Scout's Analysis: Looking at Blue Jackets trade candidate David Jiricek

Late in January, in the middle of last season, I wrote an article that broke down the state of top Columbus Blue Jackets prospect David Jiricek. At that time, there seemed to be a disconnect between the player and the team, as he bounced between the AHL and NHL and struggled to earn much ice time at the higher level. So I set out to identify some of the reasons why things weren’t progressing the way either party had envisioned.

My observations and conclusions rattled some of my former colleagues in the scouting and player development industry. Suffice to say I received phone calls from some unhappy individuals.

Fast forward to today and Jiricek is still a topic of discussion amongst Blue Jackets fans and media. Most importantly, the organization itself is still figuring out how to handle the sixth overall pick from 2022, who has played just five NHL games this season.

There are two big differences this time: Columbus is under the direction of a new president and GM in Don Waddell and a new coaching staff is headed up by Dean Evason. My past experience — especially when I was with the Florida Panthers and we went through management changes — tells me the Jackets are working through the process of gauging asset value throughout their organization.

Included in this process is establishing a standard for their developing prospects. The new leadership group wants it to be known that opportunity to play in the NHL lineup will be earned and not given.

With all of this in mind I’ve set out to revisit the state of Jircek’s game and his overall prospect value.

OPPORTUNITY

The Blue Jackets, like any other NHL club, value internal competition and look for ways to improve their roster when possible. Just last week they plucked defenceman Dante Fabbro off waivers from Nashville. Fabbro himself is a first-round pick, 17th overall in 2016 and, like Jiricek, a right-shot. Fabbro is still only 26 years old.

Through Fabbro’s first three games with Columbus he’s averaged 19:12 of ice time and is settling into a variety of roles. He’s chipped in a goal and an assist and is a plus-one.

Fabbro’s arrival clouds Jiricek’s path to playing immediate minutes in the NHL even more than before. Jiricek had only suited up for five games this season before Fabbro's arrival and was a healthy scratch Friday against Pittsburgh and Saturday against Montreal.

Though Jiricek is expected back in the lineup Monday against Boston, he’s averaged just over 11 minutes of ice time in the games he's played and hasn’t sniffed out a role on either the power play or penalty kill. Jiricek has one assist and is a minus-two.

So far, adding Fabbro to the roster has been an upgrade for Columbus over Jiricek.

ANALYZING JIRICEK'S STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES AND RESULTS

Jiricek is a towering defenceman (six-foot-four, 209 pounds) who’s at his best when active on offence. His combination of skating ability, vision, and a heavy shot that can beat pro goalies from distance are positive elements.

Here’s an example of Jiricek at his best. This clip is from last year’s AHL playoffs when he was suiting up for the Cleveland Monsters:

As much as I appreciate what Jiricek can produce offensively he also needs to provide better-than-average defensive detail to find a regular role at the NHL level.

In the following clip, also from last year’s AHL playoffs, Jiricek is deployed on the penalty kill. Notice the route he takes when attempting to gap up and kill the zone entry against. His body positioning is disconnected. Hershey gains entry and possession of the puck down low in Cleveland's zone. Jiricek’s “recovery” heading to protect his net is far too deliberate.

For me, this sequence identified an area that Jiricek needed to concentrate on improving. His timing and recovery are off in this clip.

Jiricek has largely proven he can play to his identity at the AHL level and, overall, had a very solid playoff last spring with Cleveland. He gained valuable experience and produced three goals and eight assists in 14 games. More impressive was the fact he was used in all situations and finished with a plus-three rating at the hardest time of the year. He certainly had momentum heading into the summer and towards training camp this fall in Columbus.

Unfortunately, reality has set in very quickly for Jiricek at the NHL level. The AHL is a fantastic development league because it provides a huge test for young defence prospects. But the NHL is a completely different animal.

Jiricek has only managed to direct six shots on goal in his five-game audition this season, and three of those came in one game versus San Jose. He’s not getting the same chances to create offence at the NHL level as he got in the AHL.

One of the things Jiricek does have going for him, compared to smaller prospects, is his length. His reach provides him the opportunity to extend plays that come around the boards in the offensive zone. Some smaller players would have a more difficult time extending plays and directing pucks on net.

Here’s an example of Jiricek extending a play in a recent game versus Washington. By keeping the puck in the offensive zone, and directing it quickly toward the net, he created some chaos in front of the Capitals' crease and a potential scoring chance for Columbus:

Conversely, here’s an example of Jiricek pressing up in the neutral zone to potentially interrupt the breakout against Washington. However, he flies past Alex Ovechkin (of all people) and his inability to gap up to keep with his check in the defensive zone leads to a one-time goal against off Ovechkin’s stick. Jiricek needed to be more assertive at the outset of this play and more aggressive identifying how the play was developing in his zone. He essentially checked nobody in this sequence.

Jiricek last played an NHL game on Nov. 9 against the LA Kings in Los Angeles. NHL coaches, especially in tight contests on the road, expect their team to identify when to take risks and when to keep the game simple. Grinding out valuable standings points away from home is difficult in the NHL.

The following sequence speaks volumes about the current state of Jiricek’s game and why the Jackets' coaching staff has little trust in his defensive awareness at the NHL level right now.

Instead of keeping things simple and the play in front of him, Jiricek runs out of place to chase the play into the neutral zone. He’s entirely out of position as the puck ends up in the back of the Blue Jackets net.

WHERE WILL JIRICEK AND THE BLUE JACKETS GO FROM HERE?

David Jiricek is a solid prospect. Big, right-shot defencemen with the offensive upside that he has are worth waiting on as they take their time to develop.

Jiricek produced one goal and nine assists in 43 games with the Blue Jackets last season and averaged 14 minutes of ice time, all of which came at even strength. He finished with a respectable minus-four ranking.

This season hasn’t gone to plan, but Jiricek turns just 21 at the end of the month and has plenty of runway ahead of him. Although he spent most of last season in the NHL, Jiricek isn’t ready for full-time duty this year. He requires a reset at the AHL level and needs to get back to playing to his strengths.

I wouldn’t recommend Columbus panicking and throwing Jiricek out there for trade. He has far too much upside. Conversely, if I'm a team that has an opportunity to acquire Jiricek in a trade, I'm making that call.

I still believe Jiricek has the ability to land on an NHL power play and provide secondary offence. His small area defending and details can be coached up in the right situation.