Adam Jiricek

[Harry S Deals]

Jiricek likely need 3 things…
1.) An entire year in the AHL
2.) Another mostly full year in the AHL with a cup of coffee
3.) A rugged old fart for a partner for the 2028/29 Season

Cam Fowler will be 37 by that point and in the last year of his contract and maybe that’s good enough.

So, if they move Faulk at the TDL, they’ll need to add another RHD this offseason. Is John Carlson on a shorty too old? Maybe John Klingberg?

Andrew Peeke is probably fine if you think Maillou is capable of taking that next step, but I like the idea of a veteran being tethered to him, too.

Jacob Trouba would certainly bring a big nastiness to the D Corps, but at 32 he’ll be looking for a longer term contract. So, picking him up will eventually mean squeezing Colt55 (2029/30) out when the RHD gets crowded w/Jiricek & Mailloux hopefully ascending.

Trouba might be a nice get if he could simply cover you those next few seasons while AJ is allowed to develop his Defensive Game

Im not sold on this at all odds are that Jiricek will play in the NHL during '26-'27. Whether he breaks camp or not remains to be seen. Ive seen a handful of Brantford games, i have to watch on onhockey.tv i dont like the format and its not worth putting much more effort into it for me personally but from the games ive seen hes dominant as he should be. A better indicator was WJs vs better competition he was very solid in his own end without looking im sure he lead all D in blocked shots, hits, i dont know where he ended up points wise.
He could certainly benefit from a solid veteran LHD partner in the NHL time will tell what the Blues do with this. A stint in the AHL could certainly help cant hurt but this isnt a player that i see playing more that a season in the AHL that would surprise me.

[BleedingBleu]

Jiricek likely need 3 things…
1.) An entire year in the AHL
2.) Another mostly full year in the AHL with a cup of coffee
3.) A rugged old fart for a partner for the 2028/29 Season

Cam Fowler will be 37 by that point and in the last year of his contract and maybe that’s good enough.

So, if they move Faulk at the TDL, they’ll need to add another RHD this offseason. Is John Carlson on a shorty too old? Maybe John Klingberg?

Andrew Peeke is probably fine if you think Maillou is capable of taking that next step, but I like the idea of a veteran being tethered to him, too.

Jacob Trouba would certainly bring a big nastiness to the D Corps, but at 32 he’ll be looking for a longer term contract. So, picking him up will eventually mean squeezing Colt55 (2029/30) out when the RHD gets crowded w/Jiricek & Mailloux hopefully ascending.

Trouba might be a nice get if he could simply cover you those next few seasons while AJ is allowed to develop his Defensive Game

Im not sold on this at all odds are that Jiricek will play in the NHL during '26-'27. Whether he breaks camp or not remains to be seen. Ive seen a handful of Brantford games, i have to watch on onhockey.tv i dont like the format and its not worth putting much more effort into it for me personally but from the games ive seen hes dominant as he should be. A better indicator was WJs vs better competition he was very solid in his own end without looking im sure he lead all D in blocked shots, hits, i dont know where he ended up points wise.
He could certainly benefit from a solid veteran LHD partner in the NHL time will tell what the Blues do with this. A stint in the AHL could certainly help cant hurt but this isnt a player that i see playing more that a season in the AHL that would surprise me.

To me, it’s not necessarily Jiricek, though he won’t be 20 until late June. It’s the current Roster + Farm.

Current Blues Defensemen ATOI
LHD Broberg - 23:00
RHD Parayko - 22:33
RHD Faulk - 22:31
LHD Fowler - 21:31
…
LHD Tucker - 14:08
RHD Mailloux - 13:48
RHD Kessel - 12:11

# AHL Games Thunderbird Defensemen
RHD Skinner - 232 G
LHD Loof - 158 G
LHD Buchinger - 79 G
LHD Lindstein - 40 G

If the Blues do part w/Faulk at the TDL, then it’s just Parayko, Mailloux, Kessel, & Skinner on the Right-Side. That means there’s the potential of 3 RHD needing to punch over their weight. It’s nice that Mailloux has had exposure out there at RHD in 2025/26, but he’s been pretty badly exposed, too.

Logan has gotten better and his ATOI has gone up since January (up to 15:54 from 13:24 ATOI in 2025) but I’m not sure he makes enough of a leap to feel comfortable w/him absorbing Faulks 22:30 ATOI. I don’t know that we want him penned on that 2nd Line, and might want him to stay one more season on the 3rd Line, modestly boosting his minutes into the 17-19:00 territory.

Or… they don’t move Faulk? That is an option. I do think they could land a temporary vet at RHD. I just don’t know that next year the 2026/27 Blues should nurture a Mailloux & a Rookie Defenseman like a Jiricek or Lindstein for a full season.

I think that sets up both Adam & Theo up for failure when they can continue collecting games in the AHL. Theo maybe gets his Cup of Coffee next year. Then 2027/28 sees Lindstein get his shot at a full Rookie Season w/Jiricek getting a taste and having a full-go the next year.

[Harry S Deals]

Good post, a lot remains to be seen before next season. I could see the Blues signing a veteran LHD to play with either Mailloux or Jiricek who knows how this exactly plays out. With 30 more NHL games this year, an entire Summer of work and training camp can Mailloux stand on his own? Does Jiricek blow the team away working out this Summer and in camp? By the same token where is Lindstein's development by next camp? Just because they are younger guys doesnt mean Lindstein and Jiricek cant play in the NHL. There are currently about 22 NHL defenseman playing regularly at 21 or younger

[Frank Barone]

It was interesting to see Ott's comment about his first game at Springfield. He said it was great to see the Blues two top prospects (at Springfield) combine for the OT goal. That is Kaskimaki and Lindstein. Just like Kaskimaki had a call-up earlier this year, I expect Lindstein to get a shot with the Blues this season, even if it is only for a short time.

[seattleblue]

It was interesting to see Ott's comment about his first game at Springfield. He said it was great to see the Blues two top prospects (at Springfield) combine for the OT goal. That is Kaskimaki and Lindstein. Just like Kaskimaki had a call-up earlier this year, I expect Lindstein to get a shot with the Blues this season, even if it is only for a short time.

We should be seeing Lindstein before too long. I agree some games this year for sure. On my list Lindstein has been locked in the second spot behind Dvorsky and I have refused to move him down. I have him above Stenberg, then Snugs then Carbo. Jiricek was at 6 behind that group heading into this season, but he's probably risen from that since the news with him has been very positive this year. If both Dvorsky and Jiricek reached full potential they would be 1-2 in whichever order, ranking them 1 and 6 reflected confidence in that happening. As of now I would still have Lindstein ahead of Jiricek but the latter has the higher end potential if it all develops. Right now as a defender Lindstein is significantly better. They are somewhat mirror images and are kind of the classic "steady player with dynamic player" in a D pairing if they were paired together.

[Frank Underwood]

Good post, a lot remains to be seen before next season. I could see the Blues signing a veteran LHD to play with either Mailloux or Jiricek who knows how this exactly plays out. With 30 more NHL games this year, an entire Summer of work and training camp can Mailloux stand on his own? Does Jiricek blow the team away working out this Summer and in camp? By the same token where is Lindstein's development by next camp? Just because they are younger guys doesnt mean Lindstein and Jiricek cant play in the NHL. There are currently about 22 NHL defenseman playing regularly at 21 or younger

Not signing a veteran LHD to play with Mailloux was a massive mistake that contributed to the early season suckage. I don’t know if Suter was the right guy, but he was probably the easiest option. Instead, they had to scramble and play Fowler on the third pairing most of the time and play him for too many minutes, which has hurt his game. But there are usually a decent number of older vets that would accept a third pairing role, just to keep playing. I hope they don’t make that same mistake next season with Jiricek.

[zamadoo]

It was interesting to see Ott's comment about his first game at Springfield. He said it was great to see the Blues two top prospects (at Springfield) combine for the OT goal. That is Kaskimaki and Lindstein. Just like Kaskimaki had a call-up earlier this year, I expect Lindstein to get a shot with the Blues this season, even if it is only for a short time.

We should be seeing Lindstein before too long. I agree some games this year for sure. On my list Lindstein has been locked in the second spot behind Dvorsky and I have refused to move him down. I have him above Stenberg, then Snugs then Carbo. Jiricek was at 6 behind that group heading into this season, but he's probably risen from that since the news with him has been very positive this year. If both Dvorsky and Jiricek reached full potential they would be 1-2 in whichever order, ranking them 1 and 6 reflected confidence in that happening. As of now I would still have Lindstein ahead of Jiricek but the latter has the higher end potential if it all develops. Right now as a defender Lindstein is significantly better. They are somewhat mirror images and are kind of the classic "steady player with dynamic player" in a D pairing if they were paired together.

I agree 100% and believe both Jiricek and Lindstein will be quality NHLers, and hopefully top line partners for years to come.

[BleedingBleu]

It was interesting to see Ott's comment about his first game at Springfield. He said it was great to see the Blues two top prospects (at Springfield) combine for the OT goal. That is Kaskimaki and Lindstein. Just like Kaskimaki had a call-up earlier this year, I expect Lindstein to get a shot with the Blues this season, even if it is only for a short time.

We should be seeing Lindstein before too long. I agree some games this year for sure. On my list Lindstein has been locked in the second spot behind Dvorsky and I have refused to move him down. I have him above Stenberg, then Snugs then Carbo. Jiricek was at 6 behind that group heading into this season, but he's probably risen from that since the news with him has been very positive this year. If both Dvorsky and Jiricek reached full potential they would be 1-2 in whichever order, ranking them 1 and 6 reflected confidence in that happening. As of now I would still have Lindstein ahead of Jiricek but the latter has the higher end potential if it all develops. Right now as a defender Lindstein is significantly better. They are somewhat mirror images and are kind of the classic "steady player with dynamic player" in a D pairing if they were paired together.

When I was imagining both Lindstein & Jiricek in the AHL next year, I envisioned them as a pairing for the purposes of developing chemistry for a sweet future together with the Blues.

I hoped their styles would really compliment each other.

[Harry S Deals]

Good post, a lot remains to be seen before next season. I could see the Blues signing a veteran LHD to play with either Mailloux or Jiricek who knows how this exactly plays out. With 30 more NHL games this year, an entire Summer of work and training camp can Mailloux stand on his own? Does Jiricek blow the team away working out this Summer and in camp? By the same token where is Lindstein's development by next camp? Just because they are younger guys doesnt mean Lindstein and Jiricek cant play in the NHL. There are currently about 22 NHL defenseman playing regularly at 21 or younger

Not signing a veteran LHD to play with Mailloux was a massive mistake that contributed to the early season suckage. I don’t know if Suter was the right guy, but he was probably the easiest option. Instead, they had to scramble and play Fowler on the third pairing most of the time and play him for too many minutes, which has hurt his game. But there are usually a decent number of older vets that would accept a third pairing role, just to keep playing. I hope they don’t make that same mistake next season with Jiricek.

Im watching a lot of these new young NHL defenseman dominant with puck possession and offense. Its a new era! I am not that concerned about this kids perceived D zone shortcomings he reminds me of Hutson or Hughes when the puck is on their stick they are making great plays up the ice not always defending bc they blunder passes, pass into skates, pass behind guys, ice the puck lots of dumb stuff we are seeing now