Wild Reveal Plan For Newly Acquired Defenseman

The Wild revealed their plan for David Jiricek's path to playing.

ST. PAUL - Often times when a team acquires a player in a trade, fans want to see them right away. In this case, with David Jiricek, it's going to take some time. 

Jiricek, 21, has played in six NHL games this year and four AHL games. He is on his third team in the last two weeks, including Columbus' AHL team, and needs time to fit in before he plays. 

"I think, as a young player, coming in and getting traded; was in Columbus and he was in the American League, so there’s two teams now. He’s on his third team in the same year. I think it’s just going to take a little bit more time," Wild head coach John Hynes said. "So we haven’t even broached the discussions of when he’s going to get in, who’s going to play, where it’s more, let's give him some time."

The 6-foot-4 defender has a lot of talent. He was the sixth overall pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets for a reason. But he hasn't played that many games this year so he needs some time before he can get in. 

He is also joining a Minnesota Wild team that is 16-4-4 on the year and has the best points percentage record in the entire NHL. 

On Tuesday Hynes said that Jiricek needs some extra time to practice with the Wild and get familiar with their systems and how they want him to play. He will continue to work with the staff and watch games from the press box before he gets in. 

Hynes also said he had a conversation with Jiricek about all of this and he understood everything. 

"Yeah, he was great to talk to, like he knows, too. He’s like, ‘I gotta skate, I gotta practice. I gotta see what’s going on.’ It’s been a big transition for him," Hynes said. "I mean, it may come to a point where maybe you get injured tonight. I don’t know, and he’s got to go in, but I would say right now, the best case scenario for him is to come in and get acclimated, get back to skating, get back to practicing, seeing how we’re doing things. And then when his opportunity comes, it comes."

As for what Jiricek thinks?

“Oh yeah, 100 percent, you know and Four of them was in minors," Jiricek said on needing time to practice before playing. "So, yeah, just gotta take some time. Yeah, that's for sure.”

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).