Despite a 6-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, David Jiricek had a strong debut.
ST. PAUL - Despite a 6-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche (26-16-1), David Jiricek had a strong debut for the Minnesota Wild (26-12-4).
Jiricek, 21, skated in his 54th NHL game of his career and his 7th of the season. It was his first game in a Wild sweater.
"I'm so excited and blessed for the opportunity from the Minnesota organization," Jiricek said postgame. "That was the first one and I hope it wasn't the last one."
The 6-foot-4 defenseman went 3-for-4 on defensive zone exits, had one shot on four attempts, had three hits, and one takeaway in his debut.
Analytically he was pretty good as well. According to MoneyPuck, Jiricek ranked second amongst Wild defensemen in xGoals%, third in Corsi%, and first in on-ice xGoals Against.
"It was good. I thought, you can see there are times in the game where he caught your attention, where you’re like, Ok, I see a nice play, a puck move or pass," Wild head coach John Hynes said. "You see the size. I thought he competed hard. It was good to see him, obviously my first opportunity to see him live in the game. And I thought he came in and competed hard."
The native of Klatovy, Czechia, played 16:01 TOI and skated with Declan Chisholm the most. He played 7:24 with Chisholm and 3:11 with Travis Dermott. Jiricek and Dermott were the only two defensemen that weren't on the ice for a goal against tonight.
"I thought he showed at times his ability to move the puck and see the ice and have poise and confidence with it and when he was called upon to defend, I thought there was a competitiveness to him and he played hard in those areas."
Jiricek played the fewest minutes of any Wild defensemen in the loss but looked good for parts of the whole game.
As for what he thinks?
"Yeah. I mean, tough loss, that's for sure. You know, just bounce back tomorrow. I don't know what the schedule (is), but yeah. I mean, we have another game in two days, so prepare for that, and be ready to go again."
Let us know what you think by commenting below or on the Forum.
Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' Minnesota Wild page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.
Follow Dylan Loucks on Blue Sky and Twitter (X).