17-Year-Old Prospect Knocked Out Cold By Player A Decade Older

A common practice for top European prospects is to play in men's leagues. We see it year after year all over in leagues such as the SHL, LIIGA, KHL, and NL which all have 17-year-olds or younger playing against players double their age. In the past two drafts, eight of the 20 top 10 picks played in a men's league. This has its benefits for development as it is more difficult competition but it also puts the players at risk of being injured.

Earlier this week we saw defenseman Adam Jiricek, one of the top prospects for the upcoming 2024 draft and brother of 2022 6th overall pick David Jiricek, get clobbered by a player 10 years older than him and 50 lbs heavier.

Jiricek wound up in the hospital but thankfully his injury was relatively minor.

He will now shift his focus on recovering and hopefully representing Czechia at the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championships as one of their leaders.

As seen on Blade of Steel - 17-year-old player playing in men's league gets TKO'd