Coming in at No. 3 in our top 10 St. Louis Blues prospects is Adam Jiricek, a do-it-all right handed defenseman.
As the anticipation for the 2026-27 NHL season grows, TheHockeyNews.com will be taking a look at the top 10 prospects in the St. Louis Blues' system, with skilled, two-way right-handed defenseman Adam Jiricek coming in at the third spot.
The players in this ranking do not have extensive NHL experience and are all 23 and under. Therefore, players like Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Logan Mailloux, among others, won't feature in this ranking for those reasons.
The order of these rankings reflects a mix of their ceilings and potential, as well as how they've performed over the past year with their respective clubs.
The top-rated defenseman in the St. Louis Blues prospect pool is none other than Adam Jiricek. Up until the 2025-26 season, injuries had hampered Jiricek's ability to shine, but he was healthy throughout the entire campaign and looked every part of the 16th overall pick of the 2024 NHL draft.
Jiricek played his second season with the OHL's Brantford Bulldogs, scoring 19 goals and 59 points in 55 games. His 59 points ranked fourth among defensemen in the OHL, and his 19 goals ranked third. When the playoffs rolled around, Jiricek kept his pace, notching seven goals and 22 points in 15 games, ranking third in goals and points on the Bulldogs.
While his offensive numbers shone, his defensive game never wavered, as evidenced most clearly by his exceptional performance at the 2026 World Junior Championship.
Jiricek and Jakub Fibigr skated together on the top pairing for Team Czechia and were dynamite. Jiricek finished the tournament with five goals and six points in seven games, earning best defenseman honors as Czechia won silver. But Jiricek and Fibigr were tasked with playing heavy minutes against opponents' top lines, routinely shutting them down.
Although Jiricek has had several brilliant tournaments, it was his best two-way display of his career up until that point.
The 20-year-old's season ended early when the Bulldogs, who were favorites to win the OHL Championship for most of the season, were eliminated from the playoffs. The Blues took that opportunity to bring him to the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he skated in six post-season games. He failed to record any points, but the fact that coach Steve Ott trusted a rookie defenseman to play in six playoff games is impressive in itself.
Jiricek is now poised to participate in his rookie season in the AHL, with high expectations. Standing 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, Jiricek boasts a strong frame for an NHL defenseman. His size should allow him to defend the front of his net and deal with the physicality of the AHL, but where he'll thrive is in his puck-moving.
Jiricek is a mobile defenseman who can retrieve dump-ins and quickly initiate breakouts. Whether it's with a heads-up first pass or by taking the puck solo, Jiricek is very effective at moving the puck in a positive direction.
When in the offensive zone, Jiricek showed more confidence in the OHL and at the world juniors to jump into play, whether off the rush or on the cycle. With the puck on his stick at the blueline, he is a threat to feather a pass to a teammate or fire off a heavy shot. He possesses a strong slap shot, especially off a one-timer.
His offensive skill set should allow him to quarterback a power play at the NHL level, but whether it's on a top unit or second unit remains to be seen.
In all, Jiricek is capable of handling heavy minutes at 5-on-5, can quarterback a power play, and can be a catalyst on the penalty kill. Jiricek has true top-four upside, and if he continues to develop at this rate, he could become a top-pairing defenseman alongside Philip Broberg very soon.
St. Louis Blues Prospect Rankings:
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.
See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
