OHL Defensive Stars Adam Jiricek & Jakub Fibigr Named To Czechia’s Leadership Group For 2026 World Juniors
Brampton Steelheads’ Jakub Fibigr (5) & Brantford Bulldogs’ Adam Jiricek (5) named to Czechia’s leadership group for the 2026 World Juniors. Credit: OHL Images
Team Czechia has announced its leadership group ahead of its Boxing Day tournament opener against Canada. Canada wants redemption against the country that has knocked them out of the last two World Juniors, but a couple of captains on the blueline will try to nullify that.
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Washington Capitals prospect Petr Sikora has been named the Czech captain. Brantford Bulldogs and Brampton Steelheads defensemen Adam Jiricek and Jakub Fibigr have been named assistant captains.
Jiricek will be representing Czechia at the World Juniors for the third straight year. He’s captured two bronze medals over the last two years, although his 2024 tournament sadly was cut short due to a knee injury he suffered in game one. In 2025, the St. Louis Blues’ first-rounder became what everyone expected: a leader and play driver in all situations for the Czechs. He comes into the tournament being a leader on the backend for Brantford, one of the CHL’s top teams. His 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) are tied for fifth-most amongst OHL defensemen.
Jiricek had two assists on the power play in their quarterfinals win against Canada last year. He was the man who slid the puck over to his fellow Blues prospect, Adam Jecho, for the game-winner with 40 seconds left in the game. Czechia will be without its star forward Jecho, who sustained a hand injury. The circumstances regarding how he suffered this injury remain unknown.
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Fibigr was on Czechia’s roster last year, matching Jiricek in production with five assists. He’s been an important piece on the blueline for Czechia’s 2006-born class, representing his country at the 2022 U17 World Hockey Challenge, 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (lost to Canada in the gold medal match), and was an assistant captain at the 2024 U18 Men’s World Championship.
The Seattle Kraken seventh-rounder is in his third OHL season with the Steelheads. His production dropped last year from 43 to 33, but he has refound his confidence with the puck this year. Since Brampton is in sort of a rebuild, Fibigr has been tasked to log heavy minutes on the backend. He’s their quarterback on the power play, leading the team in power play points with 13, and as of Dec. 26, he is tied with Gabriel Chiarot for the team lead in points.
Czechia faces off against Canada at 8:30 pm EST tonight. TSN and the NHL Network have all the action.
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