{"id":129145,"date":"2022-05-29T10:12:04","date_gmt":"2022-05-29T14:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=129145"},"modified":"2022-05-28T23:32:18","modified_gmt":"2022-05-29T03:32:18","slug":"david-jiricek-scouting-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2022\/05\/29\/david-jiricek-scouting-report\/","title":{"rendered":"2022 NHL Draft: David Jiricek Scouting Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, this writer wrote about a Czechia forward<\/a>, Jiri Kulich. Czechia\u2019s representation at the 2022 NHL draft certainly didn\u2019t end there. Ranked as one of the best defenders in this class, David Jiricek is also coming through the Czech ranks, and he is likely to hear his name called very early on draft day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

David Jiricek Scouting Report<\/b><\/h2>\n

Jiricek, born on November 28, 2003, in Klatovy, Czechia, is a right-handed defender. Playing in the HC Plzen organization, he\u2019s played in the top men\u2019s league in parts over the last three seasons. Establishing himself last season, he recorded three goals and six assists for nine points in 34 Czech games. This season, he played 29 games, recording five goals and six assists for 11 points. This production, along with other parts of his game, led to his consistently high rankings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 6\u20193\u201d and 190-pound defender has been ranked 2nd by Elite Prospects, 3rd by Smaht Scouting, 6th by Draft Prospects Hockey, SportsNet, and TSN\u2019s Craig Button, 7th by TSN\u2019s Bob McKenzie, Dobber Prospects, and The Puck Authority, and 11th by FCHockey, McKeen\u2019s Hockey, and Recruit Scouting. This writer has Jiricek ranked 17th in his unreleased rankings, which is the lowest amongst the above rankings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

David Jiricek Deep Dive<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Czech defender is almost exclusively considered a top-10 prospect. Why does this writer have him ranked outside the top-15? While he is not, by any means, a bad prospect, there are some concerns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

David Jiricek\u2019s Skating\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Jiricek has been praised for his skating by a bunch of experts and outlets. In fact, \u201cEPRinkside,\u201d which is Elite Prospects draft site with deep dives and evaluations (subscription required), stated, \u201cSkating is the name of the game. He flows a fluid extension into a clean recovery to impart power and precision to his four-way ability.\u201d The Hockey Writers, Alex Hobson, said, \u201cHe\u2019s one of the most explosive skaters among defensemen,… he\u2019s a hard player to slow down when you factor in his size.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He is a very good skater, certainly, especially factoring in his size. In fact, one of this writer\u2019s favourite clips in this class is when Jiricek teased a forechecker behind his own net, then when the forechecker came skating at him, he darted up the ice. His first few steps are explosive, but he could look to lengthen his first few steps. That could improve his acceleration, which does need some work, but not a whole lot. Another aspect he could refine is his knee bend. Other than those two things, Jiricek is a very good all-around skater. Ankle bend and, after those first few steps, stride length are very solid. His edges are strong as well. He can skate backwards just as well as some forwards can skate forward. He should not have a problem adjusting to the pace of the NHL in this aspect.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Offensive Abilities<\/b><\/h3>\n

Jiricek\u2019s offensive abilities are where this writer has some questions. Let\u2019s first look at his tracked passing stats. Across three tracked games (two in Czech league play and one in the Hlinka-Gretzky cup) he attempted 13 passes in the offensive zone, completing 11 of them (84.62%). In the Hlinka-Gretzky game, he attempted seven passes, completing six (85.71%). That was including 14.29% of his total passes being aimed at high-danger, of which he completed all of them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That left just six pass attempts (five completed, 83.33%) across two Czech league games, where he didn\u2019t aim a single pass at high or medium-danger. He\u2019s one of just two defenders this writer tracked to not aim a pass at high or medium danger in league play. There were 11 total defenders tracked. What is concerning is that his league play would be a better way to evaluate Jiricek, as he is likely not going to be a focal point of an NHL team early in his career. He was a focal point in international play, where he was more involved, and did fairly well. That said, his lack of pushing the pace in league play, albeit in a limited set of games, makes his playmaking a little harder to project.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>