Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. Each day our LWOS Prospects Writers will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow Ben Kerr, and Frederik Frandsen on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! Last Word On Hockey Prospects is your new headquarters for everything “NHL Draft”! Today we bring you our Adam Jiricek Scouting Report.
The name might be familiar to hockey fans due to his brother, but one name to watch out for in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft is Adam Jiricek. The younger brother of David Jiricek had a turbulent season in 2023-24. The main reason was injuries, which limited how much hockey he has been able to play. He only played 19 games in the Czechia league for HC Plzen. The defenceman got an assist, which doesn’t sound like a lot but in a pro men’s league just getting games at all is an impressive feat for a teenager.
Internationally, he was meant to be a key part of the Czechia team at the 2024 Men’s World Junior Hockey Championships. He looked good, but a horrific injury two periods into the tournament ended his time in Sweden. Despite all of this turbulence, his draft stock has mostly remained high. The reason? He is among the best defensive players in the draft.
Adam Jiricek 2024 NHL Draft Scouting Report
Defenceman — shoots Right
Born June 28th, 2006 — Plzen, Czechia
Height 6’2″ — Weight 168 lbs [187 cm / 76 kg]
Skating
If there is one worry about the injury he sustained at the World Juniors it is how it will affect his skating. It was already not perfect and lacked the power needed. With a long-term injury to the knee, this could be a factor that hinders his development. However with that said, Jiricek isn’t a lost cause in regards to his skating. He is a mobile and modern defenceman, who can move the puck up ice with smart movement.
Mechanically, his skating is not perfect either and it will require a lot of refinement before he is NHL-ready. His strides are somewhat awkward and stiff, making him unbalanced and slow in his acceleration. This has to be more fluent and clean for him to excel in the NHL. His four-way mobility is however as mentioned above strong enough to allow him to use his high hockey sense to get into the right position. This means Jiricek can cover for the lack of speed with great positioning. A thing that limits the impact of the awkward strides.
Offensive game
While Adam Jiricek’s main strength is in his own zone, he does have decent offensive qualities worth mentioning. For one he has an extremely powerful shot. A shot he isn’t scared to unleash regularly. On top of that, his passing is very intelligent and he is great at o-zone pinches. His aggressiveness can lead him to get caught but more times than not it’s a valuable aggression to keep an offensive possession alive.
However, his offensive decision-making can be questionable. The shots while heavy and powerful often end up being blocked, leading to turnovers. His passing while good, is also not super creative or cutting-edge. It’s often a quick one-touch pass that keeps the cycle alive rather than a pass that splits open the defence. Therefore, while Jiricek is a strong passer and has the potential to be a playmaking defenceman, it will take time before he is at that level.
Defensive game
As we continue his scouting report, Adam Jiricek’s bread and butter comes in his own zone where he dominates. Almost everything about his defensive game is excellent. His awareness and gap control is mature and showcases elite intelligence. His stick is active and able to get in the way of lanes and disrupt attacks off the rush. Jiricek is also strong, which along with his aggression makes him hard to play against along the boards. He also uses his four-way mobility to stay composed and in the lane for shots and passes at all times.
Honestly, there isn’t much to say about his defensive game other than that. It’s mature and it makes him the most promising defensive defenceman in the draft. For teams looking for a shutdown guy to add to the backend, Jiricek should be at the top of the list.
Projection and Comparison
It was far from the season Adam Jiricek had hoped for back in September. Starting the season in the top men’s league and a strong showing at the Hlinka Gretzky tournament, things looked promising. However, getting a substantial amount of ice time in a men’s league is tough, which limited his production. And then the injury in the first game of the juniors ended the season prematurely. Despite all of this Jiricek has only dropped a couple of spots simply due to the fact of how strong his defensive game is. His floor looks high and if he can overcome the knee injury, he is a fairly safe bet to become a top-four defenceman in the NHL. If he can add better skating and smarter offence, he could become even more.
For now, he stylistically reminds us of Erik Cernak. A sensible defenceman who rarely makes mistakes defensively and can shut down even the best forwards in the world, despite not getting the appreciation as other more prominent defencemen in the NHL.
Main photo credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
The post Adam Jiricek Scouting Report: 2024 NHL Draft #18 appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.