NHL draft expert Tony Ferrari opens his scouting notebook to analyze the games of Czech defenseman Adam Jiricek, Finnish forward Konsta Helenius and Swiss defender Daniil Ustinkov.

It's time to open the scouting notebook once again with a look at three prospects eligible for the 2024 NHL draft.

This week, I share my game scouting reports of three players who should be representing their home nation at the 2024 World Junior Championship later this month, all of whom are playing pro hockey in European men’s leagues.

We start off by examining a recent game from Adam Jiricek, one of the top defenders available in the 2024 draft and the younger brother of Columbus Blue Jackets prospect David Jiricek. Next up, we look at Konsta Helenius. The young Finn is one of the most intriguing two-way centers in this year’s class. Before we close the notebook for the week, under-the-radar defenseman Daniil Ustinkov gets a peek. The Swiss defender is one of the hidden gems of the class.

Weight and height are according to NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list.

Adam Jiricek, RHD, Plzen (Czech League), 6-foot-2, 178 pounds

Nov. 24, 2023, vs. HC Olomouc: Playing against men, Adam Jiricek looks like a functional player at both ends of the ice. He played with hesitation in this game, which can be a bit of an issue at times because he is so often trying to keep mistakes to a minimum.

Jiricek played physically, closing out a couple of times along the boards in transition and eliminating the man from the play. Jiricek uses his stick to guide a player to the outside and uses the wall to pin them. He looks to play through the attacker's hands and force them to offload the puck. There were a couple of plays in which he killed play along the boards and engaged in a board battle. He seems to lack the strength but not the effort when in a battle, but his motor helps him win the puck at a respectable rate for a 17-year-old in a men’s league.

Jiricek showcased some nice passing throughout the game. His breakout passes hit teammates in stride, and he tried to push the pace in transition, but there were many moments in which his team would circle back or send the puck back to the defenders. 

He dealt with puck retrievals perfectly fine but lacked the skill or dynamism to find a way out of trouble when opponents closed in on him. There were a couple of moments when Jiricek had lanes open to start the breakout, particularly lower in the defensive zone, and he would hesitate a bit and end up having to make a quick, safe play up the wall. The ability to adjust is nice to see, but hitting that passing lane or making a cleaner, controlled breakout when he had time would have been nice.

Jiricek kept his game a bit simple in the offensive zone. He shot when the lane presented itself but wasn’t looking to create anything or really move into the middle of the ice. He fired one shot that looked like an MLB pitcher pitching out to catch a baserunner. He wound up at the blueline but telegraphed and fired the shot to the corner for little reason.

The frustrating thing with Jiricek, in this game and others, is that the tools and skills are all there. He flashes little moments of outstanding play, but he is keeping his head above water at the Czech men’s level. I hope to see him open up his game and showcase what he has more fully at the World Junior Championship.

Konsta Helenius, RW, Jukurit (Liiga), 5-foot-10, 180 pounds

Nov. 29, 2023, vs. HIFK: The best forwards to come out of the Liiga in recent years have largely been two-way players. There are questions on whether they can stand out on offense, but there's a reasonably strong sense they will be effective NHL players. Helenius fits that bill, and this game was a good example of that.

His defensive tracking in transition is very solid, always identifying his man and staying in stride with them, tying up their stick if and when the puck came to them. 

Helenius defaulted to the front of the net when defenders went into the corners, ensuring he was there to thwart center lane passes. Along the boards, Helenius understood how to leverage body position and tie up sticks. He isn’t the biggest or strongest player, which was noticeable at times, but his motor was consistently running, which helped offset the strength deficiency.

Helenius was a factor in transition, using his quick feet to weave through the neutral zone. He isn’t a guy who uses his crossovers as consistently as you’d like to see, but he will make small cuts inside and outside off his edges before jumping back up to speed with a couple of quick strides. Helenius also used his teammates well in transition, feeding them along the wall and then getting a return pass off the defensive player's heels.

He had two assists in this game, both coming on the power play. The first was a secondary assist as he worked the puck high-to-low and back again before it was set across the crease. 

Helenius shows excellent movement on the power play, rotating from high in the zone to the slot and out to the wall. His constant movement makes it hard to lock in on where he is, making it difficult to defend. He had a primary assist later in the game, getting a pass on the half wall and drawing the puck side low defender to him before passing it through the defender's triangle to a teammate out front who made a nice move to rotate and shelf the puck from in tight.

Helenius showed flashes on the power play that you’d like to see a bit more in the offensive zone at 5-on-5. Rather than attempting to come up with a creative play or making a move on a defender 1-on-1, Helenius relied on making simple, safe passes that advanced play. 

Helenius’ best offensive chances at even-strength came on plays where he went to the net or faded into a pocket in the slot. He had a point-blank chance in the first period after working the puck down low in a puck battle and then heading to the low slot. The goalie made a fantastic save on him on that shot.

He had a few other chances, mostly heading to the net and trying to bang in rebounds. Helenius doesn’t play the most dynamic brand of hockey against pro-level competition, but he finds a way to play effective hockey. It will be interesting to see how Helenius plays at the upcoming World Junior Championship for Finland.

Daniil Ustinkov, LHD, Zurich (Switzerland), Six-foot, 198 pounds

Dec. 2, 2023, vs. Geneve-Servette HC: Once again, Ustinkov has shown maturity beyond his years against men in the Swiss top league. His proficiency as a calming and steadying presence on the back end has been enviable in just about every viewing, and this one was no different.

Ustinkov diffuses dangerous play in his own zone quickly and efficiently without much fuss. Ustinkov completed every pass he attempted except for one in this game. The one pass he didn’t complete was while he was pinned against the boards, and he flicked the puck to the corner where a teammate was flat-footed and allowed an opponent to step in front of it.

Throughout the game, the young mobile defender made intelligent crisp passes, staying patient with the puck and understanding he can’t force anything. He allowed opponents to close in on him and make a pass as a man became open. Ustinkov was effectively using head fakes and feints to make opposing players take a step the wrong way or stutter in their decision-making.

Defensively, Ustinkov isn’t trying to throw booming hits or play outside of his tools. He simply closes the gap as soon as possible, uses his stick to break up play quickly and recovers the puck. 

Ustinkov reads opposing rush patterns at a high level, staying fluid in his movement to maintain good spacing and understanding when to strike with a well-timed poke check. When the play did get tight along the boards, Ustinkov consistently lifted his opponent's stick and rotated his hips into the opponent, cutting them off from the puck, which gave him time to decide where to move the puck.

His calmness under pressure and willingness to go into the fray and come out with control of the puck are assets NHL teams tend to love. 

Late in the game, Ustinkov had a couple of shifts when he jumped up into the play and engaged offensively to try to make an impact at that end of the ice as well. On one play, he pinched down the wall and made a nice pass to the slot that his teammate shot wide of the net. On his final shift of the game, he carried the puck from his own goal line to the offensive zone, leading them on a 3-on-2.

He attacked the middle, drawing the two defenders before sending a quick backhand pass to his teammate. His teammate did nothing with the pass, but Ustinkov’s flash of offensive skill was enticing nonetheless. 

Ustinkov's been playing against men all season, and even if he isn’t going to get more than 10 minutes a night, he's proven to be highly effective in his minutes. Ustinkov has the intelligence and the pro habits that will make him a very good two-way defender.