Waiting on a ring, playing like gold: Vladar’s Olympic call could be a plot twist for Flyers

VOORHEES, N.J. -- With the possible exception of the time spent on the ice with his teammates at tomorrow's morning skate, Dan Vladar will be sitting anxiously by his phone.

Team Czechia is set to announce it's Olympic roster on Tuesday, and Vladar is hoping to join teammates Travis Sanheim (Canada), Rasmus Ristolainen (Finland) and Rodrigo Abols (Latvia) in Italy for the first Olympics to feature NHL players since 2014. 

Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal was named as one of the first six Czech players back at the start of the season, as many expected him to be the de facto starter for Czechia in the Olympics coming off a strong performance in the World Championships. 

But the season has been a bit inconsistent for Dostal. In 26 starts he's had a 3.22 goals against average and an .887 save percentage. 

There are two other spots open on the Czechia roster for goalies, and seven other Czech goalies who have played in the NHL this season. 

The one with the best numbers, by far, has been Vladar. 

So, not only should expect the call, but maybe the breakout season he's having for the Flyers puts him ahead of Dostal on Czechia's depth chart.

It'd be a cool story for the Flyers No. 1 goalie. 

Dan Vladar robs Trevor Zegras on power play. pic.twitter.com/2TkIWixfja

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) January 5, 2026

"I wouldn't say it was a goal," Vladar said Monday about making the Olympic team. "But it was maybe in the back of my head somewhere. Coming here, as a new guy, I didn't really have time to think about it that way.

"I was just trying to establish myself on this team and get to know everybody and focus on myself and the team here. If it happens, great. If not, I'll be going somewhere warm."

He can keep his bathing trunks in storage, because Vladar isn't just the best Czech goalie in the NHL this season - he's one of the best in the NHL, so far. 

His 2.39 goals against average is fifth out of 32 goalies who have played in at least 20 games this season. 

His .910 save percentage ranks tied for eighth. 

The Flyers wouldn't be anywhere close to a playoff spot, let alone be sitting four points out of first place in the Metropolitan Division with a couple games in hand, were it not for Vladar. 

Tuesday's game against the Ducks (and Dostal), will mark the halfway point of the season for the Flyers. 

Vladar will start, and it will be his 25th start of the season. The most games he's ever started in an NHL season is 29, so he's nearing a personal high with three-and-a-half months of a hockey season to go. 

And he doesn't appear to be slowing down.

"I feel great and I'm still as hungry as everyone else in this locker room," Vladar said. "I'm glad to have this opportunity and I'm trying to take advantage of it every day. My body feels great."

The bigger question is, does Rick Tocchet plan to use him the same amount as he did in the first half of the season in the second half, or will he think about pushing him a little more?

The reason that's important is because as close as the Flyers are to the top of the division, they are even closer to being out of the playoffs altogether. 

The  Eastern Conference is packed so tightly, that the Flyers hold just a two point edge over the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, who are currently on the outside looking in as far as the playoff race is concerned. 

In fact, there is only a 10 point difference between the top team in the East - Tampa Bay, with 53 points - and Columbus (43 points) who sit in 16th place in the Conference. 

So, how Tocchet utilizes his goalies going forward will be crucial to the Flyers staying in a playoff position versus missing out.

"That's a tough one," Tocchet said. "(Vladar's) played most of his career less than 40 games, so you got to be conscious of that. But saying that, you know, he's playing really well. If the schedule (allows) can you play him four in a row? Yeah, but you also got to be conscious of the wear and tear of the schedule."

The Flyers have a four-game home stand this week, playing the Ducks, Toronto, and then a very rare, two in a row (with a day off in between) against Tampa Bay. 

Considering the every-other-day aspect of the schedule, is it possible that this is the first time Tocchet will try to go four straight with Vladar? The most he's gone to this point is three.

The team has back-to-back road games in Buffalo and Pittsburgh next week, and Sam Ersson has traditionally played well against the Sabres. So, it could be a time for Tocchet to see if Vladar can handle four in a row. 

And if Vladar does end up going to Italy for the Olympics, he's not going to get that three-week respite. He's going to continue playing games - and high leverage ones at that.

Which means the Flyers may be more judicious than they'd like to be with his time in net after the break - meaning they are going to need some relief from Sam Ersson. 

"Ersson had a really good game in Chicago (before Christmas). He didn't like his game the other night in Calgary," Tocchet said. "But he's always bounced back, so we got to get him in there too. It's a tough question because it's going to be condensed. We have a lot of four-in-six-nights. We're going to have to use both goalies."

Or is it three goalies.? 

The American Hockey League announced on Monday that Lehigh Valley Phantoms goaltender Aleksei Kolosov was named Player of the Week for the week that ended on Sunday.

He's the first Phantoms goalie to earn that award since the team moved to Lehigh Valley in 2014. 

Kolosov stopped 60 of the 61 shots he faced in two starts for the Phantoms last week (0.50 GAA, .984 save pct.).

Last Wednesday, Kolosov made 31 saves a the Phantoms shut out Hershey. On Sunday, Kolosov's 24th birthday, he made 29 saves to backstop the Phantoms to a 6-1 victory at Toronto. 

Kolosov was selected as the game’s first star in both contests.

"Organizationally, the internal competition is huge," Tocchet said. There's guys out there in the minors that are pushing, right? They're trying to get up. He's challenging the goaltending situation."

Tocchet added that Kolosov came into camp really focused and that the reports from Lehigh Valley are that he's stringing several good games together and not having inconsistency. 

"That's a sign of maturity," Tocchet said. "That helps the organization."

It's something the Flyers have to consider because there's somewhere between 13 and 17 games remaining this season that someone other than Vladar will be between the pipes for and those are all incredibly important games for the Flyers if they are going to make the playoffs. 

"We want to do something special here and we are never going to be satisfied," Vladar said.

#Flyers Dan Vladař after the win: pic.twitter.com/rxRvvrgtlV

— Jackie Spiegel (@jackiespiegel93) January 4, 2026

But the games aren't going to get any easier going forward. 

"We talk about it every day," Tocchet said. "It's going to get harder. It's not going to be easier. If you think it was hard the first half - times two, maybe times three. It's going to get harder."

And the Flyers will need their goaltending to be up for the challenge.

Can Ersson save a subpar season in the second half? Will Kolosov get another opportunity at the NHL level?

Regardless of how it plays out, Vladar is ready for the rigors of the second half. And maybe the Olympics will only lock him in that much more.