Article: Czech National Coach Speaks Against Jiricek Trade

[Thomas Williams]

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[M_Nels]

Apparently the Czech coach thinks Spurgeon & Brodin are ageless, Bogo, Chisholm & Merrill are going to get extended and defensemen never play off hand. Too many factors at play and as a coach he should know that. Spacek is a promising prospect but he's not NHL ready yet.

[Pewterschmidt]

Nickname brainstorm:

Space-Ek

[Citizen Strife]

I'm all for sticking up for a player, but you aren't running the team.  If Hunt, Lambos, Spacek etc were worldbeaters, the Wild don't make this trade.

Forgive me if I didn't think Spacek was all that impressive in preseason.  If Jiricek has a skill set better suited for the NHL, he just does.

The league is a "what have you done for me lately" and "what COULD you do for me" league.  Guerin isn't going to sit around if a situation like this falls into his lap.

Maybe Spacek ends up the better player.  But you take every dart you get and throw it.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Jiricek doesn't fully block Spacek. Spacek wasn't likely to be joining the Wild while Bogosian is around, and Spurgeon's contract ends the following year.

Spacek is a solid prospect, but he's not likely to play above 3rd pairing. Spacek played 3rd line D for the Czech national team, so the coach complaining has also placed Jiricek quite a bit higher in minutes given as their 1st line D.

When Bogo's contract ends, the Wild may need their AHL defenseman call up to be a RHD prospect like Spacek as Spurgeon may be more likely to miss games as a 37 year old player.

Lambos could become the 7th D in the not too distant future given that he likely has Brodin, Buium, and Middleton ahead of him for a few years. Those 3 could all be in front of Chisholm, so he might not be re-signed despite quality play this season.

Brodin's contract runs up to the summer of 2028, and the Wild likely keep him around for much of that time, but he doesn't appear to have a no movement clause after this season.

I guess it's possible the Wild sign Chisholm for 1 more year and play Buium in the AHL for a season, but the draft writers made it sound like they expect Buium to be NHL ready by the end of this season. Buium is not currently far off his phenomenal scoring pace from the prior season. A couple good games and he could easily jump ahead of last season's uniquely strong pace during his freshman year.

[mnfaninnc]

I'm kind of agreeing with Huck's take here. I don't think I'd even consider sending Buium to the A. If he needs the A, then we need to leave him in Denver another year. 

Look, I liked Spacek's game vs. Charlotte. He was a very good A defender. What exactly does that mean? Taking the balance sheet approach, or an appraisal approach, it simply means that both Lambos and Spacek are good players for this league at the time I watched them. They're well above average, but are not yet elite. I think Spacek's physical game is above Lambos', and I think Lambos' stickhandling game is above Spacek's, though, Spacek really didn't have the opportunity to show his off. 

The Czech coach isn't wrong, Spacek is a player. So, let's compare him with some other guys I've seen:

• One can't miss guy who it seemed like we stole coming out of UoM was Mike Reilly. I saw him here and can tell you that Spacek is already a far superior defender than Reilly was. Reilly was arrogant and thought he was too good for the league. Spacek brings his Swingline and puts people into walls and leaves them there. Spacek is also on the #1PP unit, which Reilly was. That unit looked pretty rough, but it wasn't due to Spacek. 
• Another highly touted guy I really liked was Louis Belpedio. He was also known for moving the puck, however, again, defensively, Spacek is superior. Offensively it's more gray.
• Carson Soucy. This was a guy I liked at UMD, but it took awhile. He was a bigger guy, and like usual, bigger guys develop later, largely due to their clumsy feet. Soucy looked pretty good in a Canucks sweater the other night. I think Spacek looks like he's ahead of Soucy offensively, he can't match the size, but is very effective at being violent about his hits and canceling out opponents. 
• Nick Seeler. Seeler was a tenacious defender who defended the net as well as every player on the ice. I cannot forget him dropping a Checker with one punch, a quick and abruptly ended fight. But Seeler had pretty much nothing to offer the offense. Spacek has that.

Those guys I'd seen in person. Sample size might have been 2 games. I remember Seeler being held back in game 2 after he knocked out the guy in game 1. I think they just tried to keep the peace. While this comment is mainly about Spacek, Lambos also has improved. I don't know if they'd be ready at season's end, but if we've got the cap space they might be ready for their cup of coffee. 

Nobody should be thinking that we are blocking Spacek. That's not happening at all. I think he may be ready to come up when Bogosian's contract expires. I think at the end of his ELC, he'll still have a 2-way deal coming, but he'll be making a lot more in the A.

[Beast]

Ironically, Spacek was born in Columbus while his father was playing for the Blue Jackets.

There’s a lot of chaff in the Wild’s defensive pipeline right now, IMO.  A lot of the guys in close proximity to the NHL are kind of meh and are all left shot other than Spacek.  I don’t see any of the guys in the AHL (Lambos, O’Rourke, Peart) filling key roles long term.  Buium is a completely different player destined for top pairing, and Pionk and Kiviharju are light years away (and not really highly touted).  A number of these guys are going to end up getting traded, which may already be in Geurin’s deadline plans.

Theres room in the NHL right now.  Bogosian, Merrill, and Chisholm aren’t long-term options.  Maybe Chisholm, as a bottom pairing guy, but I don’t see them signing him to a lengthy one way day deal.  He’s a place holder.  There’s 3 open spots shortly.

Also, Brodin and Spurgeon are getting long in the tooth and spending more and more time injured.  Middleton is will be 30 next season.  Spacek and Jiricek are both 21.  There’s minutes available even with the status quo.

Lastly, he’s more upset that Spacek may have to earn it through performance than Jiricek getting yo-yo’d in bad organization in Columbus?  Jiricek may not even develop into a high-end contributor (I’m not overly optimistic), so what is he saying about Spacek?  If he’s as good as he thinks, what is he worried about with all things mentioned above?

If Spacek ends up being a quality NHL player, there’s plenty of room.  The opportunity to have 2 Czech players in an elite d group with Buium and Faber, in a system that sets d men for success as much anybody, should excite the hell out of him.  Awful take.

First, Spacek has to prove he can play in the NHL.  Maybe he wouldn’t find significant minutes anywhere.  

[Protec]

I think we just need to take a deep breath. 

In simple terms, the GM is the boss. It may be interesting, what the Czech coach says but who gives a shit? 

Does an NHL GM like Guerin say, "Oh no. I better not get the 6'4", former 6th, RD cause it will hurt feelings, or step on the toes of our other, similar prospect who is RD from Czech."

Everything is fine. MN has added redundancy at most positions with young NHL talents. The lost picks gained a big potential guy. Spacek isn't crying. Let those guys get to be 23-24yo in the AHL anyway. 

MN has a great future ahead of them. I am more interested in seeing Kaprizov signed for the next 5+ years. 

[mnfaninnc]

Has anyone heard of the goalie rotation this road trip?

[Quebec1648]

Why didn't this coach say anything about the terrible situation in Columbus? The Blue Jackets are light-years away from contending, while the Wild are currently at the top of the standings. Surely the Czech coach would rather see his guys in Minnesota than the go nowhere Columbus team. 

The Wild have room for both Czech players, so Spacek has nothing to worry about. The only thing I can figure, is that the Czech coach has some personal reasons for objecting to the recent trade.

[Dango]

Theres nothing wrong with ending up with an embarrassment of riches type scenario .

[Enforceror]

Who cares what nationality they are. This is the biz....

Suck it up buttercup!

[BillieGismylover]

5 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I'm kind of agreeing with Huck's take here. I don't think I'd even consider sending Buium to the A. If he needs the A, then we need to leave him in Denver another year. 

Look, I liked Spacek's game vs. Charlotte. He was a very good A defender. What exactly does that mean? Taking the balance sheet approach, or an appraisal approach, it simply means that both Lambos and Spacek are good players for this league at the time I watched them. They're well above average, but are not yet elite. I think Spacek's physical game is above Lambos', and I think Lambos' stickhandling game is above Spacek's, though, Spacek really didn't have the opportunity to show his off. 

The Czech coach isn't wrong, Spacek is a player. So, let's compare him with some other guys I've seen:

• One can't miss guy who it seemed like we stole coming out of UoM was Mike Reilly. I saw him here and can tell you that Spacek is already a far superior defender than Reilly was. Reilly was arrogant and thought he was too good for the league. Spacek brings his Swingline and puts people into walls and leaves them there. Spacek is also on the #1PP unit, which Reilly was. That unit looked pretty rough, but it wasn't due to Spacek. 
• Another highly touted guy I really liked was Louis Belpedio. He was also known for moving the puck, however, again, defensively, Spacek is superior. Offensively it's more gray.
• Carson Soucy. This was a guy I liked at UMD, but it took awhile. He was a bigger guy, and like usual, bigger guys develop later, largely due to their clumsy feet. Soucy looked pretty good in a Canucks sweater the other night. I think Spacek looks like he's ahead of Soucy offensively, he can't match the size, but is very effective at being violent about his hits and canceling out opponents. 
• Nick Seeler. Seeler was a tenacious defender who defended the net as well as every player on the ice. I cannot forget him dropping a Checker with one punch, a quick and abruptly ended fight. But Seeler had pretty much nothing to offer the offense. Spacek has that.

Those guys I'd seen in person. Sample size might have been 2 games. I remember Seeler being held back in game 2 after he knocked out the guy in game 1. I think they just tried to keep the peace. While this comment is mainly about Spacek, Lambos also has improved. I don't know if they'd be ready at season's end, but if we've got the cap space they might be ready for their cup of coffee. 

Nobody should be thinking that we are blocking Spacek. That's not happening at all. I think he may be ready to come up when Bogosian's contract expires. I think at the end of his ELC, he'll still have a 2-way deal coming, but he'll be making a lot more in the A.

Mike “Reilly was arrogant”. Come on. Were you in the locker room with him? How in the world could a fan come to this conclusion? LOL

[Tony Abbott]

If Spacek is that good, that's a great problem to have. As it stands now, Jiricek is at the very least a much better AHL defenseman and is also younger by around nine months.

[mnfaninnc]

17 hours ago, BillieGismylover said:

Mike “Reilly was arrogant”. Come on. Were you in the locker room with him? How in the world could a fan come to this conclusion? LOL

Near the end of the 1st game I watched, and I was really coming to see him, I watched him play after play try to force it like he was better than everyone instead of taking the easy pass. Late in the game, he was on the ice trying to go up the left side. He got double teamed and the puck stolen right off of him as he turned around and made no attempt to scramble back to help his goalie. Puck goes into the back of the net, I can't remember if it was shot or shot rebound. I was on the ground close to the boards when I saw the play, it told me everything I needed to know, he was extremely arrogant and he played that way. 

Body language helps you see it. And I'd surely prefer to list this as arrogant besides the other alternative which would be lazy. At that point I knew we had a dud on our hands. He got called up shortly afterwards. Did he play a different hustling style of game? Nope! He played the same way and constantly got burned. Anyone who can run a PP adequately will get many chances. Last I saw he had resurfaced in Boston. 

He reminded me of a guy with the same type of attitude, Calen Addison. Where is Addison now? He's on an AHL contract with the Silver Knights. That's not a 2-way deal, it's a straight 1-way A contract. He also had some arrogance to his play and personality. 

Both guys were also allergic to bodychecking.

[Mateo3xm]

On 12/6/2024 at 10:11 AM, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Jiricek doesn't fully block Spacek. Spacek wasn't likely to be joining the Wild while Bogosian is around, and Spurgeon's contract ends the following year.

Spacek is a solid prospect, but he's not likely to play above 3rd pairing. Spacek played 3rd line D for the Czech national team, so the coach complaining has also placed Jiricek quite a bit higher in minutes given as their 1st line D.

When Bogo's contract ends, the Wild may need their AHL defenseman call up to be a RHD prospect like Spacek as Spurgeon may be more likely to miss games as a 37 year old player.

Lambos could become the 7th D in the not too distant future given that he likely has Brodin, Buium, and Middleton ahead of him for a few years. Those 3 could all be in front of Chisholm, so he might not be re-signed despite quality play this season.

Brodin's contract runs up to the summer of 2028, and the Wild likely keep him around for much of that time, but he doesn't appear to have a no movement clause after this season.

I guess it's possible the Wild sign Chisholm for 1 more year and play Buium in the AHL for a season, but the draft writers made it sound like they expect Buium to be NHL ready by the end of this season. Buium is not currently far off his phenomenal scoring pace from the prior season. A couple good games and he could easily jump ahead of last season's uniquely strong pace during his freshman year.

Buium had an assist last night and a goal and an assist tonight. Some of his responsibilities are being shared by an older and also very talented dmen. So I think he’s actually heating up and on the same trajectory or close as last year. He’s at 19pts in 16 games and I don’t think that includes tonight’s 2 pts.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

11 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

Buium had an assist last night and a goal and an assist tonight. Some of his responsibilities are being shared by an older and also very talented dmen. So I think he’s actually heating up and on the same trajectory or close as last year. He’s at 19pts in 16 games and I don’t think that includes tonight’s 2 pts.

The 19 points in 16 games does include all games played by Denver so far. That OT assist for the game winner puts him right at last season's pace. I wouldn't be surprised if he winds up with 50+ points again if he gets around 40 games.

Not certain if Denver is as good as they were last year, but they are easily a top 10 team(currently ranked #2, just ahead of the Gophers), so could make it back to the frozen 4. Stramel's Michigan State team is actually #1 right now.

[Up North Guy]

2 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

The 19 points in 16 games does include all games played by Denver so far. That OT assist for the game winner puts him right at last season's pace. I wouldn't be surprised if he winds up with 50+ points again if he gets around 40 games.

Not certain if Denver is as good as they were last year, but they are easily a top 10 team(currently ranked #2, just ahead of the Gophers), so could make it back to the frozen 4. Stramel's Michigan State team is actually #1 right now.

And Stramel assisted on the winning goal last night. I watched some of the game and he looks a lot better this year. The announcers were calling his name the whole time I watched.

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, Up North Guy said:

And Stramel assisted on the winning goal last night. I watched some of the game and he looks a lot better this year. The announcers were calling his name the whole time I watched.

This is great to hear.