RHD Adam Jiricek entered the Blues prospect system following the 2024 NHL draft, and he spent his season playing for the Brantford Bulldogs in the OHL. How did year 1 of Jiricek's development go and has his future outlook changed at all?
A bind in Branford: Jiricek in the OHL
One of the biggest question marks on Jiricek's profile heading into the 2024 NHL draft was his health. Jiricek had a spotty injury history, though not enough for him to fall out of the first half of the first round as the Blues selected him at 16th overall.
Jiricek suffered a major injury to his right knee in the 2024 World Juniors Championship playing for team Czechia ahead of being drafted, which sidelined him for significant time. He missed the remainder of play in 2024 until November 1st, five months after being drafted.
This injury came off a nasty play where he fell awkwardly, so it's not as if his body has shown a propensity to be overly flimsy and prone to injuries; it was mostly bad luck.
His run of bad luck would continue in the 2024-25 season, where he suffered an injury getting hit to the same knee just five days after beginning play for Brantford.
This reaggravation of a major injury was yet another case of plain bad luck but does raise some questions about how his knee will heal.
Jiricek did not register a point in his first four games before the second injury, but upon returning to play in December he ended the season with 12 points in 27 games. In the OHL playoffs, Jiricek registered 2 points in 9 games.
Jiricek had a great defensive season for Brantford, showing a willingness to break up plays and get involved defensively. It looks like the offensive tools are still developing, but he showed a floor as a goal scorer as 4 of his 12 points went in the back of the net. Jiricek is great playing the puck out of the defensive zone to transition to offense, and showed flashes of real playmaking in the offensive zone.
While his time in the OHL was brief, Jiricek did show just enough to maintain his prospect profile; by my evaluation, the floor and ceiling remains the same on Jiricek as a prospect. However, sustaining another injury to the same knee combined with his medical record does serve as a dark cloud on the horizon of Jiricek's potential.
A Czech all-star: Jiricek in international play
While his time in the OHL this past season was a mixture of good and bad, Jiricek stood out more in international play for team Czechia.
Jiricek registered 5 points in 7 games in the J20 WJC and 5 points in 9 games in the IIHC World Championship. While these numbers may not appear gaudy at first, putting up this production as an 18-year old defenseman is very promising.
Jiricek unleashed more of his offensive potential playing with Czechia's best young stars and inserted his name into that conversation. His defensive game still looked very mature and much farther along, but for him to take this step offensively and to play the entire tournament was a big step in the right direction.
Overall, Jiricek had a complicated season as a prospect. He did not answer the questions that remained on him coming into the year, but he did not raise any new concerns or questions either. His year in the OHL was somewhat underwhelming, but his time in international play had him right back in line with expectations.
You can check out more of my thoughts on Jiricek with the latest episode of my podcast, the Note News Podcast, right here:
It is tough to say after year 1 what the future holds for this young skater, but it's all there in front of him for the taking if he can stay healthy. Jiricek still has the upside of a top pairing two-way defenseman, but there is still a lot of time and development to go before he reaches that mark.