St. Louis Blues select defenseman Adam Jiricek No. 16 overall in 2024 NHL Draft

On Friday at The Sphere in Las Vegas, the St. Louis Blues selected select Czech defenseman Adam Jiricek in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft, No. 16 overall.

A big, versatile, right-shot blueliner named Jiricek from Czechia should indeed sound familiar. Two years ago, David Jiricek, Adam’s brother, went sixth overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Now Adam, who turned 18 [yesterday/today, June 28 is his birthday), gets his ticket to the NHL.

Unlike his brother, though, Adam limped into his draft year literally and figuratively and qualifies as somewhat of a buy-low pick for the Blues. At the 2024 World Juniors, he suffered a knee injury and missed the rest of his season. He only got into 19 games with HC Plzen in the Czech Extraliga all year, which hurt his draft stock twofold. On one hand, he hadn’t really been impressing with HC Plzen in the first place after entering the year with a fair amount of hype due to his play with the Czech under-18 team at the 2023 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup. And not only did the injury halt any chance for him to turn around his game, but it also limited scouts’ ability to view him in the latter half of the year.

Still, it’s not inconceivable that Jiricek ends up becoming a steal. He moves very well for a 6-foot-3, 178-pound blueliner and is young enough that the season-ending injury shouldn’t change that going forward. Most scouts perceive his skating as ahead of his brother’s at the same age. Adam is also considered an elite passer and has a heavy shot. Since he’s not afraid to get physical, either, he has the tools to be a well-rounded minute muncher at the NHL level should he reach his max potential.

All in good time, though; first, Jiricek has to get healthy in time for next season.

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