2024 draft prospect Adam Jecho is a big Czech winger with an unclear developmental ceiling
By Ryan Pike
14 days agoThis article is brought to you by bet365.
Over the past several years, hockey in Czechia has been on the rise. A lot of high-end players from the Czech Republic have been selected in the NHL Draft, and as a result we’ve seen Czechian players get a lot of attention from scouts.
Winger Adam Jecho played in North America this past season, suiting up for the Edmonton Oil Kings. He’s still a work in progress and he hasn’t spent a ton of time playing in high-end leagues, but it’s not hard to imagine NHL scouts seeing a lot of potential in him.
Scouting report
A product of Zlin, Czechia, Jecho is a March 2006 birthday. He’s a right shot winger listed at 6’5″ and 201 pounds.
Originally playing in Czech junior hockey, he moved to Finnish hockey midway through the 2020-21 season (as a 15-year-old) and spent the next two seasons primarily in Finland’s top under-18 league with Tappara Tampere. He made the move across to North America for the 2023-24 season, joining the Western Hockey League’s Oil Kings as an import.
Jecho’s also played extensively in major international events with Czechia’s national teams: the World Under-17 Challenge (once), the Hlinka Gretzky Cup (three times) and the Under-18 World Championships (twice). He helped Czechia capture silver at this season’s Hlinkas.
Here’s what Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala had to say about Jecho back in March:
Jecho ended the year in Edmonton with the Oil Kings, where he produced 23-24A on the season. He’s on the rise. A big body whose skating has improved to where he’s a threat off the rush when he’s up to speed. Solid edges. Primary ice time comes at even strength and power play, but he’s capable on the penalty kill, too.Despite his stature he isn’t overly physical. He boxes out opponents, but doesn’t punish people physically. Potential second line upside in time. Might end up as a combination 2F/3F at the NHL level.
Dobber Prospects’ Luke Sweeney provided this scouting report in April:
Adam Jecho is a tough read. He’s a 6’5 pivot but doesn’t dominate the game in the way you’d like. He has a hard shot that he uses to create quality looks, good puck protection, and a solid transition game for his size, but his lack of vision, dynamism, and ability to create for his teammates severely impacts his offensive ceiling. He has the tools for it, but he doesn’t break up plays, win on the forecheck, or have the speed on pucks to be considered a defensive centre. A selection in the first two rounds is a bet on his physical tools coming together to form a more cohesive, two-way game.
Here’s Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis’ assessment from May:
Jecho is big at 6-foot-5 and 201 pounds, but he’s more than just a hulking body. He’s got a great shot, is hard to beat along the boards and is defensively responsible, too. Some scouts like him as a potential late first-rounder at the high end but I don’t think he’s a good enough skater for that. But right now, after his first year in the WHL, I think there’s a solid base to work around here for Jecho to become a third-liner.
The challenge with figuring out Jecho is that he lacks a big high-level sample size. He’s played a single season in major junior and while he’s been quite good, it’s a challenge to project him based on such a small amount of games. (His international experience helps, but he wasn’t a massive point-producer in any of his tournament appearances.) It feels like we’ll see Jecho continue to progress in the coming season or two, but it may be tough for teams to extrapolate what his developmental ceiling could be.
The numbers
As a rookie in the Western League, Jecho had 23 goals and 24 assists for 47 points over 54 games with the Oil Kings. He was fifth on the Oil Kings in scoring, and tied for second in goals. He finished just outside the WHL’s top 100 in points. Compared to other WHL freshmen, he was tied for ninth in points and was sixth in goals.
Jecho also had two goals in five games at the Hlinkas, and two goals and an assist in five games at the Under-18 World Championships.
Availability and fit
While it’s not quite clear what Jecho’s upside is, he’s got size and has adjusted to North American hockey fairly well. Based just on his size, you can imagine some area scouts really liking his potential. His lack of gaudy offensive numbers in prominent leagues may limit how early teams feel comfortable with taking him, but he’s a big right shot forward, so pretty much every team will have some affinity for him.
In terms of where Jecho is expected to go in this year’s draft, the answer is “somewhere in the second round, probably.” If you skim the public draft rankings compiled by the various entities, he doesn’t appear in the first round mix, but he’s often in the second round mix. It’s hard to project exactly where in the second we’d expect to see him, because there’s a good amount of variation between rankings – on some he’s in the 40s, on some he’s in the 50s.
There’s a good amount of potential with Jecho, but (again) the lack of a big high-level sample size could make teams a bit nervous about taking him too early.
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