Ex-6th Overall Pick David Jiricek Becoming Trade Candidate

He was the 6th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, and is still just 21 years old. But with some healthy scratches, and a troubling slow start to the season, David Jiricek looks like he's becoming a potential trade candidate for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

On Columbus: Elliotte says to watch the David Jiricek situation. He hasn’t been playing much and “there were rocky waters between player and organization last season.” He goes on to say GM Don Waddell “wouldn’t have the same attachment as Jarmo Kekalainen” did. #CBJ #NHL pic.twitter.com/TmjXn5WzZT
— NHL Trade Alert (@NHLTradeAlert) November 14, 2024

Insider Elliotte Friedman notes that “there were rocky waters between player and organization last season.” He added that new Jackets GM Don Waddell “wouldn’t have the same attachment as Jarmo Kekalainen” did.

Columbus head coach Dean Evason has already told the young defenseman that he has to earn the right to play. Jiricek has only gotten into five games this season, with 11:47 average time on ice. Friedman said on his 32 Thoughts podcast Friday morning that teams are getting ready to pounce.

I guarantee you that there are people watching this to see where it goes... Young kids want to play. He wants to play... You've got a bunch of veterans there asking for a tougher standard. You've got Evason who's a demanding coach, and you've got a kid who wants to play who's represented by Allan Walsh, who's no shrinking violent either.
This is simply just a realization that you come to a fork in the road sometimes with a player, and how is that gonna go?

With a player of that kind of talent, at only 21, it's a tough spot for Columbus, as Friedman notes. How do you give up on a No. 6 overall draft pick that quickly?

A lesson could be learned, opined Friedman, by a player right in the Blue Jackets' locker room: They claimed a former first-rounder and still relatively young Dante Fabbro off waivers from the Nashville Predators earlier this week. "Fabbro eventually got to a place where he got a fresh start. And Jiricek is at that place now, and we'll see (where it goes)," said Friedman.

Last season, Jiricek played 43 games with Columbus, registering 10 points with a plus/minus rating of -4. The 6'4", 210-pounder handed out just 23 hits. In 29 games with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL, he recorded 19 points.

The Blue Jackets are mired i a 6-game losing streak, i last place i the Metropolita Divisio, at 5-8-2.