The younger brother of the Columbus Blue Jackets' top prospect David Jiricek, Adam is a first round candidate and could be a player of interest for the St. Louis Blues when they pick 16th overall in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft
With the 2024 NHL Draft approaching, it's time to look at some prospects that may be available to the St. Louis Blues with their first round pick. Now, as reported by fellow St. Louis Site Editor Lou Korac, the team could move up or down with the pick. Or, trade the pick for a young roster player, or make the pick.
However, Since St. Louis still has hold of pick No. 16 in the NHL Entry Draft, we’re going to spend every day leading up to June 28, looking at prospects who may be available and of interest to Doug Armstrong and his scouting team.
So far, we’ve covered OHL, Liam Greentree, and the next Norwegian star, right wing Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. Today, we’re looking at Czech defenseman, Adam Jiricek, who is the younger brother of the sixth overall pick in 2022, David Jiricek.
After looking at a couple of wingers for the Blues at No. 16, we shift our view to the blueline, where the organization could definitely use another right-shot defenseman in their pipeline.
Adam has been labeled a first-rounder, but his ranking is spread out across public scouting platforms. THN's draft preview magazine ranked him the 20th-best prospect in the draft, while THN's scouting expert Tony Ferrari had him at No. 12. And NHL Central Scouting had him ranked the 4th-best Europe-based prospect, one spot above Brandsegg-Nygard.
The reason for Jiricek’s spread-out ranking is due to him having his season cut short after suffering a knee injury at the World Juniors which required surgery. He hasn’t played a hockey game since Boxing Day. Also, he mentioned at the NHL Draft Combine that he hasn’t been back skating yet.
Tony Ferrari says, “According to his agent, he will return as soon as development camp this summer.”
Adam was one of Czechia’s best players in their silver medal finish at last year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup. His NHL potential was oozing out all over the ice. Unfortunately, he received very limited ice time playing in the top Czech league for HC Plzeň, which impacted his confidence.
*No. 5 In Red and White
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Unfairly or not, his injury and an okay U20 Five Nations tournament in November have seen his draft stock fall.
Adam was projected as one of the top defensemen and a top 10 candidate when the season began. So, there is the potential that he becomes a steal in the draft down the road, where we all look back and say he should have gone in the top 10.
Jiricek’s game is about his mobility, ability to move pucks up ice in transition, and playing a sound two-way game. His skating is remarkable. He moves fluidly in all four directions with and without the puck. When he’s on his game, he’s separating himself from forecheckers on the breakout, and swiftly juking out the defending forward along the offensive blueline.
“On the ice, Jiricek is a mobile, modern-day blueliner who leads with an excellent (defensive) stick. He looks to dislodge the puck and get it moving in the other direction whenever possible,” said Tony Ferrari.
Defensively, he uses his fleet of feet to squash his opponents in their tracks, mitigates controlled zone entries, and like his older brother David, he is more than willing to step up and hit his man off the puck.
McKeen’s Hockey Central Europe Regional Scout Chapin Landvogt said this about Adam, “He has always given the impression of having an iron lung and takes on heavy workloads without letting up. His reads without the puck can be downright exceptional and play-killing.”
Offensively, scouts didn’t get a chance to see progression due to his limited minutes and opportunities playing against men in Czechia, and his injury.
Adam mentioned to the media at the draft combine that he feels his older brother David is better offensively but he’s the better two-way defenseman. But, scouts would’ve liked to see if there were more tools in Jiricek’s offensive shed this season.
However, there very well be more offense to his game. Jiricek uses his agility to weave his way around the ice and protects the puck remarkably well for a defenseman. The amount of space he can open up for himself should correlate to an improvement in his playmaking ability.
Given that St. Louis has right-shot defensemen Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk signed on for the long term, the team might consider drafting Adam Jiricek and allowing him time to develop. This approach could be ideal for the young Czech defenseman, who will turn 18 on June 28.
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