Such a selection is rarely seen. Of the Czech hockey players who succeeded in this year’s North American NHL draft, almost a quarter of them went to a single club – St. Louis Blues.
It’s as if the Blues scouts only watch the Czech national teams at youth tournaments.
In the past NHL draft, the American club pointed to one Russian who did not appear on the international stage due to the Russian war in Ukraine, as well as two Americans, three Canadians and three Czechs.
Defenseman Adam Jiříček, younger brother of rising Czech star David Jiříček, went 16th in the first round. Forwards Ondřej Kos and Adam Jechem passed the third round. And to make matters worse, one of the selected Americans was fullback Lukas Fischer, who also has Czech citizenship. He is the son of former successful quarterback Jiří Fischer.
“This is really crazy,” Jecho reported to Kos, when they saw each other in the same jersey. “Another Jira!” he added, referring to Jiříček.
“It’s really nice to see that they recognize the quality of Czech players in this organization. It’s also great that now at the club’s development camp I will have someone I know very well around me. Hopefully we’ll make it all the way to the NHL,” Jecho told the official Blues website.
St. Louis did not choose three Czechs at once for the first time. 20 years ago, it pointed to goalkeeper Marko Schwarz in the first round, forward Michal Birner in the fourth and defender Roman Polák in the sixth.
Otherwise, such throws are not common, especially in a crisis from which Czech hockey has only recently begun to visibly climb up.
This year is also unique in that Jiříček et al. they entered the first three rounds, so they are of considerable importance for the future of the team.
Online diary The Athletic rated the draft performance of St. Louis grade B and focused specifically on Bohemia.
“Adam Jiříček looks like a first-two-pair guard in the NHL. Ondřej Kos was clearly headed for the second round at the beginning of the season, but health problems derailed him. Adam Jecho fell after being highlighted in recent years, but I can still see his way to the NHL present,” wrote scouting journalist Corey Pronman.
Jiříček also fell slightly. According to the initial forecasts, he could end up in the elite ten like his brother, but later, among other things, he was harmed by a nasty knee injury at the start of the World Twenty20 Championship.
He is still in the recovery phase after the operation. For the July development camp St. Louis will go, but he won’t go on the ice.
In any case, he is now the club’s biggest young hope among defenders.
“When we heard who Detroit picked ahead of us at No. 15 (Norwegian striker Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, editor’s note)we were excited,” St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong described his joy at the fact that nobody took Jiříček away from him.
“We got a player we had been looking for. Adam skates well, plays well. We think he is a defenseman for the first two pairs. Those are hard to find,” added the manager.
Last year, the only Czech played for the Blues – winger Jakub Vrána. But he ended up on the farm fairly soon and now his contract is ending.
In the future, however, in St. Louis could grow a decent Czech colony. In addition to the Czech trio (four with Fischer) from this year’s draft, 19-year-old forward Jakub Štancl is also active in the club’s structures, who tasted the highest Swedish competition last season and helped win bronze at the Junior World Cup.
The Blues’ talents also include Slovakian forwards Dalibor Dvorský and Juraj Pekarčík.
