Adam Jiricek in action for Czechia in a U18 World Championship group stage game against Canada in Ajoie, Switzerland.
photo: Chris Tanouye / IIHF
Czech hockey is getting excited about another Jiricek. After David’s rapid rise in recent seasons, his younger brother Adam is making waves at this year’s U18 World Championship.
Indeed, at 16 years of age, Adam is currently slightly ahead of his brother’s schedule. David was 17 when he played at the 2021 edition of this tournament, although he missed the chance to represent his country the previous year when Covid brought an early end to the season. Adam has also got a taste of playing men’s hockey in the Czech championship, with 12 games for his hometown club, Skoda Plzen, last season.
While Adam was making his Extraliga debut, David got his first look at the NHL with the Blue Jackets this term. That’s something that motivates the younger Jiricek.
“It drives me,” Adam said. “I can see how David is being successful and I’m working hard to match that, or to be even better.
“Right now, he’s the better player of the two of us ... but only because he’s older than me!”
It’s a friendly rivalry between the two brothers. Adam reckons that David might be better at moving the puck, but believes he has the edge in skating and reading the game. You sense that this might be an oft-discussed fraternal dispute.
“Like a lot of brothers, we’ve always been close,” Adam added. “Ever since we were kids, we’d be playing against each other, fighting among ourselves.
“Now, in our hockey careers, I’m trying to match his level, trying to do better than his achievements. It’s something that pushes me to go a bit further.”
David’s achievements are already significant. He finished last season by helping the Czechs to a first World Championship medal since 2012. This term, he moved across the Atlantic. While mostly playing in the AHL, David added World Junior silver to World Championship bronze and suited up four times for Columbus.
Meanwhile, Adam has caught the eye in Ajoie with some assured performances on the Czech defence. On Sunday, despite a 0-2 loss to Sweden, Czechia could take plenty from a disciplined performance that had the free-scoring Swedes frustrated until a five-on-three power play 10 minutes from the end. And there were signs of Adam’s attacking potential as well, notably a nifty rush that saw his scythe through the Swedish defence to set up a great chance for Jakub Stancl. That was millimetres away from giving Czechia a third-period lead that could have lifted Jiricek and his team-mates to the Group A summit.
Once again, there would be plenty to discuss with David after the game. And, with a testing quarter-final against a goal-hungry USA to come, hockey chat is hardly about to run dry for the brothers.
“We’re in touch during this tournament,” Adam said. “He’s not giving me a lot of ideas about how I should be playing, but we’re always talking about the game in general. David just told me to enjoy the tournament, to go out there and be myself, play my game.”
And despite living on different continents this season, the relationship between the brothers hasn’t changed all that much.
“We were always playing at the same club when we were growing up, but we weren’t really together all that much at the rink,” Adam said. “David was always in the older age groups, so when I went to the juniors, he was already playing with the men. We always had separate practises, so we only really saw each other at home.
“It’s not like we were always together on the ice, and off the ice we still speak regularly.”
While there are some big years to come in Adam’s development, it’s not hard to imagine that we could see these two together on the ice for their country in the not too distant future.
Indeed, at 16 years of age, Adam is currently slightly ahead of his brother’s schedule. David was 17 when he played at the 2021 edition of this tournament, although he missed the chance to represent his country the previous year when Covid brought an early end to the season. Adam has also got a taste of playing men’s hockey in the Czech championship, with 12 games for his hometown club, Skoda Plzen, last season.
While Adam was making his Extraliga debut, David got his first look at the NHL with the Blue Jackets this term. That’s something that motivates the younger Jiricek.
“It drives me,” Adam said. “I can see how David is being successful and I’m working hard to match that, or to be even better.
“Right now, he’s the better player of the two of us ... but only because he’s older than me!”
It’s a friendly rivalry between the two brothers. Adam reckons that David might be better at moving the puck, but believes he has the edge in skating and reading the game. You sense that this might be an oft-discussed fraternal dispute.
“Like a lot of brothers, we’ve always been close,” Adam added. “Ever since we were kids, we’d be playing against each other, fighting among ourselves.
“Now, in our hockey careers, I’m trying to match his level, trying to do better than his achievements. It’s something that pushes me to go a bit further.”
David’s achievements are already significant. He finished last season by helping the Czechs to a first World Championship medal since 2012. This term, he moved across the Atlantic. While mostly playing in the AHL, David added World Junior silver to World Championship bronze and suited up four times for Columbus.
Meanwhile, Adam has caught the eye in Ajoie with some assured performances on the Czech defence. On Sunday, despite a 0-2 loss to Sweden, Czechia could take plenty from a disciplined performance that had the free-scoring Swedes frustrated until a five-on-three power play 10 minutes from the end. And there were signs of Adam’s attacking potential as well, notably a nifty rush that saw his scythe through the Swedish defence to set up a great chance for Jakub Stancl. That was millimetres away from giving Czechia a third-period lead that could have lifted Jiricek and his team-mates to the Group A summit.
Once again, there would be plenty to discuss with David after the game. And, with a testing quarter-final against a goal-hungry USA to come, hockey chat is hardly about to run dry for the brothers.
“We’re in touch during this tournament,” Adam said. “He’s not giving me a lot of ideas about how I should be playing, but we’re always talking about the game in general. David just told me to enjoy the tournament, to go out there and be myself, play my game.”
And despite living on different continents this season, the relationship between the brothers hasn’t changed all that much.
“We were always playing at the same club when we were growing up, but we weren’t really together all that much at the rink,” Adam said. “David was always in the older age groups, so when I went to the juniors, he was already playing with the men. We always had separate practises, so we only really saw each other at home.
“It’s not like we were always together on the ice, and off the ice we still speak regularly.”
While there are some big years to come in Adam’s development, it’s not hard to imagine that we could see these two together on the ice for their country in the not too distant future.