3 Players the Red Wings Should Target in the First-Round

David Jiricek, RHD, HC Plzen

The Detroit Red Wings organization has a lot of budding defenseman, but after taking a look at some of the top names, it appears as though most of them are left-handed defenseman. So, with that, I figured I’d take a look at a right-handed defenseman that the Red Wings should consider a top target with their first-round pick.

Age: 18

Height: 6’3″

Weight: 190 lbs.

Shot: Right

David Jiricek Breakdown

The Detroit Red Wings organization has a lot of budding talent in their system, but if you were able to add David Jiricek as your second-line right-hand defenseman, the defense in front of Nedeljkovic or Cossa would be quite remarkable.

I think it doesn’t really surprise many people if I say that Simon Edvinsson, when he makes the roster, will more than likely be apart of the first-line with Mortiz Seider. However, what are they going to do on the second line behind Seider? That’s where Jiricek comes in.

David Jiricek is a 6’3″ defenseman who makes a great impact on both sides of the ice. I definetly want to talk about both, but given the fact he is a defenseman, let’s talk about his defensive capabilities first.

As a big, strong defenseman, he generally likes to play a man-to-man approach that creates for quite the challenge if your the opposition. He is an aggressive player, which is what makes him such an impactful player to any team that has him. He’s the type of player that will make you get out of the way of his goalie or he’ll do everything he can to move you. Which, is something that would be nice to have.

I mean Mo Seider is definetly similar in that approach, but being able to have two guys like Seider and Jiricek who can play a strong 200 foot game, and put up 18+ minutes a night, it definetly wouldn’t hurt the team- that’s for sure. But, as we all know, defense isn’t the only part we like to have in our defenseman. We also like to have a defenseman who can carry the put through all three zones and be a threat along the perimeter.

David Jiricek is not only a very talented defenseman, but he is also a threat in the transition game with suprisingly good puck control. He very rarely ever seemed to lose the puck during a breakout, and even more so than that, he almost never made a bad pass. He always seemed to put it right on his players tape which is something I don’t think get’s talked about enough.

Anytime you can have a defenseman who has a high level IQ and terrific passing ability, it’s very rare that he will not at least become a top four defenseman. As for his shot, it’s going to make him a integrial part of the Red Wings power play if they land him.

With a phenomonal shot from the perimeter, he could find himself becoming a consistent 12-16 goal scorer. Which, I know that’s not really a ton of goals, but given the fact he is a defenseman- I’d argue that’s a respectable number.