Jiricek as a future star! According to the data model, he is one of the top prospects, Svozil’s chances were complicated by the arrival of a star

David Jiříček has had his first season overseas. He was picked sixth overall by Columbus, where he played 4 NHL games, otherwise he shined on the farm. And according to the data model, he’s one of the top prospects in the entire league.

Columbus has decided to go the way of the Czech talented backs in recent years. In 2021, they drafted Stanislav Svozil in the 3rd round, and a year later they drafted David Jiricek with the 6th pick.

And the Klatovy native has huge potential. His first acclimatization season overseas went well beyond expectations.

Jiricek spent a year on an AHL farm and was named to the AHL’s Top Prospects Team, along with fellow Czech Jiri Kulich, Slovak Simon Nemec, German Lukas Reichel, Canadian Tyson Foerster and Swede Jesper Wallstedt.

He appeared in 56 games for the Cleveland Monsters, scoring 6 goals and 32 assists. He also made his NHL debut, playing in four games.

And experts are already talking about Jiricek moving permanently to the first team next year. Some are tipping him for the second defensive pairing along with newcomer Ivan Provorov.

That Jiricek has a great future in the NHL is confirmed by the data model of TopDownHockey. According to the data calculation, the probability of Jiricek becoming a star in the NHL is as high as 85%, which is the third best number.

According to TopDownHockey, the probability of Jiricek becoming a stable NHL player is 100%.

The arrival of the star Provorov, however, has made Svozil’s chances a bit more difficult. The captain of the Czech Silver Twenty played one game on the farm, otherwise he spent the season in the Canadian juniors with the Regina Pats, where he played with Connor Bedard, the next number one draft pick and a generational talent.

So the top 6 in Columbus is pretty far away for Svozil at the moment, and it’s not out of the question that he’ll be one of those waiting to be traded. Other talented defensive players like Mateychuk, Gudbranson, Knyazko and Ceulemans are waiting for their chance.

Source: Twitter, TopDownHockey