Wild’s David Jiricek to miss remainder of 2024-25 season due to lacerated spleen

The Minnesota Wild announced Friday that defenseman David Jiricek will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign after suffering a lacerated spleen.

Currently competing in the AHL with the Iowa Wild, Jiricek sustained the injury in Saturday’s contest against the Ontario Reign. Jiricek is expected to make a full recovery and be ready to return to action for the upcoming season.

Acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a November deal that saw the Wild part with fellow rearguard Daemon Hunt plus four draft picks including Minnesota’s first-round selection in the upcoming NHL Draft, Jiricek saw six showings with Minnesota this season in which he finished with one goal and one assist for two points. Combined with his six games with the Blue Jackets earlier this year, Jiricek wraps up the 2024-25 campaign with 12 appearances in which he finished with three points and six penalty minutes.

Meanwhile, through 27 contests with minor-league Iowa, Jiricek notched seven assists coupled with 15 penalty minutes and a minus-one rating. In all, Jiricek has skated part of three seasons in the minors between Iowa and the Cleveland Monsters in which he has totaled 67 points counting 15 goals and 52 assists coming in 115 career contests.

Jiricek has also seen success in international competition highlighted by the 2023 World Juniors where through seven games he put up three goals and four assists for seven points en route to a silver medal finish, helping him to earn recognition as the tournament’s top defenseman.

Originally chosen sixth overall by Columbus in the 2022 NHL Draft, the 21-year-old Czech-born blue-liner has totaled 59 NHL appearances between the Blue Jackets and Wild in which he has collected two goals and 11 assists for 13 points.

Per PuckPedia, Jiricek is in the second year of a three-year contract that carries a $918,333 cap hit.