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Why the Wild are in hot pursuit of Blue Jackets defense prospect David Jiricek

28 November 2024Last Update :
Why the Wild are in hot pursuit of Blue Jackets defense prospect David Jiricek

The cool part of every one of Jared Spurgeon’s birthdays is he gets to celebrate the anniversary of making his NHL debut. That anniversary, 15 seasons later, occurs Friday when the Wild captain turns 35.

I’ll never forget Nov. 29, 2010, being Spurgeon’s 21st birthday. That’s because the night of Nov. 28, knowing Clayton Stoner had gotten hurt two games before and Justin Falk had just gotten hurt the night before in Colorado, I figured the Wild would need to rush a defenseman to Calgary.

I texted a team source asking if he could tell me the callup. He wrote back, “Spurge.”

I got the reply as I got into the elevator at the Calgary Marriott preparing to go to dinner.

The reason why I remember exactly where I was? I wrote back, “LOL.”

Embarrassing, eh?

In fact, I was so convinced the source was kidding, I didn’t write or tweet the “scoop.” After all, when Spurgeon – a training camp invitee who wasn’t signed by the Islanders after they drafted him in 2008 and was a whisker from signing a pro contract in Austria – signed with the Wild in Sept. 2010, the news was barely a dot, dot, dot at the end of my notebook when I was still at the Star Tribune.

So I never envisioned the Wild calling up a 5-foot-9 defenseman fresh off the Western Hockey League ice with Spokane so soon into his pro career. I figured we’d see Marco Scandella or somebody like that.

Not Spurgeon.

Well, here we are 14 years later, and Spurgeon is the franchise’s blue line leader in virtually every statistical category and, outside of his first two games this season, has analytically been one of the team’s best defensemen since returning from missing six games due to injury.

According to MoneyPuck, the Wild are controlling play with a 65.7 percent expected goal rate with his shutdown pair with Jonas Brodin and have only allowed 1.37 expected goals per 60 minutes with Brodin and Spurgeon on the ice. That’s third best in the NHL (minimum 90 minutes).

Why do we bring this history lesson up?

A reminder that Spurgeon, even though he obnoxiously still looks 25 and plays like he’s 25, does in fact turn 35 Friday and only has two years left on his contract beyond this season.

Because of the fact he was limited to 16 games last season and had to miss six earlier this season due to the “healing process” of last year’s season-ending hip and back surgeries, the Wild are clearly starting to plan for what life after Spurgeon could look like.

This brings us to David Jiricek, the hulking right-shot defenseman who will celebrate his 21st birthday Thursday – one day before Spurgeon’s 35th birthday and 14 years after Spurgeon celebrated his 21st birthday with his NHL debut.

If you’ve listened to my Worst Seats in the House podcast, I’ve mentioned his name a handful of times dating to before the summer as one of the Columbus Blue Jackets prospects I could see the Wild pursuing after a new GM arrived and had a chance to examine his players.

The Wild have had all sorts of conversations with Don Waddell since before the draft about everybody from Jiricek and Kent Johnson to Cole Sillinger and, as you surely know by now, Patrik Laine.

Remember, the Wild thought they had a deal done for Laine, but he wouldn’t waive his no-trade and was subsequently dealt to Montreal late in the summer.

A few pods ago, I mentioned Jiricek’s name again because it’s a name that I keep hearing the Wild are motivated to acquire. And I subtly hinted I’d understand the deal … as long as a trade doesn’t include Marco Rossi.

And I don’t think it would.

The Blue Jackets have held talks with a significant number of NHL teams about Jiricek. One is definitely the Wild, and if they can get this done, I’d think it would be for a prospect and perhaps a pick or NHL throw-in.

In terms of prospects, the only untouchables are likely Danila Yurov, Jesper Wallstedt and Zeev Buium.

Would Daemon Hunt get it done? He’s the closest defenseman to being NHL ready, but with Brodin, Jake Middleton and Buium locked up into the future, he’s expendable if one assumes Buium signs after his sophomore season at University of Denver.

Or maybe Liam Öhgren, the Wild’s most NHL-ready forward down in Iowa.

The Wild also have a couple talented young forwards prospects like Riley Heidt and Hunter Haight.

If NHLers are included in a package, Declan Chisholm is expendable once Buium arrives, and at 24 years old, the puck-moving defenseman could be appetizing to Columbus. And we know how much Dean Evason loves forward Freddy Gaudreau, although he has played well this season and if he continues to do so, his $2.1 million a year contract for three more seasons beyond this one is reasonable.

The Blue Jackets were initially asking for a similar top prospect back in return for Jiricek but have since reportedly shifting to considering offers on package deals. That’s probably because Columbus, understandably, aimed high for blue-chip prospects in each interested franchise only to be rebuffed.

So why do the Wild want Jiricek, the sixth overall pick in the 2022 draft?

Upside and, if he hits, a Faber-Jiricek right-shot tandem on the top two pairs for years beyond Spurgeon’s time in Minnesota.

All teams covet right-shot defensemen, and Jiricek is a two-way blue liner with a heavy shot who plays hard and would bring much-needed size to a blue line that doesn’t have a ton of it. While mobility has long been his weakness, Jiricek is a decorated junior player with lots of international experience and success.

Have him work with Andy Ness, the Wild’s skating guru, and perhaps Ness can do wonders for Jiricek. Plus, we know Faber is a world-class skater, as are Brodin and Buium. If Jiricek’s skating is an issue, a left-shot like Brodin or Buium in the future could act as a safety net.

Jiricek was named the Best Defenseman of the 2023 World Junior Championship while helping lead Czechia to a silver medal. In a league where it’s extremely different for teenagers to function, Jiricek had 38 points in 55 games his first-year pro with AHL Cleveland in 2022-23. That was the same year he was assigned to the world juniors.

Last season, after the then-Blue Jackets’ coaching staff was limiting his ice time or sanctioning him to the press box, Jiricek was assigned to the Monsters, helped them make the playoffs with 19 points in 29 games and then was a huge contributor toward the Monsters getting to the Eastern Conference final with 11 points in 14 games.

Evason is now Columbus’ coach and nothing has changed in terms of Jiricek’s NHL usage, which surely could be considered a red flag when you consider this is the third staff that didn’t feel he was NHL ready. But the D coach, Steve McCarthy, is a staff holdover, so maybe that partly explains why Jiricek has only played six games, averaging 11:12 a game.

Wednesday night in Rochester, Jiricek played his third game for Cleveland since being reassigned. He had a goal and assist, including an overtime winner with a long reaching poke of Owen Sillinger’s centering pass.

If the Wild do get this done, it may actually make sense for the team to initially assign him to Iowa. The Wild have had a strong start to this season and the blue line has played well, yet Jiricek has only played six NHL games and three AHL games this season.

It wouldn’t be fair to the team or to Jiricek to put him right into the NHL lineup until he can get his game in order with huge minutes at even-strength and in all special teams situations. That can only happen initially in Iowa.

So we’ll see what happens here, but in the past few days, I’ve seen a lot of questions from Wild fans why the Wild would even be interested in a right-shot defenseman when the Wild are playing so well and the blue line is largely set this season.

It’s because while Spurgeon may look like he can play forever, he won’t, and the Wild are trying to set up shop for after his time in Minnesota comes to an end.

(Photo of David Jiricek: Jeff Curry / Imagn Images)

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