(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)
By Jeff Quake, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
During the Expansion Draft back in June, the new 31st team in the NHL, the Vegas Golden Knights, selected Pierre-Edouard Bellemare from the Philadelphia Flyers.
This matters if we rewind the clock to the trade deadline back in February when Philadelphia swapped Mark Streit to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Valtteri Filppula, a fourth-round pick in 2017, and a conditional seventh-round pick in 2017. Once Streit was traded, Bellemare became the new alternate captain.
Now that Bellemare is gone, it is time once again to decide who will take the important leadership role. Here are the best available options.
Jake Voracek – He is a true leader on and off the ice, and if that doesn’t show you the reason, well he let his playing do the talking. Ever since coming to Philadelphia, Voracek has posted a total of 354 points, scoring 116 goals and 238 assists in 445 games. He has overall been a fan favorite in Philadelphia, and throughout the league. He is the type of player I would want in my locker room getting the entire team pumped up especially if they need the boost.
Radko Gudas – If you have paid close attention over the past few years, it has usually been one defenseman and one forward who are the alternate captains. With Wayne Simmonds as the other alternate captain, it would be an easy argument to show why a player such as Gudas should be the next alternate captain. Although Gudas has racked up the penalty minutes over the years, he has slowly but surely lowered those numbers. The point of an alternate captain is to have someone else be the guy to step up not only in the locker room, but a huge part of it is being able to talk to the referee on specific plays.
Ivan Provorov – This one may be too early, however what Provorov proved in his rookie year alone was remarkable. He was voted the Barry Ashbee Trophy winner as the best defenseman on the team, marked 30 points on the scoresheets, and of course his defensive play was stellar. The star defenseman for the Flyers could very well be among the leadership group on the team and a Norris Trophy finalist before we know it.
Valtteri Filppula – Another quiet pick to be the next alternate captain, but a good one as Filppula not only is a veteran in the NHL, but has had prior experience as an alternate captain. He was announced as the newest alternate captain by Tampa Bay during the 2016 offseason, but was then traded to Philadelphia. He may look like a quiet guy, but I believe that Filppula would be the best option as the next alternate captain for the Flyers.
