Jiri Sekac

Undrafted- Free Agent Signing

Fantasy Prospects Ranking: 113th

Jiri Sekac is that annual undrafted free-agent pickup you always hear about, the only difference is, he’s here to stay.

Unlike the Fabian Brunnstrom’s of this world, Sekac will make it work to remain in the NHL. The passion and dedication to win every single battle, and make the right decision in every situation is obvious when he plays.  Never have I seen a player celebrate like he has for scoring in essentially meaningless games (summer camp, scrimmages, preseason), and it’s not about showing off, he genuinely cannot contain his emotions for cashing in on hard work and helping his team win.

A trait perhaps passed down in the male gene, as his father’s reaction to his son’s first career goal was well-documented. After being robbed on the goal line the game before, the younger Sekac finally buried one to tie the game at home in a playoff rematch against the Boston Bruins. His father took it from there.

Sekac has all the tools to have a successful career in the NHL; strong skating, puck handling, shooting, very underrated passion and vision, two-way play, energy, and passion. He also plays with an edge and uses his body to lean on opponents to separate them from the puck when necessary.

The skill sets between Sekac and De La Rose are similar, relying on hard work, skating and the forecheck, but at this point Sekac’s offensive game is much more advanced. The two primarily played together during the Canadiens summer development camp in what was the 22-year-old’s second stint in North America.

He first played in the USHL in 2009-2010 with the Youngstown Phantoms (38,2,9,11,35 PIMs,minus-14)  including an 8 game stint with Peterborough of the OHL (scoreless). Sekac followed-up in 2010-2011 with a breakout season, becoming a mainstay with the Phantoms, appearing in 58 games and scoring 18 goals, and 27 assists for 45 points (27 PIMs, plus-5), showing ample maturation and setting up hope for an NHL career.

He then returned to Europe for 3 seasons before signing with the Canadiens on July 1st 2014 as their prize-free agent addition. Sekac turned a great 2013-2014 season with Prague of the KHL into a shot at living out his dream, as he “followed his heart” when deciding to sign with Montreal. Jiri dressed in 47 games for Prague, ending the season with 28 points  (11,17, 18 PIMs, plus-12).

The Czech-native made the team out of training camp and started out on a line with Lars Eller and Rene Bourque. He had a slow start, with some admitted “trouble adjusting to the smaller rinks”, which led to “a lot less scoring chances”, when asked to explain the ear to ear smile he still had three hours after his first goal.

Recently, Sekac had been one of the victims of Therrien’s rotating bottom-six, being scratched for the last five games, including the entire Western road trip, amid calls for Therrien’s head for doing so. The team did perform considerably worse without him in the line-up and seemed to lack talent in their depth. A Montreal radio personality claims that Therrien told him the reason behind this move was  that he wanted Sekac to “see the game from another angle, help him adjust to the N.A. game quicker”.

Expect Sekac back in the lineup very soon, possibly Sunday night against the Flames, and to play in more games than not this season. Look for a big jump in his play, as sitting will serve as extra motivation to keep his spot in the competitive line-up and still finish with 25-30 points this year including 10 goals.

His fantasy potential is solid, though not that of an elite scorer. A  second-tier offensive winger with a consistent all-around game and the drive to succeed, who can net you 60 points a year in the not-so-distant future.

Check out Sekac’s stats, profile and latest notes – right here.