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  • The Wild Should Target David Jiricek In A Marco Rossi Trade

    Image courtesy of James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
    Kalisha Turnipseed

    By Kalisha Turnipseed -

     

    The Minnesota Wild are thinking about trading Marco Rossi, and the Columbus Blue Jackets need a center. David Jiricek feels like a natural trade target because he could use a change of scenery. Jiricek would bring another element of offense to the Wild’s power play that can use scoring depth. 

    He’s a 6-foot-4, 207 lbs. right-shot defenseman with a cannon of a shot that he can use on the power play like Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos. However, that makes Jirick unique as a defenseman. He can eventually develop into the player Brent Burns was with the Wild, creating a dynamic right-side duo with Brock Faber. Trading Rossi to upgrade the right side is worth it. 

    Columbus drafted Jiricek sixth overall in 2022. He was already touted as a top-ten draft pick, along with a monster slapshot from the point. He’s a physical, stay-at-home defenseman who can play in all situations of the game.  

    However, Jiricek is off to a slow start to his NHL career. He has 10 points in 44 career games played, with only one goal to show for it. He’s mostly played for the Jackets’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, where he has 55 points in 81 career games played. How does a top defensive prospect only score one NHL goal? Jiricek has averaged 14:55 Time On Ice (TOI) in 44 games for the Jackets without playing on special teams, especially the power play. 

    The Jackets are currently giving Jiricek the Adam Beckman treatment. However, unlike Beckman, Jiricek is making his voice heard. While Jiricek may come off as “whining,” he has his reasons for calling out Columbus’ management. How would you feel if you were told to get an apartment in Minneapolis or St. Paul during the preseason, only to get sent to Des Moines instead to play regular minutes? Would you stay silent or speak your mind? 

    Don’t be fooled by Jiricek's NHL stats. He's scoring 0.23 points, playing nearly 15 minutes a night without time on the power play. You double the minutes he's playing, and he's scoring 0.46 points, which is 38 points. However, if you add in regular power play minutes, his stats can easily increase by 20 points, which would mean he’s scratching the surface of 60 points. Sure, he's not going to be playing 30 minutes a night. However, once you change his surroundings, he can likely perform better, including having a defensive partner who can help improve his defensive game.

    Jiricek sounds like a promising young talent to play alongside Jake Middleton, creating an intimidating pairing. Jiricek can be an offensive defenseman because Middleton knows how to defend his own end with consistency. Jiricek can have some consistency issues defensively, especially when he tries to be too physical on defense, which sounds like Matt Dumba. However, Jiricek's defensive game isn't as flawed as Dumba's. He’ll improve as his game matures. Playing with Middleton helps. His confidence can translate to the power play. 

    Jiricek can play the point on the powerplay or in Ovechkin's office. He isn't Calen Addison. While Addison is a better skater than Jiricek, he isn’t 6-foot-4 with a powerful slapshot. Jiricek, 20, has the rest of his career to add weight. Eventually, he can fill out anywhere between 220 to 230 lbs. in his prime. If Guerin wants to improve size, this is where he starts.

    Danila Yurov and Riley Heidt could end up on the second power play. There's a role for Yurov and Heidt to be the unit's facilitators because the Wild drafted them to move the puck with the man advantage. That gives Jiricek the ultimate chance to put a lot of fear into opposing goalies. The Wild will set him up as the primary goal scorer on the power play. Jiricek could easily produce 15+ goals on the power play. 

    Heidt, Yurov, and Jiricek can rotate around the perimeter, creating chaos for opposing shorthanded teams. Jiricek's role can change since he knows how to handle the puck, making him more unpredictable. Jiricek can transition the puck up the ice to set up the zone entry, with either Yurov or Heidt carrying the puck. 

    The Wild could experiment with Jirick by giving him up to 20 minutes of ice time, including power play time. That’s enough exposure to see what the Wild got in him while allowing him to play a secondary role. Easing prospects into a secondary role prepares them for a primary role. However, Faber is the top defenseman, so Jiricek won’t face too much pressure in Minnesota. Jiricek will need to use his size to be effective playing 20 minutes a night for the Wild. 

    Jiricek can motivate Faber to improve from his rookie season. Faber has been the heart of the Wild's defense. His determination and ambition can help elevate the Wild when they need it most, but now there's help for him. More help means more motivation to be effective playing in your designated role. Faber gets to continue his dominance in the NHL, and Jiricek can learn from him. That’s how you build an elite right side. 

    It would be a bummer to see Rossi leave, but we must stop getting attached to prospects if we can upgrade from them. Rossi will never grow to be 6-foot-4. He won’t have a sudden growth spurt like Matt Boldy. He's also not going to overpower anybody. Jiricek has the frame to overpower opponents due to his size. He can learn from Bogosian and adapt how he throws his body around. Jiricek isn't as scrappy as Bogosian, but he can definitely initiate a donnybrook due to his size. Someone will respond; he’s 20 and will answer the bell. Jiricek isn’t a great skater, but his skating resembles Middleton's, so he’ll be fine. 

     

    By Kalisha Turnipseed  

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    PNW Wild

    This whole article feels like a giant click bait scheme. First off to say that if Jiricek played 30 mins a night! He would score at a similar place to Faber... is preposterous. That's 5 mins more per game than ANYONE in the NHL. What a joke... and does anyone mention the fact next year the top two RHD for the Wild are already set? That would be Spurgeon and Faber. I doubt that Spurgeon is going anywhere THIS offseason since his NMC doesn't become a M-NTC until next year. And no one would be foolish enough to trade or demote Faber for an underperforming 20 year old just because he is 6'4". 

    And, is this the same crowd that was up in arms about taking a hulking 6'3" forward rather than a smaller player with more skill in the draft? 

    Let's put a bit more thought into the "reckless speculation"

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    Protec
    2 hours ago, PNW Wild said:

    This whole article feels like a giant click bait scheme. First off to say that if Jiricek played 30 mins a night! He would score at a similar place to Faber... is preposterous. That's 5 mins more per game than ANYONE in the NHL. What a joke... and does anyone mention the fact next year the top two RHD for the Wild are already set? That would be Spurgeon and Faber. I doubt that Spurgeon is going anywhere THIS offseason since his NMC doesn't become a M-NTC until next year. And no one would be foolish enough to trade or demote Faber for an underperforming 20 year old just because he is 6'4". 

    And, is this the same crowd that was up in arms about taking a hulking 6'3" forward rather than a smaller player with more skill in the draft? 

    Let's put a bit more thought into the "reckless speculation"

    Pretty sure Spurgeon could be moved July 1st but has a 10-team no trade list. Other than that you're right, I don't like the idea of trading Rossi for a prospect. A top 4 d-man or a minimum 20-goal type guy.

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    raithis

    I wouldn't have a problem if the Wild pursued Jiricek, but I wouldn't offer Rossi.  The only way I would do this is to offload an aging veteran who doesn't factor into our long-term plans, a prospect who hasn't even touched the NHL, or both.  Maybe add a 2nd or lower pick depending on what the rest of the deal is.  If Columbus that sour on him, don't give up someone valuable.  I'd rather not trade Rossi unless the other end of the deal is a young-ish player that wasn't a gamble of what they are or will be.

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    MNCountryLife

    Would be tough to see Rossi get traded after he did exactly as we asked and he performed well for his rookie season.  If he has another good off-season he could be in-line for break out season next year.   Our centers could be:  Ek, Rossi, Yurov and Knut.  Whatever order.  Nothing wrong with that running our centers.  

    I want our D to have an upgrade... really, really bad.  Preferably not at the expense of our Centers.

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    Dis-allowed display name

    Not "no", but "hell no".  Rossi is young and quite good, I don't want to trade him for someone who "needs a change of scenery" or a bag of magic beans, or anything else.

    9 times out of 10, "needs a change of scenery" guys come in and score a couple quick goals and then revert to being a pile of garbage.

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    TheGoosesAreLooses
    On 4/13/2024 at 8:49 AM, mnfaninnc said:

    I think you're right about size of a player, but when a team has too many small players, like the Wild do, you have to make changes. Is Rossi the right one to trade? I don't know, but he probably has the most value.

    This isn't supported by data. Chicago was one of the smallest teams in the league when they won the cup in 2015 and so were Pittsburgh in 2016 + 2017. 

    As a coach/ GM you have to tailor your strategy to your strengths. Both GMBG and Evason constantly stressed grit over skill and it simply doesn't mesh with our roster build. 

    You can scream and threaten your cat all day wishing it was a hunting dog for waterfowl or you can put it in your barn and let it do what it was meant to, be a mouser. Either is useful when used correctly but expecting that hunting dog to be a cat or vice versa gets you no where. 

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    mnfaninnc
    32 minutes ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

    This isn't supported by data. Chicago was one of the smallest teams in the league when they won the cup in 2015 and so were Pittsburgh in 2016 + 2017. 

    As a coach/ GM you have to tailor your strategy to your strengths. Both GMBG and Evason constantly stressed grit over skill and it simply doesn't mesh with our roster build. 

    You can scream and threaten your cat all day wishing it was a hunting dog for waterfowl or you can put it in your barn and let it do what it was meant to, be a mouser. Either is useful when used correctly but expecting that hunting dog to be a cat or vice versa gets you no where. 

    And, this is the rub, too many smaller players. Watching Rossi the last few games, I would call him short, not necessarily small. When I watch Dino, I'm seeing explosion, great small area moves, and the ability to lose his defender. Lettieri and Lucchini are merely depth players. Shaw is small but plays larger. Gaudreau is also small. Johansson isn't small but plays like he is. In fact, Shaw plays a much bigger game than the 203 Johansson. 

    On defense, we've got smaller average players, but 2 bigger guys now that help. Spurgeon, the unicorn of small players is the size problem, but it's just 1 guy, and I think we have the balance there. It would be good for Faber, Chisholm, Lambos, Hunt, Spacek, Masters, Peart to all bulk up to better handle larger players. It will help them down the stretch, and it will let them absorb more. A lot of it is upper body strength. As for O'Rourke, it is imperative for him to put on 20 lbs. of muscle weight this offseason if he wants to see the NHL. Imperative for Beckman to put on 15 lbs. of muscle.

    I don't know where Firstov, Yurov and Heidt are on their training journey, but they need to be at 200-205 this training camp. Jobs are up for grabs, this offseason will be very important for the young players. There are slots that can be taken. Who wants it the most?

    As for Rossi, I would trade him if the right deal came along. The Jiricek deal was the right one for me. I don't think you can do it this summer, though, I think you need to see what he does in the offseason and we need the center production likely for at least one more year. To me, Jiricek would be the CBJ initiation of the trade, not the Wild. And, if ping pong balls don't fall our way, I'd want to swap positions in the 1st round with CBJ. 

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