Adam Jiricek | 2024-25 Highlights

[Big_G]

9:25 YouTube video

HERE

The kid has great potential. Impressive video.

[zamadoo]

I posted this video a few days ago and no one commented, so I will do so here.

He reminds me of Petro a bit the way he skates and carries the puck. Good offensive ability, seems really solid for the Czech team against his peers. Hoping he can stay healthy and develop.

[seattleblue]

I saw all of this, It's that one big game he had where they routed Burns' Kingston team before the WJC. then the WJC. he was really good in the WJC but we had such good showings I would have put his performance around 5th amongst the Blues prospects (behind Stancl, Dvorsky, Stenberg, Lindstein, and maybe Pekarcik) then you're halfway through the video. It doesn't show him getting drilled on Feb 5 by Nathan Villneuve and missing time or the other 2 times he dipped out of the lineup dealing with probable concussion aftermath. it also doesn't show his wildly questionable decisionmaking.

that's the negative but here's the positive. one thing you can see is how effortless his skating stride is. That's the tantalizing upside of this player. He is instinctually inclined toward offense/scoring. Hell, he gets into the ozone and as the RD more often than not he's standing next to the net on LW by the opposing RD, so he is the maximum length of the ice out of position. Then he skates back very well, however he's chasing the play and it's a scramble not a poised shutdown.

It was honestly somewhat boring watching Brantford (I watched them a lot, Nick Lardis has the potential to be a problem and Vanacker is pretty decent too. Obviously O'Brien just went 8th to the Kraken, etc.) because you wanted this supposed offensive defenseman quarterbacking the play. But that's not how it went down. He didn't get a lot of touches. And in large part it was him being in and out of the lineup they were a well developed first place team without him. I'd add when he was in the lineup he was by no means their #1 D he was second pair often 4th/5th minutes.

[zamadoo]

I saw all of this, It's that one big game he had where they routed Burns' Kingston team before the WJC. then the WJC. he was really good in the WJC but we had such good showings I would have put his performance around 5th amongst the Blues prospects (behind Stancl, Dvorsky, Stenberg, Lindstein, and maybe Pekarcik) then you're halfway through the video. It doesn't show him getting drilled on Feb 5 by Nathan Villneuve and missing time or the other 2 times he dipped out of the lineup dealing with probable concussion aftermath. it also doesn't show his wildly questionable decisionmaking.

that's the negative but here's the positive. one thing you can see is how effortless his skating stride is. That's the tantalizing upside of this player. He is instinctually inclined toward offense/scoring. Hell, he gets into the ozone and as the RD more often than not he's standing next to the net on LW by the opposing RD, so he is the maximum length of the ice out of position. Then he skates back very well, however he's chasing the play and it's a scramble not a poised shutdown.

It was honestly somewhat boring watching Brantford (I watched them a lot, Nick Lardis has the potential to be a problem and Vanacker is pretty decent too. Obviously O'Brien just went 8th to the Kraken, etc.) because you wanted this supposed offensive defenseman quarterbacking the play. But that's not how it went down. He didn't get a lot of touches. And in large part it was him being in and out of the lineup they were a well developed first place team without him. I'd add when he was in the lineup he was by no means their #1 D he was second pair often 4th/5th minutes.

I remember you talking about all this. Reminds me of something a scout said in a Dvorsky video "he can play the system" or something like that. Watching Jiricek for team Czech he seemed more stay at home, or less of what you're saying with him being at the wrong end of the ice. Maybe I'm remembering wrong. Either way, my point is that he came back from injury, played a handful of games, and then went straight to the WJC for a week or two. When he came back to Brantford he once again was hopping into a lineup he'd barely gotten to know in a system he's only played in for several games - then with the injuries and coming in/out of the lineup... I'm not making excuses, just looking for some reasoning as to why his decision making might've been sub-par.

I'm assuming he's going back to Jrs next season, where (if healthy) he should excel, but I've not seen confirmation on this. eliteprospects doesn't show anything for 25/26. google AI says it's unknown.

[Russdv14]

I really enjoyed that video. Thank you very much for posting.
I was very impressed with his quick passing

[seattleblue]

I saw all of this, It's that one big game he had where they routed Burns' Kingston team before the WJC. then the WJC. he was really good in the WJC but we had such good showings I would have put his performance around 5th amongst the Blues prospects (behind Stancl, Dvorsky, Stenberg, Lindstein, and maybe Pekarcik) then you're halfway through the video. It doesn't show him getting drilled on Feb 5 by Nathan Villneuve and missing time or the other 2 times he dipped out of the lineup dealing with probable concussion aftermath. it also doesn't show his wildly questionable decisionmaking.

that's the negative but here's the positive. one thing you can see is how effortless his skating stride is. That's the tantalizing upside of this player. He is instinctually inclined toward offense/scoring. Hell, he gets into the ozone and as the RD more often than not he's standing next to the net on LW by the opposing RD, so he is the maximum length of the ice out of position. Then he skates back very well, however he's chasing the play and it's a scramble not a poised shutdown.

It was honestly somewhat boring watching Brantford (I watched them a lot, Nick Lardis has the potential to be a problem and Vanacker is pretty decent too. Obviously O'Brien just went 8th to the Kraken, etc.) because you wanted this supposed offensive defenseman quarterbacking the play. But that's not how it went down. He didn't get a lot of touches. And in large part it was him being in and out of the lineup they were a well developed first place team without him. I'd add when he was in the lineup he was by no means their #1 D he was second pair often 4th/5th minutes.

I remember you talking about all this. Reminds me of something a scout said in a Dvorsky video "he can play the system" or something like that. Watching Jiricek for team Czech he seemed more stay at home, or less of what you're saying with him being at the wrong end of the ice. Maybe I'm remembering wrong. Either way, my point is that he came back from injury, played a handful of games, and then went straight to the WJC for a week or two. When he came back to Brantford he once again was hopping into a lineup he'd barely gotten to know in a system he's only played in for several games - then with the injuries and coming in/out of the lineup... I'm not making excuses, just looking for some reasoning as to why his decision making might've been sub-par.

I'm assuming he's going back to Jrs next season, where (if healthy) he should excel, but I've not seen confirmation on this. eliteprospects doesn't show anything for 25/26. google AI says it's unknown.

He should be back in Brantford this year and hopefully he just stays healthy.

Next year's primary teams besides Springfield are Brantford/Jiricek, Sarnia/Fischer, Michigan St/Ralph, Colorado College/Mrsic and either BC or Broillard-Bonevineyard/Carbonneau. Might take a peek at the Swedish goalie here or there. Jecho and McIsaac are not top ten prospects in our pool & they won't get as many views next year.

[Harry S Deals]

Heres an update from Dobber, last month:

June 2025 – Adam Jiricek could not catch a break last year. He struggled greatly with injuries that knocked him out of far too many games. Of a potential 68 OHL games that Jiricek could have played in, he only got into 27 of them. When at the World Juniors, Jiricek was Czechia’s most productive defenseman, which proved he could still excel on the world stage. Since early in his draft year, Jiricek has added over 25 lbs of muscle and still has room for more, considering how tall he is. While his production in the OHL left much to be desired, this player consistently suffered from injuries, which would then lead to reinjuries, repeating the cycle. He was never close to 100%. Despite this, in the games he did play, he was rock-solid defensively and a physical and defensive stalwart. Hopefully, next year, Jiricek can stay healthy and prove what he can be. James Connelly

[STL fan in MN]

Heres an update from Dobber, last month:

June 2025 – Adam Jiricek could not catch a break last year. He struggled greatly with injuries that knocked him out of far too many games. Of a potential 68 OHL games that Jiricek could have played in, he only got into 27 of them. When at the World Juniors, Jiricek was Czechia’s most productive defenseman, which proved he could still excel on the world stage. Since early in his draft year, Jiricek has added over 25 lbs of muscle and still has room for more, considering how tall he is. While his production in the OHL left much to be desired, this player consistently suffered from injuries, which would then lead to reinjuries, repeating the cycle. He was never close to 100%. Despite this, in the games he did play, he was rock-solid defensively and a physical and defensive stalwart. Hopefully, next year, Jiricek can stay healthy and prove what he can be. James Connelly

It’s a nice write up but I’m going to have to politely disagree with that writer that Jiricek was rock-solid defensively and a defensive stalwart. His rush defense and defensive zone coverage left a lot to be desired IMO.

And I wouldn’t even agree with the description of physical either. He didn’t back down from physicality but he wasn’t overly initiating it either IMO. And he got absolutely rocked a few times - part of why he was out of the lineup so much.

Anyone get a good look at him at Development Camp?

My hope is he can workout like a madman this summer and come into this season very strong. Stay healthy and progress his overall game. I’d really like to see him take a big step before he most likely steps into the AHL in 2026-27.

[seattleblue]

"Despite this, in the games he did play, he was an adventure defensively and a physical and defensive scattershot mess when he did impact the play, which overall was very rarely."

Would actually be a true statement. I can't believe he just made up a 100% opposite fiction as the positive. Wow

[Harry S Deals]

https://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/sport ... ior-hockey