes that was the wrong choice.

"As a player, you never want to take yourself out for six months, because that's the recovery time, right?" he said. "So, you're kind of trying to push and hoping for better days. ... I felt like I had a knife there, and I know every time I went down, I just felt like somebody twisted that knife. It wasn't good, but at the same time it's the NHL; you're always going to have somebody pushing you from the bottom.

“I just didn't want to take myself out. But obviously, looking back at it, I would probably do it differently."

Vladar was inconsistent at the start of last season while working his way back into shape. But he finished the season strong, winning his final four starts, allowing two goals or fewer in three of them. Then at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, he was 3-0-0 with one shutout in four games for Czechia, and his 1.09 GAA and .951 save percentage were second among all goalies.

"When I had [surgery], I had it when I was 26 years old, and I wish I did it eight years before, because I haven't felt good like that in a while," he said. "Obviously right after surgery it kind of takes time, first of all, to get back on the ice, and then just to put the strength there, and especially the trust into your hip."

He signed a two-year, $6.7 million contract ($3.35 million average annual value) with Philadelphia on July 1 and quickly earned the trust of coach Rick Tocchet.

"I know he's put the work in because I remember him in Calgary," Tocchet said. "In Calgary he was a good goalie, but I know he's put work in. He looks quicker. Goal-mouth scrambles and stuff, he looks really big. I don't see a lot of flipping around, over-pursuing stuff. How many times where he's made the second save? That's when you know the goalie is dialed in. He makes that initial (save) and there's a rebound or something, he's in position for the rebound. Some goalies are all-in on a shot and the rebound goes in. I've seen so many times this year, he's been in position for the second shot. So, you know he's put his work in."

That work could earn him a spot with Team Czechia at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Lukas Dostal of the Anaheim Ducks was one of the first six players named to the team, but he's been out since Nov. 22 because of an upper-body injury. Vladar also has the best GAA and save percentage of any Czechia-born NHL goalie this season.

For now, though, he's locked in on stopping pucks for the Flyers.

"Obviously it would be a dream come true for me to go represent my country," he said. "I went to World Championship after the season last year, I had a blast there. But at the same time, I'm focusing on the Flyers right now and I'm trying to do everything for team success here, and the goals that we kind of set up with the standard that we set up here since Day 1."

The standard for Vladar means continuing playing at a No. 1 goalie level, which would mean exceeding the NHL career-best 30 games he played last season; with 17 starts in 28 games, and in a condensed schedule, he's on pace to start 49.

Handling that workload will become paramount for Philadelphia, which is hoping to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2020.

"I've just spent a lot more time on recovery and stuff," Vladar said. "And 'Dilly' (goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh) has been in the League for a long time, so he's giving me a little bit of guidance. ... For me, it's just find the perfect balance of managing the energy between games and practices, just so I put myself in the best spot to have a successful game or season."

Tocchet said it's been a constant discussion between himself, Dillabaugh and the sports science and training staff. Part of that conversation began with Vladar starting five of the first seven games of the season, including three straight from Oct. 18-23, to see how he'd handle that level of work. To that point, it was the third time he ever started three straight NHL games.

With Vladar and Samuel Ersson as their goalies this season, the Flyers have a .902 5-on-5 save percentage, up from an .890 that was the worst since the NHL began tracking the stat in 2009-10.

"Uncharted waters for him, right? So, that's why I wanted to give it to him early to see how far he could run it before you get tired or something," Tocchet said. "How do I know? Obviously, we've got (Samuel) Ersson, who's a really good goaltender, and we feel comfortable with whoever starts, so can they share the load? That helps. But [Vladar] has got to play more than 30 games this year."

Vladar feels like he's ready for it.

"The biggest thing is that he I'm playing pain-free, which is huge," he said. "And I really feel like I get a lot of trust from my teammates and from the coaching staff, so obviously that helps a lot, when the player feels confident.

“... Obviously it's a new learning experience for me, but I'm having a blast so far. I just hope we, overall as a team, are going to keep doing the right thing and keep winning games."