By all accounts, David Jiricek had a tremendous season in his first year in North America.
The No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Jiricek took to the American Hockey League last season like a duck to water. After previously playing in the top professional league in his home country, the Czech Republic, Jiricek was named an AHL All-Star a season ago with Cleveland, finishing third in the AHL in points among rookie defensemen with 38 on six goals and 32 assists.
Add in a tremendous showing at the IIHF World Junior Championship, where he was named the U-20 tournament’s top defenseman while leading Czechia to its first gold medal game since 2001, and Jiricek couldn’t have done much more to impress on the ice.
But to his head coach in Cleveland, Trent Vogelhuber, what he learned off of it was perhaps the biggest stride taken.
“I think it was a really important year for him because it’s a long season, especially with some of the tournaments he played, starting in Traverse City, training camp, World Juniors,” Vogelhuber said. “I think the most important thing is he had to fight through the lulls of the season. That’s what we’re there for in the American League. You have to go through that so you know how to get out of it.
“He had a section there after (World Juniors) where naturally you hit a wall as a young player, especially coming from Europe, and we worked and battled through and he got better at the end, which is what you look for. The biggest thing through all that, he was hungry to get better and to learn, and dealing with that frustration at such a young age, he did a really good job.”
That maturity is just part of the package that makes Jiricek one of the top 10 prospects in the entire NHL according to most rankings. Many in Jiricek’s position at age 19 would be champing at the bit to make it to the NHL after having such a productive and impressive season a year ago in the minor leagues, but Jiricek comes into Blue Jackets training camp – and this weekend’s games at the NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Mich. – not worried about that.
“I am just going to play and see what happens,” Jiricek said. “I hope I will be good in training camp. If not, I have to get better and have some good games. We will see.”
His path to the NHL level may have been made slightly more difficult when the Blue Jackets added veteran defensemen Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson this offseason, but to Columbus, that’s a good thing. Given Jiricek’s youth and the learning curve for young defensemen, there’s little need now to push him into big minutes at the NHL level, so he can continue to develop this season in the best way the team sees fit.
There’s a lot to like about his game, starting with his 6-foot-3, 189-pound frame that cuts an imposing figure on the blue line. Offensively, he has excellent instincts, soft hands and a booming shot, and his 24 points on the power play last season (four goals, 20 assists) shows he can be an asset on the man advantage. Defensively, his size and long stick allow him to gap up easily and take away time and space from opposing players, and he’s not afraid to play an aggressive game that cuts out attacks before they start.
Like anyone, he’ll have to keep adding to his game, but Jiricek said he feels more prepared as this season is set to begin. His English wasn’t bad a season ago but is better now that he spent half of his summer here in North America, and Jiricek said he feels more comfortable in the locker room this time around.
He also said he’s added about 10 pounds of muscle, and the experience gained a season ago against the best players in the world – including four games played at the NHL level – should help him as well.
“I have more experience right now,” he said. “I’m a little bit stronger, so I hope I will be better than last year. Last training camp was good for me. I played some good games, and I hope I can be better this year and play better hockey and just do what the coaches want from me and be OK.”
