Adam Jiricek – 2024 NHL Draft Prospect Profile

Adam Jiricek

2023-24 Team: HC Plzen U20/HC Plzen (Czechia)
Date of Birth: June 28, 2006
Place of Birth: Plzen, Czechia
Ht: 6-foot-2 Wt: 168 pounds
Shoots: Right
Position: Defenseman
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2024 first-year eligible

Rankings

Heading into 2023-24, Adam Jiricek was being mentioned alongside top-10 locks Artyom Levshunov and Sam Dickinson. Now, he’s dropped to the top 20 in a few rankings and could end up being a steal for a team that is on track to make the playoffs this season. This drop is not based on performance, though, as he’s been injured since the first game of the 2024 World Juniors. After having surgery on his knee shortly after, he has also been ruled out of the 2024 U18 World Championship, yet another showcase event for scouts to further evaluate the top prospects.

Related: THW’s 2024 NHL Draft Guide

Basically, all scouts have is video and live viewings from the first few months of the regular season in Czechia and the Hlinka Gretzky tournament last summer where he was one of Team Czechia’s best players. That’s not a lot of recent play to go off of, especially when his peers have been playing and improving around him.

Despite that, Jiricek is still a high-end talent with the potential to become a solid top-four (or even top-pairing) defenseman in the future. His strengths lie in his size, skating, mobility, and first pass. Similar to his brother David, who was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022, he is a well-rounded two-way player that can be used in all situations from the power play to the penalty kill and everywhere in between. He isn’t shy about taking the body either. Once he bulks up and fills into his 6-foot-2 frame, he is going to be a scary presence when opponents try and enter the offensive zone against him.

Jiricek also has a bomb from the point, but as some scouts have pointed out, doesn’t always make it to the net with enough frequency. It’s great to have a big shot, but if it doesn’t make it to the goaltender, it’s kind of useless. Getting shots through traffic is a skill in itself, and for it to be a legitimate weapon in the future, he has to work on that aspect of it.

Another weakness of Jiricek’s is his skating style. While he has good acceleration and mobility, it sometimes looks awkward as he moves up the ice. But with some work with a skating coach, that can be easily ironed out in the future. As a result, I am not too worried about it. All in…