AHL Cleveland Monsters

Monsters Defenseman David Jiricek Named AHL Rookie of the Month

Published on January 3, 2023 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Monsters News Release


CLEVELAND - The AHL's Cleveland Monsters, top affiliate of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, announced Tuesday that Monsters defenseman David Jiricek, currently reassigned by the Blue Jackets to Czechia's entry in the IIHF U20 World Junior Championship, was named the AHL's Rookie of the Month for December 2022.

In nine appearances for the Monsters this December, Jiricek logged 2-10-12 with six penalty minutes and a +4 rating and currently ranks among the AHL's rookie leaders in points (20, T10th), assists (15, T6th), power-play goals (3, T12th), power-play assists (9, T1st), and power-play points (12, 2nd). In two appearances for Columbus this season, Jiricek posted two penalty minutes and added 5-15-20 with ten penalty minutes and a +6 rating in 19 appearances for Cleveland this year. In five appearances for Czechia in the 2023 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship, Jiricek registered 2-4-6 with a +8 rating.

A 6'3", 189 lb. right-shooting native of Klatovy, Czechia, Jiricek, 19, was selected by the Blue Jackets in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. In 67 appearances for Plzen HC in the Czech Extraliga spanning parts of three seasons from 2019-22, Jiricek logged 8-12-20 with 85 penalty minutes and a +14 rating and was named the Extraliga's 2020-21 Rookie of the Year. Internationally, Jiricek represented Czechia at the 2020-21 and 2021-22 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships and helped Czechia claim the Bronze Medal at the 2021-22 IIHF World Championship.

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