zamadoo wrote: ↑10 Jun 2025 08:02 am
I've said it elsewhere, but I actually wanted Jiricek last year and was happy we picked him. I liked him over Buium even. However, I agree that there is reasonable concern for his development. This upcoming season (and even off-season) could make or break his potential.
Some positives I see:
-He doesn't even turn 19 until Jun 28th.
-4g/8a +10 in 27 games for Brantford comes to 36pts in 82 games - not bad for someone coming back from injury on a new team (believe he started slow but was turning it on before getting hurt again).
-5a +2 in 7 games for Czech in what was I believe his first action back from injury, led his team for points by a defenseman in the tournament (I thought he looked solid in this tournament)
*As a comparison, Sam Dickinson (who I really liked, even more than Jiricek) had a worse performance at the WJC but had some pretty amazing offensive numbers for London.*
-While his stats weren't great, he was playing in the Czech men's league @ 17y/o
Here's a shift-by-shift video of him at age 17.4 with a d-pair who is twice his age: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeCayGr ... pectShifts
He's a very smooth skater with great hands, excellent passing, solid positioning, smart defensive reads and decisions, who shows some physicality. Looks great vs his peers, didn't look out of place vs men.
I believe seattle mentioned he looked questionable with Brantford, contradicting some of what I said above, but I didn't watch any OHL games. The main concern going forward is health and how that affects his development.
He looked very out of place against men. Had absolutely no business being in the Czech Extraliga at age 17. In 19 games, he had 0 goals, 1 assist and was -10. He got absolutely owned and scouts were starting to question him. Then he got absolutely trucked and knocked out with a bad concussion and that ended his season in that league. Here’s a link to the hit: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0PQFZY ... rce=igweb
He was then pretty inconsistent in the OHL this season. As for his pro readiness, I’ll note that when the OHL season ended, the Blues sent Lukas Fischer to AHL Springfield even though he was drafted behind Jiricek and is even younger than Jiricek. Jiricek’s season ended a few days later and they never sent him to Springfield. Perhaps he was injured yet again? Idk, but it’s not a good look they didn’t even send their most recent 1st rounder to Springfield when he was eligible to. Even if he wasn’t going to play but just to soak in the AHL playoff push and AHL playoffs would’ve been good for him. Yet the Blues chose to just leave him at home.
I’m really hoping to see a good year out of him. And hear reports of him being a beast in the gym this summer. He really needs a good year. This next season will be his last in Jrs. He really needs to make it a good one so he can be ready for the AHL in 2026-27. He’s actually AHL eligible for this next season at 19 for the same reason Dvorsky was but he’s not remotely AHL ready so I’d be pretty shocked if that’s where the Blues end up assigning him. I wish him well.
You may very well be right, but in that game I posted he didn't look out of place at all, IMO. It's all I have to go off of. I would agree his pro readiness is in question, and I do think he was injured (again) towards the end of the season. Even if that's not true - he needs recovery and S&C more than anything, so hopefully they were expediting that process by just letting his season end and focusing on that.
I was wondering if he'd go back to the OHL or head to Springfield, but agree he's not ready and would really need to show some vast improvement over the summer for that to be the decision. It's tough how big the jump is from Jr leagues to AHL. Like Dvorsky was pretty obviously ready to advance from the OHL but probably wasn't ready to jump right into the AHL. Jiricek might be close as far as skill/ability, but the guy needs to prove he can stay on the ice and hold up for a full season.
Question (not sure how rules have changed): He could start in the OHL and then move to the AHL say halfway through the season, right?
Harry S Deals wrote: ↑09 Jun 2025 21:04 pm
Lol I think Army should cut bait now and trade Jiricek while he can preferably before his 19th birthday is a 5th round pick fair? I mean the prognostications don't look good at all, career 7th-8th dman at best if Army is lucky. Can't believe one of the better amateur dept in the NHL took the bait on this kid. Gosh.
Because melodrama and snark is really going to help this discussion.
Nobody is saying to dump Jiricek off just yet; but he did not have a good year.
Meanwhile, Connelly aside; the guys drafted right after him put up some fairly impressive seasons.
The stats don't lie on that subject.
And a LOT of those kids play positions we could use some depth at.
Jiricek could absolutely still turn things around and turn into a top 4 RHD. But it's absolutely fair to question the pick when there's 2 point per game centers and a high end goal scorer within 5 picks of his slot.
Bc its still pretty ridiculous to claim the pick is a bust at 18 yrs old when his coach Jay McKee for one who is around the kid and knows him far better than a random Blues forum poster(s) do, says he is great. We can all agree Jiricek's next OHL season needs to be far far better than his first OHL season. When he did finally settle in with Brantford he played well but initial injuries, then WJC and more set backs stopped him from gaining much traction. If these set backs are all related to the same initial injury AND he doesnt follow the Blues plan for him this Summer AND he cannot stay on the ice next season then that is concerning. Hes already added muscle and he obviously needs to continue with this plan and Im sure he will and Im sure he will have a great season in '25-'26
Except neither Kimzey or I are calling him a bust. Some jokers that have probably never even seen him play or barely know his name might just to get a rise out of people but we’re simply expressing our concerns based on what we’ve seen.
zamadoo wrote: ↑10 Jun 2025 08:02 am
I've said it elsewhere, but I actually wanted Jiricek last year and was happy we picked him. I liked him over Buium even. However, I agree that there is reasonable concern for his development. This upcoming season (and even off-season) could make or break his potential.
Some positives I see:
-He doesn't even turn 19 until Jun 28th.
-4g/8a +10 in 27 games for Brantford comes to 36pts in 82 games - not bad for someone coming back from injury on a new team (believe he started slow but was turning it on before getting hurt again).
-5a +2 in 7 games for Czech in what was I believe his first action back from injury, led his team for points by a defenseman in the tournament (I thought he looked solid in this tournament)
*As a comparison, Sam Dickinson (who I really liked, even more than Jiricek) had a worse performance at the WJC but had some pretty amazing offensive numbers for London.*
-While his stats weren't great, he was playing in the Czech men's league @ 17y/o
Here's a shift-by-shift video of him at age 17.4 with a d-pair who is twice his age: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeCayGr ... pectShifts
He's a very smooth skater with great hands, excellent passing, solid positioning, smart defensive reads and decisions, who shows some physicality. Looks great vs his peers, didn't look out of place vs men.
I believe seattle mentioned he looked questionable with Brantford, contradicting some of what I said above, but I didn't watch any OHL games. The main concern going forward is health and how that affects his development.
He looked very out of place against men. Had absolutely no business being in the Czech Extraliga at age 17. In 19 games, he had 0 goals, 1 assist and was -10. He got absolutely owned and scouts were starting to question him. Then he got absolutely trucked and knocked out with a bad concussion and that ended his season in that league. Here’s a link to the hit: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0PQFZY ... rce=igweb
He was then pretty inconsistent in the OHL this season. As for his pro readiness, I’ll note that when the OHL season ended, the Blues sent Lukas Fischer to AHL Springfield even though he was drafted behind Jiricek and is even younger than Jiricek. Jiricek’s season ended a few days later and they never sent him to Springfield. Perhaps he was injured yet again? Idk, but it’s not a good look they didn’t even send their most recent 1st rounder to Springfield when he was eligible to. Even if he wasn’t going to play but just to soak in the AHL playoff push and AHL playoffs would’ve been good for him. Yet the Blues chose to just leave him at home.
I’m really hoping to see a good year out of him. And hear reports of him being a beast in the gym this summer. He really needs a good year. This next season will be his last in Jrs. He really needs to make it a good one so he can be ready for the AHL in 2026-27. He’s actually AHL eligible for this next season at 19 for the same reason Dvorsky was but he’s not remotely AHL ready so I’d be pretty shocked if that’s where the Blues end up assigning him. I wish him well.
You may very well be right, but in that game I posted he didn't look out of place at all, IMO. It's all I have to go off of. I would agree his pro readiness is in question, and I do think he was injured (again) towards the end of the season. Even if that's not true - he needs recovery and S&C more than anything, so hopefully they were expediting that process by just letting his season end and focusing on that.
I was wondering if he'd go back to the OHL or head to Springfield, but agree he's not ready and would really need to show some vast improvement over the summer for that to be the decision. It's tough how big the jump is from Jr leagues to AHL. Like Dvorsky was pretty obviously ready to advance from the OHL but probably wasn't ready to jump right into the AHL. Jiricek might be close as far as skill/ability, but the guy needs to prove he can stay on the ice and hold up for a full season.
Question (not sure how rules have changed): He could start in the OHL and then move to the AHL say halfway through the season, right?
I would be shocked if the Blues sent him to the AHL he needs to dominate more or less in the OHL first. Ideally he should be at least a PPG defenseman in that league and play virtually every game. Hed have to make a helluva jump over this summer to play in the AHL
zamadoo wrote: ↑10 Jun 2025 08:02 am
I've said it elsewhere, but I actually wanted Jiricek last year and was happy we picked him. I liked him over Buium even. However, I agree that there is reasonable concern for his development. This upcoming season (and even off-season) could make or break his potential.
Some positives I see:
-He doesn't even turn 19 until Jun 28th.
-4g/8a +10 in 27 games for Brantford comes to 36pts in 82 games - not bad for someone coming back from injury on a new team (believe he started slow but was turning it on before getting hurt again).
-5a +2 in 7 games for Czech in what was I believe his first action back from injury, led his team for points by a defenseman in the tournament (I thought he looked solid in this tournament)
*As a comparison, Sam Dickinson (who I really liked, even more than Jiricek) had a worse performance at the WJC but had some pretty amazing offensive numbers for London.*
-While his stats weren't great, he was playing in the Czech men's league @ 17y/o
Here's a shift-by-shift video of him at age 17.4 with a d-pair who is twice his age: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeCayGr ... pectShifts
He's a very smooth skater with great hands, excellent passing, solid positioning, smart defensive reads and decisions, who shows some physicality. Looks great vs his peers, didn't look out of place vs men.
I believe seattle mentioned he looked questionable with Brantford, contradicting some of what I said above, but I didn't watch any OHL games. The main concern going forward is health and how that affects his development.
He looked very out of place against men. Had absolutely no business being in the Czech Extraliga at age 17. In 19 games, he had 0 goals, 1 assist and was -10. He got absolutely owned and scouts were starting to question him. Then he got absolutely trucked and knocked out with a bad concussion and that ended his season in that league. Here’s a link to the hit: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0PQFZY ... rce=igweb
He was then pretty inconsistent in the OHL this season. As for his pro readiness, I’ll note that when the OHL season ended, the Blues sent Lukas Fischer to AHL Springfield even though he was drafted behind Jiricek and is even younger than Jiricek. Jiricek’s season ended a few days later and they never sent him to Springfield. Perhaps he was injured yet again? Idk, but it’s not a good look they didn’t even send their most recent 1st rounder to Springfield when he was eligible to. Even if he wasn’t going to play but just to soak in the AHL playoff push and AHL playoffs would’ve been good for him. Yet the Blues chose to just leave him at home.
I’m really hoping to see a good year out of him. And hear reports of him being a beast in the gym this summer. He really needs a good year. This next season will be his last in Jrs. He really needs to make it a good one so he can be ready for the AHL in 2026-27. He’s actually AHL eligible for this next season at 19 for the same reason Dvorsky was but he’s not remotely AHL ready so I’d be pretty shocked if that’s where the Blues end up assigning him. I wish him well.
You may very well be right, but in that game I posted he didn't look out of place at all, IMO. It's all I have to go off of. I would agree his pro readiness is in question, and I do think he was injured (again) towards the end of the season. Even if that's not true - he needs recovery and S&C more than anything, so hopefully they were expediting that process by just letting his season end and focusing on that.
I was wondering if he'd go back to the OHL or head to Springfield, but agree he's not ready and would really need to show some vast improvement over the summer for that to be the decision. It's tough how big the jump is from Jr leagues to AHL. Like Dvorsky was pretty obviously ready to advance from the OHL but probably wasn't ready to jump right into the AHL. Jiricek might be close as far as skill/ability, but the guy needs to prove he can stay on the ice and hold up for a full season.
Question (not sure how rules have changed): He could start in the OHL and then move to the AHL say halfway through the season, right?
No. Once he’s assigned to the OHL he’s there until their season ends. Would not be able to move to the AHL mid-season. The opposite would be doable (AHL to OHL midseason) but that’d require starting him where he’s clearly not ready so doubt they’d even consider something like that.
Well this one has certainly proved worthy of a lot of proverbial Monday Morning Quarterbacking...Definitely need to take into account what the available information and data was available only at THAT moment in time. A lot of really good points made on this thread. I lean towards optimism on skill, ability to grow stronger. It is often unfair to compare...there are a few things (injuries) that I just try to not dwell on, although I do not always succeed...but knee injuries and concussions are two near the top of the list...they don't necessarily mean a bust, but could impact reaching the anticipated full potential -- see Erik Johnson, Robby Fabbri for example (again hopefully not fair to compare).
And I think the Lukas Fischer kid has a great pedigree. So maybe in the end it works out and even better if both do!
People need to chill a bit. A then 17-yr old kid blows out his ACL, so recovering and getting back on the ice should be the first priority. Just surviving that first year back should be a positive and Jiricek did survive…..though barely! Second year back should be a different story, and hopefully he adds some serious muscle in the offseason. This situation can get better in a hurry since he is only 18, and obviously the Blues felt this kid was a potential top 10 pick if not for the injury. Maybe he is, maybe he turns out to be a bust, but the Blues track record has been pretty darn good and I think they deserve some benefit of the doubt. Look at Bolduc…..no, not an injury history, but a lot of people on here hated that pick and dismissed him as a possible bust. But something clicked with him, or maybe Monty pushed the right buttons and now he looks like a star in the making.
A lot of first round picks turn out to be busts and we are probably overdue for one, but dismissing a kid at 18 seems a little crazy.
I appreciate all the wisdom, I am not writing him off was just curious what peoples opinions were so far. I was just curious on others opinions and me not being able to see how he’s performed… I hope for the best because he was drafted so high
Harry S Deals wrote: ↑09 Jun 2025 21:04 pm
Lol I think Army should cut bait now and trade Jiricek while he can preferably before his 19th birthday is a 5th round pick fair? I mean the prognostications don't look good at all, career 7th-8th dman at best if Army is lucky. Can't believe one of the better amateur dept in the NHL took the bait on this kid. Gosh.
Because melodrama and snark is really going to help this discussion.
Nobody is saying to dump Jiricek off just yet; but he did not have a good year.
Meanwhile, Connelly aside; the guys drafted right after him put up some fairly impressive seasons.
The stats don't lie on that subject.
And a LOT of those kids play positions we could use some depth at.
Jiricek could absolutely still turn things around and turn into a top 4 RHD. But it's absolutely fair to question the pick when there's 2 point per game centers and a high end goal scorer within 5 picks of his slot.
Bc its still pretty ridiculous to claim the pick is a bust at 18 yrs old when his coach Jay McKee for one who is around the kid and knows him far better than a random Blues forum poster(s) do, says he is great. We can all agree Jiricek's next OHL season needs to be far far better than his first OHL season. When he did finally settle in with Brantford he played well but initial injuries, then WJC and more set backs stopped him from gaining much traction. If these set backs are all related to the same initial injury AND he doesnt follow the Blues plan for him this Summer AND he cannot stay on the ice next season then that is concerning. Hes already added muscle and he obviously needs to continue with this plan and Im sure he will and Im sure he will have a great season in '25-'26
Except neither Kimzey or I are calling him a bust. Some jokers that have probably never even seen him play or barely know his name might just to get a rise out of people but we’re simply expressing our concerns based on what we’ve seen.
There are a lot of people who don't have it in them to hear the truth, they have to prove it isn't true. Here, you were defeated by a quote from Jay McKee. Oh Jay McKee! Don't you realize proof you're wrong was stated to the newspaper, and it was delivered to your door by a boy on a bike?
Let him play every game this year in the OHL. He can then go to the AHL for one season and then to the Blues. This guys 18 still. Needs to develop. They arent looking to rush him. He hasnt shown much yet. Glimpses of greatness. I think he will have a nice year. I think all this talk about injury prone etc--Not fair. He will be just fine. If hockey db is right--he played like 68 games in the last 3 years. Dude just needs to grind it out--stay healthy and prove he can handle being a pro hockey player. Its been a rough few years for him no doubt.
Frank Underwood wrote: ↑10 Jun 2025 10:01 am
but dismissing a kid at 18 seems a little crazy.
I don't think anybody here is doing this - they're acknowledging that he missed a lot of time to develop because of injuries.
I am admittedly doing more than just acknowledging his injuries and the missed development time because of them. He’s also looked pedestrian when he did play. Is that because of the injuries? Because of not being able to get into a groove? Or because his game isn’t developing? My concern is it’s all of the above. But I’m also acknowledging he has some good potential and I’m hoping to see him have a big rebound season.
If MN and kimzey - two posters with a long track record of prospect knowledge and levelheadedness - are concerned about him, then I definitely am. Hoping he is able to turn it around because it can really hurt to whiff on a #16. That pick is high enough that it would have been a VERY attractive trade piece.
