Prospect Info: Blues 2024-2025 Prospect Thread

[TruBlueFan1970]

I’m not ready to write off the kid yet or anything but there’s valid concerns IMO. And yeah, his skill not developing to its fullest bc of the missed time is a legit concern. But the main thing I see lacking in him right now is his defensive play. And the lost time hampers his defensive development as well. He’s missing all sorts of development time. And he has 10 pts in 20 games. I wouldn’t say he’s been terrific when he’s played. I’ve seen glimpses of high potential but also a super rawness and bad defensive reads.

And I simply don’t agree with the line: “If he hadn’t gotten injured last season, all indications were that he was going to be a top-10 pick.”

Many scouts were starting to question Jiricek and move him down their lists last season BEFORE the big knee injury.

Here’s how his draft year played out:

3 assists in 5 games at the Hlinka tourney. This is what got him buzz and rankings around 10th overall going into the season.

Then he did…
0 pts in 3 Czech Jr games
4 pts in 9 games for the Czech U18 team (exhibitions)
0 pts 10 games for the Czech U20 team (exhibitions/prep/evals for the WJC)
1 pt in 19 games in the Czech Extraliga

He was also -10 in those 19 Extraliga games. The worst +/- on the team was -14 but it took 52 games for that player to get to -14. Jiricek needed only 19 games to get to -10. Suffice to say, he was getting absolutely caved in defensively. Completely outmatched. Probably shouldn’t have been playing pro hockey yet.

Then he got absolutely clobbered in the Extraliga and diagnosed with a concussion. Came back for the WJC, played a period and a half and then blew out his ACL.

So the ACL injury robbed him of the 2nd half of his draft season but he was already losing buzz before then. I recall reading at least a few scouts questioning if his lofty rankings were justified and how he’d likely drop when their mid-year rankings came out. But then he blew out his knee so he DEFINITELY dropped in the rankings. But my gut tells me he would’ve dropped anyway. Not as much but still dropped some.

Army said that the Blues scouts never dropped him. Mentioned his performance at the Hlinka tourney. So yeah, they clearly had him ranked higher than most. Will they be proven to be right eventually? Idk. Hopefully. But I have my doubts and I think there’s valid reasons to be concerned with his development and his future.

Thanks for the recap. I didn’t like that pick at all. I would’ve taken Boisvert in that spot, or if they really wanted D, either reaching for Solberg, or trying to trade back a few spots for Solberg or EJ Emery. Didn’t like the pick at the time, and still don’t like it. Could see him as a sweetener in a trade deal if they make a significant move.

 

[LogosBlue]

Jiricek is still a very young prospect. It was a huge mistake for him to join a men's league when he was clearly not ready for that level of play. I don't know if this was his decision or what led to this but he was not handled properly. I think the Blues have him in the right lane and I'm hopeful they can develop him properly from this point forward. As many have stated, he is still years away and I'm personally stoked about his raw talent and think he will be an impactful player in the future. I wish the Blues would have been able to move up and pick Zeev but i'm still happy with this pick and i think it would be a huge mistake to trade him unless we were to get an equally talented prospect / player in return.

 

[blue zone]

I agree with this. Jir

Jiricek is still a very young prospect. It was a huge mistake for him to join a men's league when he was clearly not ready for that level of play. I don't know if this was his decision or what led to this but he was not handled properly. I think the Blues have him in the right lane and I'm hopeful they can develop him properly from this point forward. As many have stated, he is still years away and I'm personally stoked about his raw talent and think he will be an impactful player in the future. I wish the Blues would have been able to move up and pick Zeev but i'm still happy with this pick and i think it would be a huge mistake to trade him unless we were to get an equally talented prospect / player in return.

I agree with this stance. Jiricek had no business playing up, much like we have seen with Dvorsky. Let him develop in the CHL and grow into his body.