David Jiříček

David Jiříček (born 28 November 2003) is a Czech professional ice hockey defenceman for the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted sixth overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Competing internationally as part of Czech Republic national team, he won a bronze medal at the 2022 IIHF World Championship, and a silver medal with the junior national team at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Playing career

Extraliga

Jiříček made his professional debut for HC Škoda Plzeň during the 2019–20 season where he appeared in four games. During the 2020–21 season, in his first full season with Plzeň, he recorded three goals and six assists in 34 games. Following his rookie season, he was named Czech Extraliga Rookie of the Year.

He was drafted 54th overall by the Spokane Chiefs in the 2020 CHL Import Draft.

Jiříček played only 29 games in the 2021–22 season after a knee injury suffered at the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Columbus Blue Jackets

In the leadup to the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Jiříček was considered a top prospect, and for much of the year there was debate as to whether he or Slovak Šimon Nemec would be the first defenceman taken. Following Jiříček's injury at the World Junior Championships, Nemec became favoured to go first. Ultimately, Nemec was taken second overall by the New Jersey Devils, while Jiříček was drafted sixth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Jiříček began his North American professional career playing with the Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate. He was called up to make his NHL debut on 28 October 2022, in the midst of a string of injuries to the Columbus defence corps. Returning to Cleveland, he was named the AHL Rookie of the Month for December 2022. Jiříček was initially named as the Monsters' representative to the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic, but he subsequently was unavailable to participate and was replaced by teammate Jake Christiansen. He ultimately appeared in 55 games with the Monsters, recording 6 goals and 32 assists, leading all rookie defencemen with 0.75 points per game.

On October 14, 2023, Jiříček scored his first career NHL goal in a 5–3 victory against the New York Rangers.

International play

Jiříček represented the Czech Republic at the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he recorded one assist in four games. He rejoined the national junior team at the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships the following year. However, he suffered an injury in his first game after a knee-on-knee collision with Team Canada forward Will Cuylle, and was forced to withdraw from the tournament. Jiříček returned to the ice for the 2022 IIHF World Championship, where he played five games in his debut with the senior national team, before a planned withdrawal to avoid overtaxing his knee. He shared in the team's bronze medal win, the first World medal for the Czech Republic in ten years.

Named once again to the national junior team for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, Jiříček's travel to the event in Halifax was affected by Winter Storm Elliott, which caused his equipment to be initially lost in transit. It was ultimately delivered five hours prior to the team's first game of the tournament. The tournament was an international breakout for Jiříček, who was cited as a central player in Czechia's deep run to the event final, where they ultimately took the silver medal after a loss to Canada. He was given the award for Best Defenceman of the event by the IIHF directorate, and was also named to the Media All-Star Team.

Personal life

Jiříček is the older brother of 2024 NHL entry draft prospect Adam Jiříček.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jiricek, David
2003 births
Living people
Cleveland Monsters players
Columbus Blue Jackets draft picks
Columbus Blue Jackets players
Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Czech ice hockey defencemen
HC Plzeň players
People from Klatovy
NHL first-round draft picks
Sportspeople from the Plzeň Region