The Philadelphia Flyers’ biggest splash at the trade deadline wasn’t selling off a bunch of aging veterans for whatever draft picks they could pry from the hands of the top teams around the NHL — bad news for some fans. But, they took the step to clear up space for potential top-end winger prospects in the future and bet big on a former top draft pick figuring it out in their system.
By bringing in David Jiricek from the Minnesota Wild, they have possibly solve some of their problems on the blue line, but a whole lot of developmental work on the 22-year-old will need to happen first. His skating is not good enough to be in the NHL, and he’s prone to some terrifying defensive gaffs on the ice, like we saw in his organizational debut with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday.
In there, though, is the player that teams saw when he was projected to go highly in the 2022 NHL Draft and was ultimately taken at sixth overall. The positives in Jiricek’s game is his offense from the point, providing a booming shot (like he showcased in the goal in his debut) and being able to see the zone well enough to potentially make some plays.
That all boils down to, if he figures it out, a potential massive, 6-foot-3 weapon on the right side of the Flyers blue line that quarterbacks the top power-play unit and makes an overall positive impact on the game. Jiricek may never be rid of some defensive miscues, but if they are manageable, and the other issues with his game are ironed out, then there’s a real piece here.
The only thing now, is the timeline that the Flyers are currently on to see this come to fruition.
Due to Jiricek signing his entry-level contract at the “waiver age” of 19 years old, he was only ineligible for waivers for four years. Which means, to be sent down to the AHL next season, Jiricek is going to have to go on the waiver wire.
David Jiricek’s waiver status can force Flyers’ hand
It’s the unfortunate thing about some more long-term projects, and this could be the highest profile if this issue ever. The former sixth-overall pick that is on his third team at the age of 22 and has so many tools that teams desperately want — including just naturally being right-handed and 6-foot-3 — is going to have to be up for grabs for all 31 other teams to steal for free if the Flyers don’t think he’s good enough to stick in the NHL.
And it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
We all know just how raw Jiricek is right now. So far in the NHL he has shown that all he can do is essentially drown under pressure and then cough up pucks as soon as he sees a big-league forechecker coming straight for him. Which is also why he was available to be acquired for a middle-six winger who is the odd man out on a non-playoff team, like Bobby Brink was.
It is now just on the Flyers to work with him and see if he can be a fit before they ultimately have to make a potentially dangerous decision. Jiricek will have the rest of this season to provide on-ice examples of why he can work in game situations. The 22-year-old blueliner will be down in the AHL with the Phantoms for the time being, and it would not shock anyone if he were given a late-season call-up to ride out the last week or so in the NHL before then returning to Allentown for the AHL playoffs.
How the rest of Jiricek’s season might play out
Just to maybe draw out specific dates, let’s say that the Flyers call up Jiricek after the first weekend of April. That would give him 12 total games with the Phantoms and then if he doesn’t play on that Monday, April 5 against the Bruins — since he would have technically just played a back-to-back with Lehigh Valley — it would give him five games with the Flyers for the rest of the season.
It’s not a perfect schedule but it feels like a somewhat realistic one. Hopefully, with those 17 games within the Flyers organization, they can get a sense if he can be penciled into the NHL lineup before training camp next fall, because that’s truly where it can all go down.
If Jiricek has a disappointing training camp, it could spell disaster. Even if the Flyers trade Rasmus Ristolainen and clear up space on the right side for a young blueliner, Oliver Bonk could certainly leapfrog Jiricek and claim that spot over him if the Czech defender doesn’t rise to the occasion. It might take some of his own developmental leaps, but Bonk plays a much safer game than Jiricek to begin with and that might just be more appealing for head coach Rick Tocchet to have in his lineup.
And if there were other floor-raising additions to the blue line, then it might just be a numbers game and Jiricek could be on his way out.
It is extremely hard to believe that general manager Danny Briere would not step in and force Jiricek to stay on the NHL roster to start next season due to his waiver eligibility, but there could be a breaking point where the player just is not progressing and something potentially deadly happens. And if he is sent on waivers and claimed by another team willing to give him a shot, then the Flyers sent Bobby Brink back home to Minnesota for absolutely nothing. For a dozen or so games of trying out to see if a top draft pick is worth the squeeze.
If anything, there is now a strict timeline on Jiricek becoming an NHLer with the Flyers and the deadline is quickly approaching.