Article: The Wild Must Embrace David Jiricek's Volatility

[Justin Wiggins]

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[Pewterschmidt]

This kid better turn out to be an nhl’r given what bill gave up for him.  In addition to Buttons I’m hearing other analysts say this kid’s ceiling is third pair.  You know John Merrill level talent.  Jirizy better get his poop in a group and show up this season.  And without an attitude.   Time to shine is now young man.  We don’t need another d-man with a 5-7 year time table

[0 Stanley Cups]

Nicely done JW

But they won’t know unless they embrace the current negatives in Jiříček’s game. They have to give him the runway to establish his niche on this team. He doesn’t have to be a top-4 defenseman for the Wild to succeed this year. However, it will be a failure if they don’t at least determine if Jiříček has a future in Minnesota

[Dango]

Ive got Jiri pegged into my Ray Borque spot  

[MNCountryLife]

I like how the defense is forming for both now and in the future.  Faber, Buium, Jiricek should be a staple on our D for years to come.  Brodin and Mids should have another 5 to 7 years as well.   

I still think we are missing a true 2nd line to truly contend for the cup.  Rossi may center that line but he needs to step up in big games.  Zuc and Tarasenko will not get us there.  Either one of the young guys steps up and earns those wing spots (Ohgren, Yurov) or we will need that draft capital to bring someone in at the TDL.  We may still be a year or two out from truly contending.

[Burnt Toast]

39 minutes ago, MNCountryLife said:

a true 2nd line

A Fiala type player that can be a threat if not accounted for could help, keeps the other team on their toes. I expect KK and Boldy to get separated at some point this season. If that doesn’t happen great, it means someone else is stepping up. 

[1Brotherbill]

The rotation is going to be fine this year.  Faber will eat a ton of minutes along with his partner which more than likely will be Middleton.  Spurgeon will play 20 plus minutes with his partner which will more than likely be Brodin.  Buium and Jiricek will get what is left which will be 10 to 15 minutes.  Easy to hide any growth issues you have with Jiriceks game.  His offensive upside is exponentially better than Bogo or god forbid Jon Merrill.   I know he isn't on the team yet but he is still out there and if they feel that the kids can't do it the Wild could resign him.  I personally would rather score more goals than watch Jon Merrill look at the puck in the net.  

I know Brodin is going to be out, supposedly, for the start of the season.  But initially it was stated that he would be ready for camp and the start of the season.  We have a few weeks left to decide if Bodin is going to start the season or not.  I have a feeling he will be in the lineup on opening night.  

I also know that they will not put two rookies on the same pairing but the ice time will be about 10 to 15 for the two of them probably seperated with a veteran like Brodin or Spurgeon.  Faber and Middleton will probably play together a lot this season.  

Everyone thinks that Faber and Buium will be a lock as a pair in the future.  I have a feeling that of Buium and Jiricek, whoever scores the most will get paired with Faber.  That could turn out to a Jiricek and Faber combo.

[mnfaninnc]

This was a really nice article to read, especially with the 1st hand account of the Avs game. 

I am not concerned about Jiricek's defense or his skating. Large bodied D-men take longer to get that under control, but they also can cut off gaps with their size fairly quickly. 

I assume Jiricek has been working with Andy Ness, and will be better this season, but let's be very real, he is 21. He turns 22 at the end of November. No, Pewter, he's not on a timeline for 5-7 years from now, but he is on a learning curve that may take a couple of seasons to solidify. 

I still have that side step move and shovel pass to Trenin for the goal etched in my mind. Guys that large are not supposed to be able to do that. Does anyone know why he is a 3rd pairing guy this season? Because Faber and Spurgeon are ahead of him. Personally, I believe we'd be alright by trading out Spurgeon and having Jiricek take on 2nd pairing minutes. But you cannot do that in this offseason. Jiricek would have to prove himself first. 

I also expect that at 24, he will look like a completely different player than he is now. He was sheltered last season, but he wasn't much of a liability defensively that I could see, and there were no problems clearing the front of the net. Jiricek is not going to be the cookie cutter defender that Judd usually picks, he's going to have different strengths and different weaknesses. Let him play and give him a long leash. He needs to learn. And, please, unleash the beast mode in him, let him rattle some cages by eliminating players physically. He also needs a partner who understands his defense.

Jiricek's scouting report says he is a willing defender. That should be read as he's no Addison. He'll toe pick once in awhile due to his size, but things will get better.  Ultimately, I think the perfect complimentary pair would be Brodin. I think what we're about to find out is we have 6 top 4 defenders on this roster. That allows you to roll the pairings and take stress off of each defender.

[Patrick]

Considering this is Minnesota we will probably force him into a defensive defense man role and then complain that he isn't producing offense.

I say let him fly. Live with and correct mistakes but encourage him to play to his strengths!

[Enforceror]

The Jack Johnson PTO has me a little concerned after listening to the wild on 7th interview with BG today. I suspect one of Jiricek or Buium will be in Iowa this year, especially since we still have Bogo under contract. I understand having depth/safety valve while bringing in the kids but damn, I'd hate to see either of them in Iowa this season.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

4 hours ago, 1Brotherbill said:

I know Brodin is going to be out, supposedly, for the start of the season.  But initially it was stated that he would be ready for camp and the start of the season.  We have a few weeks left to decide if Bodin is going to start the season or not.  I have a feeling he will be in the lineup on opening night.  

I also know that they will not put two rookies on the same pairing but the ice time will be about 10 to 15 for the two of them probably seperated with a veteran like Brodin or Spurgeon.  Faber and Middleton will probably play together a lot this season.  

Everyone thinks that Faber and Buium will be a lock as a pair in the future.  I have a feeling that of Buium and Jiricek, whoever scores the most will get paired with Faber.  That could turn out to a Jiricek and Faber combo.

Everything I've seen indicates Brodin had surgery in June and was expected to miss the start of the season. It would be nice if he healed up early and got strong enough early that he'd be ready for the season opener, but I wouldn't count on that since nobody with the Wild has suggested it as a possibility.

I really doubt they anticipate putting RHD Jiricek with RHD Faber as their future top pair. Faber is likely to continue on the top pairing and Jiricek might elevate to 2nd pairing in upcoming years(if they don't put him with Brodin already this season), but I don't think they envision Faber/Jiricek together much as a standard pairing.

[Citizen Strife]

What I saw from Jiricek last year was promising.  I get that his skating is criticized, but I never saw it be so bad that he was always out of position.

The hope is he plays an offensive game that is long sought after by the Wild's typically lackluster "defense first" approach.  My hope is he and Buium provide the spark that Merrill, Chisholm, and Bogo couldn't.  Unless he is pure Addison level irresponsible, he should be fine.

Edited 7 hours ago by Citizen Strife

[Pewterschmidt]

12 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

This was a really nice article to read, especially with the 1st hand account of the Avs game. 

I am not concerned about Jiricek's defense or his skating. Large bodied D-men take longer to get that under control, but they also can cut off gaps with their size fairly quickly. 

I assume Jiricek has been working with Andy Ness, and will be better this season, but let's be very real, he is 21. He turns 22 at the end of November. No, Pewter, he's not on a timeline for 5-7 years from now, but he is on a learning curve that may take a couple of seasons to solidify. 

I still have that side step move and shovel pass to Trenin for the goal etched in my mind. Guys that large are not supposed to be able to do that. Does anyone know why he is a 3rd pairing guy this season? Because Faber and Spurgeon are ahead of him. Personally, I believe we'd be alright by trading out Spurgeon and having Jiricek take on 2nd pairing minutes. But you cannot do that in this offseason. Jiricek would have to prove himself first. 

I also expect that at 24, he will look like a completely different player than he is now. He was sheltered last season, but he wasn't much of a liability defensively that I could see, and there were no problems clearing the front of the net. Jiricek is not going to be the cookie cutter defender that Judd usually picks, he's going to have different strengths and different weaknesses. Let him play and give him a long leash. He needs to learn. And, please, unleash the beast mode in him, let him rattle some cages by eliminating players physically. He also needs a partner who understands his defense.

Jiricek's scouting report says he is a willing defender. That should be read as he's no Addison. He'll toe pick once in awhile due to his size, but things will get better.  Ultimately, I think the perfect complimentary pair would be Brodin. I think what we're about to find out is we have 6 top 4 defenders on this roster. That allows you to roll the pairings and take stress off of each defender.

Hang on to this player review and let's re-assess at end of season.  I have no idea what we have in Jirizy but bro cost a ton of assets and bill made a big bet on this kid.  Cannot wait for the season to start.

[MrCheatachu]

Quote

He wound up, his stick nearly tickling the rafters among the litany of retired maroon and white jerseys, and unleashed a slap shot that missed the net entirely but rattled the glass beyond the net with a sound not typically heard in an NHL arena.

A clap bomb from the point that entirely missed the net?  By god, sounds like he's prepped to fill that Dumba55 size hole in my heart!!!

[TCMooch]

I honestly don't think he's going to figure out his skating and defense to be anything more than a bottom pairing dman in this league. I think he's getting second and third looks only because of his draft position and his height.

Another case of "Big men in hockey need to prove they can't play. Small men in hockey need to prove they can."

[Patrick]

4 minutes ago, TCMooch said:

I honestly don't think he's going to figure out his skating and defense to be anything more than a bottom pairing dman in this league. I think he's getting second and third looks only because of his draft position and his height.

Another case of "Big men in hockey need to prove they can't play. Small men in hockey need to prove they can."

Why do you think that? He is only 21 and it takes bigger guys longer to develop technique.  He has displayed elite ability in his forward skating and the Wild have Andy Ness and multiple smooth skating defenseman to help him.  If the work ethic is there I don't see how he wouldn't succeed.