'I Hated Putting Him In The De...

ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild were pursuing David Jiricek for a long time. It was something that the Wild's President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin wanted to do ever since Jiricek's name has been floating in rumors.

"Yeah, we had him ranked I think we had him at number five," Guerin said on if Jiricek has been on his radar since the draft. "But he was somebody that we really liked his draft year. We knew we weren’t going to get him, but we liked him. And, you know, when this became available, I did my due diligence and asked our staff and what they thought. They were all on board with it. So it’s good."

The Columbus Blue Jackets hired a new General Manager before the season started in Don Waddell. He was not with the Blue Jackets when they selected Jiricek with pick No. 6 in the 2022 NHL Draft.

So when he came in before the year, the Jiricek situation interesting. He wasn't a player that he was attached too because he drafted him. But Waddell still knew that if he were to move Jiricek it would be for a heavy price.

"No. It took awhile," Guerin said on if this trade happened quickly. "Donny. He played with me. He’s one of my old mentors. He made me work for it. He’s the best."

That price the Wild had to pay was Daemon Hunt, a 2025 conditional first-round pick, a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft (previously acquired from Colorado for Brandon Duhaime), a fourth-round selection in the 2026 NHL Entry (previously acquired from Toronto for Connor Dewar) and second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

It is always considered a big trade when a first-round pick is sent the other way but this is a deal that Guerin and the Wild feel is worth the first rounder.

"Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. To me this was a no brainer to give up a first round pick," Guerin said. "I mean, he is first round pick, and a very high one. I just don't see us drafting in that position --hopefully we're not for some time to come. So to me, it was worth it."

The fact of the matter is, Minnesota is now 16-4-4 after their 3-2 overtime win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night. They are now tied with the Winnipeg Jets for the most points in the NHL.

If this is sustainable and the Wild are this good, that first round pick they just traded will end up being in the early 20's, or late 20's if the Wild go on a run.

The third and fourth round picks where previously acquired last year when Minnesota delt Dewar and Duhaime. Those picks they got where assumed to be delt in future deadline trades to go on a run.

Not only do Guerin and the Wild think Jiricek can help them now, but he can help them turn into a contender for years to come.

"Yeah, now we are getting into that phase where we can do that – we did," Guerin said on trading picks as part of the cup contending plan. "Yeah, so it just made sense. He’s not 30, he’s not a rental. He’s a 21-year-old defenseman that we can invest in. And we did. That’s how I look at it. It’s an investment."

An investment comes with a price though. And a risk, as any investment does. But the Wild feel they got a solid young defenseman they can build around for many years to come.

With Brock Faber, a 22-year-old defender locked up for the next eight years after this season, Zeev Buium and now Jiricek, the Wild feel the future is extremely bright.

“Yeah, I am excited," Guerin said. "I think between having some youth on the blue line and having some veteran leadership guys that they can learn from is really important too. I’m excited about the future of the blue line.”

The aforementioned was not only the four draft picks, but Daemon Hunt.

Hunt, 22, has played 13 games in his NHL career with the Wild. He was their most NHL-ready defenseman they had in the AHL. But their wasn't a spot for him this season, or really the future.

Minnesota has Jake Middleton locked up the next four years following this season. They have Jonas Brodin under contract for the next three years after this one and they have Buium, who they drafted with the 12th overall pick in last year's draft eventually coming.

Not to mention, Declan Chisholm has evelated his game recently and is starting to join some of the league's top defensemen in defensive analytics.

It just started to become more and more clear that even though Hunt is NHL ready and looks like he could be a solid NHLer, there isn't a spot for him to play consistant NHL mintues.

“Yeah, they have scout too," Guerin said. "Hunt’s a good player. I hated putting him in the deal, but I had to. He’s such a great kid and carries himself really well. He’s going to play in this league for a while.”

The 6-foot-1 defenseman was the Wild's 65th overall pick from the 2020 NHL Draft. He has played 13 games in the NHL and has one assist. He has played five of those 13 games under Dean Evason as the head coach.

Evason now coaches the Blue Jackets.

Hunt took warmups for the Iowa Wild today but was eventually pulled out of the lineup so protect him from and injury and get him ready to go to Ohio.

“I talked to him. We had to pull him off the ice for warmups in Iowa, so he knew early," Guerin said about how Hunt handled it. "He handled it really well. He’s a really mature kid, really thoughtful kid. He’s pretty even-keeled and he just looks at it as another adventure. That’s one of the things I really liked about him.”

Trading four picks and Hunt was a heavy price, but it is a price the Wild were willing to pay despite Jiricek's skating concerns.

“Look, he’s young. He’s a young player. He just turned 21 on Thanksgiving day," Guerin said on Jiricek's concerns. "He's got a lot to learn. He’s going to continue to improve just like all young players. Brock Faber’s got to get better, Matt Boldy’s still going to get better. All these guys are going to continue to improve because they’re so young. So just because they’re in the NHL doesn’t mean they’re not going to develop their game and get better. That’s our job as the coaches, management. That’s our job to help him get better.”

With Brodin's injury looming overing the Wild, Minnesota is expected to recall Jiricek from the AHL by Monday so he can practice with the team.

Nonetheless, the Wild are excited for what Jiricek can bring. Espically his size.

"I wouldn’t categorize him as mean. Look, when you're big and you can move, you get in the way, and you have a wide range with your stick detail and things like that. He does. He's got a cannon. We'll see what type of responsibilities he gets on the ice, whether it's power play or no power play. We'll see how he kills penalties and things like that. I think it's going to take us a little while to get him up to speed here. There's a lot for him to learn. And we're gonna try to help him along and move him along."