Article: Trading For David Jiricek Would Be A No-Brainer For the Wild

[Justin Wiggins]

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[Citizen Strife]

If the Wild dodge any offer for Rossi, Yurov, Buium, and Wallstedt, you take the chance.

[Burnt Toast]

Picking up Jiricek is an intriguing gambit. His size, position and upside checks a lot of boxes for the Wild’s needs moving forward. I see the potential for a win going back Columbus’ way as well. This is where the Wild’s patience in acquiring draft capital and prospects the last few years could pay dividends. 2024-25 is turning out to be a  very interesting season indeed. 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

With Winnipeg going 5-5 in their last 10, the Wild are now closer to them in points% than the 3rd team is to the Wild! Amazing start for the good guys!!!

[mnfaninnc]

Quote

Recent sixth-round picks rarely become available via the trade market,

Justin, I'm sure you meant to write "Recent 6th overall picks." 

But, the body of the article is right. Servalli said he thought Jiricek was going to be traded last weekend. He mentioned that Waddell has 5-6 concrete offers. He mentioned that Dubas has gone down to watch him personally. He also mentioned he thought Minnesota was at the front of the line. 

Why hasn't Shooter been able to close the deal yet? I'm pretty sure that he can offer more than Pittsburgh in young prospects, more than Philly and more than most other teams. Buffalo was also mentioned and they also have a very nice prospect list.

I think this is one time where Shooter wants to win the player and not be stingy. How has Guerin done in swapping with Waddell? I don't believe they've made any deals between each other. 

I think I'd like Guerin to be on the phone this weekend at get the deal over the finish line. If an extra 2nd tier prospect must be added, do it. If Waddell sent someone to Charlotte to see how the Wild were in the minors this season, see my game synopsis under the Heinzy article. 

Columbus also has the 11th ranked prospect pool, so they're not barren like Ottawa is. So, the pieces they've got have to be factored into the offer we give them. I don't know what their pieces are. The highlighted players are: Cayden Lindstrom, Denton Mateychuk, Gavin Brindley, Stanislav Svozil, and Jordan Dumais. 

I feel like Rossi would be a serious overpay, however, I loved Cayden Lindstrom in this draft. If we were obtaining both Jiricek and Lindstrom, could that be worth Rossi? It wouldn't be a trade for this year, but it could really pay off in the future if we went this direction. Lindstrom is a good skater and has that size that Guerin likes. 

If we're just going after Jiricek, however, I think his market value is a bevy of 2nd tier guys. I think Hunt is the most ready defender, and this might be good for them if they're thinking of trading Provorov this season. Fact is, they may want 2 defensive prospects and a forward. If it were me, I'd be dangling Peart as best as I could. 

[mnfaninnc]

Here's my synopsis on the baby Wild yesterday:

I thought this was the best place to put this, yesterday afternoon my grandson and I went to watch the Wild play.....in Charlotte. 

While the baby Wild were down their top line, I did get to see some things and there was one real big surprise. Ferguson started in net instead of The Wall. Wild lost 5-3, 5th goal on a poorly executed goalie pull with 17 seconds left (Charlotte had a PP until then and pretty much played keep away).

Overview Thoughts:

Organizations want different things from their A team. The Panthers are the Panthers, and they've got plenty of depth incase of injury. Might this have been a different game if Boyd, Shore and Jones were back? Maybe, but they weren't.

Wild held tough taking an undeserved 2-1 lead after 1, tied at 2 after 2, and pulling to 4-3 in the 3rd. Driedger was the Charlotte goalie, a definite 3rd goalie who can perform in the N. He didn't look particularly sharp. 

Probably 2/3rds of the play was held in the Wild zone, the best they could do was chip pucks, Charlotte could handle, skate and were always setting up in the Wild zone. Good news, the Wild looked structured and weren't in 5 alarm fire mode. Charlotte ice is pretty soft, and this could be a reason why we were bobbling pucks. To me, a couple of times, it looked like the puck stuck instead of slide. 

Breakouts were hard and generally stymied in the neutral zone. Best goal of the night was a pass up the right wing to Mikey Milne who took the puck into the zone and stopped around the top of the circle, the lone defender couldn't stay with him and Milne dumped a pass to a streaking Caeden Bankier who went forehand-backhand-forehand for the tap in. This line was the best line of the night, mainly due to Bankier and Milne (for the Wild). Haight and Ohgren also played together, I think with Reese Johnson who had a nice fight.

Player Thoughts:

Bankier had a strong game playing center. He won most of his draws, and he and Milne were in the offensive zone the most. The 3rd party was Graeme Clarke, and if we thought he would be a difference maker, we were truly wrong. He's not strong enough to play in the A. He tried to bump people to no affect and pretty much played spritzer hockey. Bankier, however, was physical.

Mikey Milne was all over the ice and he has excellent speed....for the A. He wasn't as physical as I would have liked and has some offensive upside. He's not ready yet. Lots of bobbled pucks and he really needs to work into that physical bottom 6er. 

Graeme Clarke is listed at 190. The eye test says LIE! He played a Johansson type of game with the exception of dropping his stick. His penalty late  in the 3rd cost the Wild a chance to tie, and it wasn't due to lack of effort, it was a strength issue where he had a guy tied up behind the net, couldn't hold him there and ended up slashing his stick to try and get the puck loose. He is a weak player, and probably has the same criticisms that Beckman had. 

Hunter Haight centered the next line with Ohgren and Johnson. This was the 2nd best line out there, and they'd break out heading the other way, bobble a puck and back the other way it went. Haight showed some skill and creativity which I liked. He will need the full year and probably next year before he's ready. Draws were a problem for Haight, he lost most of them. 

Ohgren. Ohgren has an average stick for the A. He didn't show off his speed, he didn't really dig into the corners. He got a few shots off into the goalie's chest. One thing was noticeable, His breezers are a lot wider than most of the other players. Remember the speech that Guerin gave to Rossi, to put more FU in his game? Ohgren needs to hear a recording of that speech. He's got the goods to really bang some guys in the corners but hasn't been using it. He needs some time with Ek in the summer. I don't know how much bodychecking they teach in Sweden, but he looked like that was pretty foreign to him. And, he's absolutely got to be doing stickhandling drills after practice. He gets shots off, but he is not good at carrying the puck. 

Crotty and Lambos were the 1st pair. I thought they played well, and I could see the puck moving ability of Lambos who also seemed way more willing to stick a guy in the corner. He had a couple of nice stickhandling moments in traffic and skating himself out of traffic. Lambos has improved.

The next pair was Spacek and Hunt. I thought through the 1st period that the Crotty Lambos pair was the best, but after that, this pair seemed to be the best. Spacek I was excited to see, as I've been high on him. He has also greatly improved. He's a little smaller, but there are guys who take the body and guys who staple people to the boards. Spacek has his Swingline handy. The guys he was stapling were bigger than him. He also has some nice offensive upside.  His skating was fine as he didn't get burned at all. He was on the ice for the 3rd goal, which was a wrap around, but even looking at the replay, I think it was just a really good play by the forward for the Checkers. 

Hunt was very steady. He got burned on a terrible linechange where the Wild got the puck out after being trapped in their zone but didn't get it deep and faced a team coming down at him. He, also was at the end of his shift and had no jump. He was also on the ice for the 3rd goal, though, I didn't see him in the picture. There was kind of a wipe out in the corner of some players, he might have been in that. 

Peart was on the 3rd pair with Cecconi. Peart has a long way to go. He was as weak as Clarke. There was one spot where he tried to take the body in his own zone only to get outmuscled and shielded off by the defender, his bump had no impact and didn't move the opponent one bit. He wasn't particularly great at moving the puck and needs a much larger frame. The roster says he's 195, LIE. The eye test says he's small and weak. 

Ferguson is an interesting goalie. He's 6'2" and plays real quick, much like Fleury's style is. He is definitely not quiet in the net. I suspect he is a hot and cold goalie.

My next callup at forward would be Bankier. On defense it would probably be Hunt, but I'd like to see Lambos (who looks bigger) up in the N. For those wondering, there is a huge chasm between our A prospects and our current N players. Yes, even Merrill could probably fend off the defensemen at this point. While it's disappointing to hear, it also means that the front office made the right decisions.

•  

[Enforceror]

3 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

With Winnipeg going 5-5 in their last 10, the Wild are now closer to them in points% than the 3rd team is to the Wild! Amazing start for the good guys!!!

Wild currently have the least amount of regulation losses in the entire NHL. 2 points back from jets now with one less GP.

[TCMooch]

It’s he actually projected to be good or is he just shiny because he’s a former top 10 pick?

i find it hard to believe a team lets somebody like him go unless they seriously think he’s flawed.

Edited November 30 by TCMooch
Spelling

[Pewterschmidt]

Jirizy for Hunt + picks

 done mind this at all.  We keep Rossi and ogz for more seasoning

[Mateo3xm]

 THEY JUST GOT HIM!

25 first round

26 second round

27 fourth round and Daemon Hunt

 

we get Jiricek and a 25 fourth round pick

[Mateo3xm]

2 hours ago, TCMooch said:

It’s he actually projected to be good or is he just shiny because he’s a former top 10 pick?

i find it hard to believe a team lets somebody like him go unless they seriously think he’s flawed.

There are some concerns because he believes he’s ready for the nhl and the team doesn’t. He’s been lighting up the ahl since the beginning but I’ve heard his back skating and defense isn’t good enough for the NHL yet. I’ve heard from some ppl that the way the jackets develop their players is a problem. They don’t seem to want to let him make mistakes and learn.

I just hope he realizes that it’s not a given and that he still needs to work his ass off and get better to get his spot.

[Mateo3xm]

10 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Here's my synopsis on the baby Wild yesterday:

I thought this was the best place to put this, yesterday afternoon my grandson and I went to watch the Wild play.....in Charlotte. 

While the baby Wild were down their top line, I did get to see some things and there was one real big surprise. Ferguson started in net instead of The Wall. Wild lost 5-3, 5th goal on a poorly executed goalie pull with 17 seconds left (Charlotte had a PP until then and pretty much played keep away).

Overview Thoughts:

Organizations want different things from their A team. The Panthers are the Panthers, and they've got plenty of depth incase of injury. Might this have been a different game if Boyd, Shore and Jones were back? Maybe, but they weren't.

Wild held tough taking an undeserved 2-1 lead after 1, tied at 2 after 2, and pulling to 4-3 in the 3rd. Driedger was the Charlotte goalie, a definite 3rd goalie who can perform in the N. He didn't look particularly sharp. 

Probably 2/3rds of the play was held in the Wild zone, the best they could do was chip pucks, Charlotte could handle, skate and were always setting up in the Wild zone. Good news, the Wild looked structured and weren't in 5 alarm fire mode. Charlotte ice is pretty soft, and this could be a reason why we were bobbling pucks. To me, a couple of times, it looked like the puck stuck instead of slide. 

Breakouts were hard and generally stymied in the neutral zone. Best goal of the night was a pass up the right wing to Mikey Milne who took the puck into the zone and stopped around the top of the circle, the lone defender couldn't stay with him and Milne dumped a pass to a streaking Caeden Bankier who went forehand-backhand-forehand for the tap in. This line was the best line of the night, mainly due to Bankier and Milne (for the Wild). Haight and Ohgren also played together, I think with Reese Johnson who had a nice fight.

Player Thoughts:

Bankier had a strong game playing center. He won most of his draws, and he and Milne were in the offensive zone the most. The 3rd party was Graeme Clarke, and if we thought he would be a difference maker, we were truly wrong. He's not strong enough to play in the A. He tried to bump people to no affect and pretty much played spritzer hockey. Bankier, however, was physical.

Mikey Milne was all over the ice and he has excellent speed....for the A. He wasn't as physical as I would have liked and has some offensive upside. He's not ready yet. Lots of bobbled pucks and he really needs to work into that physical bottom 6er. 

Graeme Clarke is listed at 190. The eye test says LIE! He played a Johansson type of game with the exception of dropping his stick. His penalty late  in the 3rd cost the Wild a chance to tie, and it wasn't due to lack of effort, it was a strength issue where he had a guy tied up behind the net, couldn't hold him there and ended up slashing his stick to try and get the puck loose. He is a weak player, and probably has the same criticisms that Beckman had. 

Hunter Haight centered the next line with Ohgren and Johnson. This was the 2nd best line out there, and they'd break out heading the other way, bobble a puck and back the other way it went. Haight showed some skill and creativity which I liked. He will need the full year and probably next year before he's ready. Draws were a problem for Haight, he lost most of them. 

Ohgren. Ohgren has an average stick for the A. He didn't show off his speed, he didn't really dig into the corners. He got a few shots off into the goalie's chest. One thing was noticeable, His breezers are a lot wider than most of the other players. Remember the speech that Guerin gave to Rossi, to put more FU in his game? Ohgren needs to hear a recording of that speech. He's got the goods to really bang some guys in the corners but hasn't been using it. He needs some time with Ek in the summer. I don't know how much bodychecking they teach in Sweden, but he looked like that was pretty foreign to him. And, he's absolutely got to be doing stickhandling drills after practice. He gets shots off, but he is not good at carrying the puck. 

Crotty and Lambos were the 1st pair. I thought they played well, and I could see the puck moving ability of Lambos who also seemed way more willing to stick a guy in the corner. He had a couple of nice stickhandling moments in traffic and skating himself out of traffic. Lambos has improved.

The next pair was Spacek and Hunt. I thought through the 1st period that the Crotty Lambos pair was the best, but after that, this pair seemed to be the best. Spacek I was excited to see, as I've been high on him. He has also greatly improved. He's a little smaller, but there are guys who take the body and guys who staple people to the boards. Spacek has his Swingline handy. The guys he was stapling were bigger than him. He also has some nice offensive upside.  His skating was fine as he didn't get burned at all. He was on the ice for the 3rd goal, which was a wrap around, but even looking at the replay, I think it was just a really good play by the forward for the Checkers. 

Hunt was very steady. He got burned on a terrible linechange where the Wild got the puck out after being trapped in their zone but didn't get it deep and faced a team coming down at him. He, also was at the end of his shift and had no jump. He was also on the ice for the 3rd goal, though, I didn't see him in the picture. There was kind of a wipe out in the corner of some players, he might have been in that. 

Peart was on the 3rd pair with Cecconi. Peart has a long way to go. He was as weak as Clarke. There was one spot where he tried to take the body in his own zone only to get outmuscled and shielded off by the defender, his bump had no impact and didn't move the opponent one bit. He wasn't particularly great at moving the puck and needs a much larger frame. The roster says he's 195, LIE. The eye test says he's small and weak. 

Ferguson is an interesting goalie. He's 6'2" and plays real quick, much like Fleury's style is. He is definitely not quiet in the net. I suspect he is a hot and cold goalie.

My next callup at forward would be Bankier. On defense it would probably be Hunt, but I'd like to see Lambos (who looks bigger) up in the N. For those wondering, there is a huge chasm between our A prospects and our current N players. Yes, even Merrill could probably fend off the defensemen at this point. While it's disappointing to hear, it also means that the front office made the right decisions.

•  

Thanks for the update.

All this is good to hear but I think it’s important to not draw a definitive conclusion on a prospect off one game. Still this is good info to hear.