Blue liner is younger brother of Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman David Jiricek, coming off two knee injuries, including one at beginning of World Junior Championship
The St. Louis Blues certainly have a need to replenish the cupboard of their defensive corps but did so with a bit of a risk at the 2024 NHL Draft on Friday.
The Blues didn't trade up or trade down from No. 16, so they stuck to the pick and took Czech-born right-handed d-man Adam Jiricek, the younger brother of Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman David Jiricek.
"We had a lot of video work on him," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said of Jiricek, who turned 18 on Friday. "Where we had him rated before the injury, I was pretty impressed that he held his spot on our list without playing. Usually when you don't see guys, they're out of sight, out of mind. But our (scouts) were excited."
Adam Jiricek, who played the past two seasons with HC Plzen of the Czech Extraliga, had this past season cut short to just 19 games when he sustained a right knee injury at the start of the World Junior Championship. It was his second knee injury and would have fans skeptical and nervous that the Blues are taking a risk, something Armstrong said last week didn't concern the franchise.
"I think you rely heavily on your medical staff. The NHL does a lot of great work to get us information," Armstrong said. "We do a lot of internal work getting with the agents.
"I think [Aleksander] Barkov ... had a major issue and he fell a little bit and I know one team is happy that he fell. You have to weigh the risk with the reward. Modern medicine changes so much. Things used to be career-ending injuries are now just on the shelf for a small bit and back on the ice. It certainly adds another layer to the process that you go through to select the guy. Every injury is an injury on its own but you have to do your research. I wouldn't totally say we would back away from someone because of an injury another player has healed up on in 6-8 months and played another 15 years with."
Jiricek (6-foot-2, 167 pounds) was No. 4 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters, but the Blues need someone to come in and add some bite to their blue line in the future.
"It’s unbelievable," Jiricek said. "It’s draft day, birthday, and I’m really happy to be in St. Louis."
Jiricek has yet to begin skating since his recent knee injury.
The Philadelphia Flyers traded the 12th pick, moving back one slot with the Minnesota Wild, and the Wild took University of Denver defenseman Zeev Buium, a player the Blues could have tried to snag had they attempted to move up from 16.
"Yeah, those are just normal conversations you have," Armstrong said. 'It was more we were happy with where we sat."
