The Flyers didn’t waste much time with re-signing David Jiricek.
They inked the 22-year-old defenseman Wednesday to a two-year, $3 million contract extension not even four weeks after acquiring him in the Bobby Brink trade.
Jiricek was a pending restricted free agent. He’ll remain an RFA when his new deal expires.
The righty shot has played at a point-per-game pace through 10 games with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. He has two goals, eight assists, 30 shots and a minus-6 rating for the Phantoms.
As the sixth overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft, Jiricek has a lot upside. His size and shot are big strengths, but he’ll have to improve his skating and reads. The Flyers are his third organization. He already has 84 career NHL games under his belt.
“We still see a high potential — 21-, 22-year-old, 6-foot-4 defensemen of his caliber are tough to find,” general manager Danny Briere said after the trade. “We know we have to work with him, we need to be patient, we need to give him a little bit of rope to develop him.”
The Flyers are hoping Jiricek and 2023 first-round pick Oliver Bonk can be long-term pieces on the right side.