Gudas sees familiar faces in Flyers' locker room

LESS THAN a minute into Radko Gudas' first in-person media session, Jake Voracek interrupted Gudas in the middle of a sentence and placed the defenseman's new No. 3 Flyers jersey across Gudas' chest.

"It's good to have another 'Czecho' here," Voracek said as he walked away, after yesterday's practice.

And the consensus among the players in the Flyers' locker room is that it's good to have Gudas on your team, and not the other way around.

The bruising, 6-foot, 204-pound blue-liner was shipped to the Flyers from Tampa Bay, along with a conditional first-round pick and a third-round pick, in exchange for Braydon Coburn at Monday's trade deadline.

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Gudas, 24, is known around the league for being a powerful open-ice hitter, an aspect to the Flyers' backline that has been missing at times this season.

But that's not all he brings to the table. There is a level of familiarity among two specific Flyers when it comes to Gudas.

Vinny Lecavalier spent the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons with him in Tampa Bay.

"Obviously, he'll bring a physical game, but he can play with the puck, he's got a lot of good skills, he's a defenseman that has the full package," Lecavalier said.

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Gudas sees familiar faces in Flyers' locker room