David Jiříček (born 28 November 2003) is a Czech professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...
for the
Cleveland Monsters
The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...
of the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
(AHL) as a prospect to the
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL). He was drafted sixth overall by the Blue Jackets in the
2022 NHL Entry Draft
The 2022 NHL Entry Draft was the 60th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on July 7–8, 2022, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Montreal were originally scheduled to host the 2020 draft but were unable to do so due to the COVID-19 pandem ...
.
[
Competing internationally as part of Czech Republic national team, he won a bronze medal at the ]2022 IIHF World Championship
The 2022 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Finland from 13 to 29 May 2022, as the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced on 19 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany. The host cities of the World Championships were Tampere and Helsinki, ...
, 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
HC Škoda Plzeň is a professional Czech ice hockey team based in Plzeň, Czech Republic. It currently plays in the Czech Extraliga. Their home arena is Home Monitoring Aréna. The traditional ice hockey club was founded in 1929. In 2013, for the ...
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
The Spokane Chiefs are a major junior ice hockey team that plays in the Western Hockey League based out of Spokane, Washington. The team plays its home games at the Spokane Arena. Their uniforms are similar to those of the NHL's Montreal Canadi ...
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
The 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships were the 46th edition of the IIHF World Junior Championship, played from August 9–20, 2022 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The tournament was originally scheduled to be held from Dece ...
.[
]
Columbus Blue Jackets
In the leadup to the 2022 NHL Entry Draft
The 2022 NHL Entry Draft was the 60th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on July 7–8, 2022, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Montreal were originally scheduled to host the 2020 draft but were unable to do so due to the COVID-19 pandem ...
, Jiříček was considered a top prospect, and for much of the year there was debate as to whether he or Slovak Šimon Nemec
Šimon Nemec (born 15 February 2004) is a Slovak professional ice hockey defenceman for the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted second overall ...
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
The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
, while Jiříček was drafted sixth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...
.
Jiříček began his North American professional career playing with the Cleveland Monsters
The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...
, 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
Jacobi Melius Alton Christiansen (February 2, 1900 – January 21, 1992) was an American football and basketball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Valparaiso University from 1929 to 1940 and at Concordia College (Moorhead ...
. 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
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
.
International play
Jiříček represented the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
at the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
The 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''2021 WJHC'') were the 45th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It began on December 25, 2020, and ended with the gold medal game on January 5, 2021. This marked the 16th time that ...
, where he recorded one assist in four games. He rejoined the national junior team at the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
The 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships were the 46th edition of the IIHF World Junior Championship, played from August 9–20, 2022 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The tournament was originally scheduled to be held from Dece ...
the following year. However, he suffered an injury in his first game after a knee-on-knee collision with Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to:
Canada at multi-sport events
* Canada at the Olympics
* Canada at the Paralympics
* Canada at the Commonwealth Games
* Canada at the Pan American Games
Canada's national sport teams
* Canada me ...
forward Will Cuylle
William Cuylle (born February 5, 2002) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 60th ...
, and was forced to withdraw from the tournament. Jiříček returned to the ice for the 2022 IIHF World Championship
The 2022 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Finland from 13 to 29 May 2022, as the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced on 19 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany. The host cities of the World Championships were Tampere and Helsinki, ...
, 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
The 2024 NHL Entry Draft will be the 62nd NHL Entry Draft. The draft is expected to be held in June 2024 in Las Vegas.
Eligibility
Ice hockey players born between January 1, 2004, and September 15, 2006, are eligible for selection in the 2024 N ...
prospect Adam Jiříček.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honours
References
External links
*
{{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