Really puling for Jiricek and wish him a speedy and complete recovery. But his medicals will be heavily scrutinized by the teams at the combine, and he'll need to show improved power and greater range of motion on his injured knee if he wishes to be selected as high as his play should warrant.
Injury notwithstanding, I am not completely sold on Jiricek's Hockey IQ, and I think he'll need to majorly improve his reads and positioning while defending (his ability to stop/anticipate the cycle is really lacking right now) if he wants to be a good D-man in the NHL, but the potential that he shows is still tantalizing.
Smooth hands (for a forward prospect, nevermind for a defenseman), a very powerful and accurate slapper and overall good wrist shot, perhaps the best sense of timing/angles to find shooting lanes as a defenseman in the draft, + size and strength, passes and manages the puck well in transition, denies zone entries really well, is freaking hard to beat 1-on-1 (except against ++ skaters), can be physical although it is not his primary type of play. The list goes on.
Seriously, those tools should and probably will warrant a top 5-10 pick, even with the uncertainty due to injury.
I personally have Nemec above him as a potential drafee (despite his muffin shot), but can understand why someone else would have the opposite opinion.
What a great fit.
