"I like to be under pressure, I think I do better," Jiricek said at Blue Jackets development camp on July 11. "Growing up, I had very good coaches and they said to me, 'Don't be afraid.' So, there's a reason why I played very well under pressure.
"You can have some bad moments or something like that. It doesn't matter during a game, you go play. I've learned that."
Selected by the Blue Jackets with the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Jiricek (6-foot-3, 189 pounds) could be the right-shot complement to defenseman Zach Werenski that Columbus has been looking for since it traded Seth Jones to the Chicago Blackhawks on July 24, 2021.
However, that might not occur this season, with Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen saying the 18-year-old may play for Columbus, Cleveland of the American Hockey League, or in his native Czech Republic.
"If the best thing is for him to play in Czechia next year, then we'll send him there," Kekalainen said. "If he makes our team, he makes our team. But if the American Hockey
with the No. 12 pick in the 2022 draft, potentially setting themselves up on the blue line for years to come. They followed that up by signing forward Johnny Gaudreau to a seven-year, $68.25 million contract ($9.75 million average annual value) on July 13, and forward Patrik Laine to a four-year, $34.8 million contract ($8.7 million AAV) on July 22.
"We've got a lot of youth around, and there's a lot of excitement with the team," Columbus coach Brad Larsen said. "We're building something here, so you keep adding to that."
