Jiříček, who turns 21 on Thursday, fits the Flyers' age and talent profile. But they should prioritize holding onto their picks and prospects to acquire a center, a bigger position of need.
The Flyers have limited high-end assets and need to prioritize adding a center.It’s a tradition unlike any other, and no, not the Masters. We’re talking about members of Flyers Twitter scrambling to their keyboards in unison to explain why the, and even Leon Draisaitl are some names that immediately come to mind over the past few seasons when it comes to players earmarked for moves to Philadelphia.
Jiříček is pretty close to a consensus top-25 drafted prospect in hockey. He’s got great size at 6-foot-4, 204 pounds, and has a booming slapshot, intriguing puck skills, and some snarl. While skating isn’t a strength, he moves well enough at his size, and can both carry the puck through the neutral zone and jump into the offense in transition. That combination of size, physicality, and offensive upside both as a shooter and a passer made him a coveted player entering his draft year.
“The games he’s played, to be fair, maybe he hasn’t had a great opportunity. … But in those games, we haven’t seen enough to keep him in there on a regular basis. We’re going to have to make some decisions here in the upcoming week about what we do,” Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said a few weeks ago on the local TV broadcast.
The Flyers currently have Rasmus Ristolainen, Drysdale, Erik Johnson, and Helge Grans as right-shot defensemen in the NHL. The team’s No. 1 defenseman, who shoots left, plays the right side as well — a rare blueliner who prefers playing his off-side. Top defensive prospects Oliver Bonk and Spencer Gill also both shoot right, with Bonk likely competing for an NHL job next fall.
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