The Kraken’s 2024 seventh-round draft choice, defenseman Jakub Fibigr, wants to get better. Not sort of better, way better. The proof case can be seconded by Cory Murphy, one of Seattle’s tireless player development consultants who work with Kraken prospects throughout the season across juniors, NCAA, and Europe. Murphy has appreciated Fibigr’s high motor and high motivation in the months between last July’s draft and fast-forwarding to the present midseason.
“Fibs has taken the lead on it right from the start,” said Murphy, who appeared in 91 NHL games (Florida, Tampa Bay, New Jersey) and starred in European pro leagues for 14 seasons. “He reaches out to me. He loves the information. He loves to do our video sessions. He loves to just talk hockey and get a different perspective. He's really interested in just learning any way he can. It's really, really fun to work with him in that way.”
Murphy pauses for a couple of beats. He is driving home from watching Fibigr and fellow Kraken draft choice Carson Rehkopf (2022 second round) after their Ontario Hockey League Brampton Steelheads squad won a pair of games last weekend.
“You know, during the first meeting we had in the fall, I like to try to keep it short, get to the points I want to make,” continued Murphy, “But not overdoing it at the time. But Fibs, he wanted more. He said, ‘What else do you have? Can we look at some more stuff?’ He’s just really interested in the whole process.”
Getting to ‘Know the Game’
In fact, it’s not unusual for Fibigr (pronounced “fib-uh-grrr”] to request extra video sessions with Murphy, who is more than pleased to comply. Earlier this season, Fibigr wasn’t satisfied with his first game of the week and decided to call Murphy so they could go over some fundamentals before the next day’s game.
“I love to get to know the game a little bit more every day, to get better,” said Fibigr, who won bronze with Team Czechia as a first-year defenseman at the recent World Juniors Championship. “We have great coaches [with Brampton] but they have to coach the whole team. It’s always good to have an extra pair of eyes to tell you what you can do to get better. It’s really good for my development to have Cory and all of the player development staff helping me.”
Keeping His Head Up -- Literally
For Fibigr, one example from earlier in the season through watching games in person and many more online, Murphy noticed the young D-man was catching the wrong end of some big hits. The solution was helping Fibigr learn to consistently keep his head up to scan the ice for what he can do with the puck next to help his team plus, yes, anticipate an opponent’s potential physicality.
“We've been working on his overall awareness in all situations,” said Murphy. “For me, it's trying to get our prospects to understand that with every level you move up, the time to make those decisions decreases. The more information you can take in scanning with your head up, whether it's carrying the puck or playing without the puck, you can make decisions a little quicker.”
For example, in the defensive zone that doesn’t strictly translate to sending the puck to a teammate. His best decision might be to carry the puck out of the zone himself.
“He's a great skater who moves really well,” said Murphy. “He's able to escape pressure with his feet. Earlier in the season, at times he wasn't aware of that next wave of pressure. He was putting himself in some positions taking a few hits. It was one of our first lessons, to figure out the bigger picture together so he can make a better decision with more information. I think he’s really improved to where now he's able to use his assets even more, which is his skating and his ability to break pressure ... he's creating [offensive] chances for his team as part of a very solid two-way game.”
Rising at World Juniors
Fibigr’s improvement, fueled by the 18-year-old's zest for growth in his game, was evident playing for Team Czechia. It wasn’t a sure thing he would make the team as an 18-year-old, but his training camp performance cinched a roster spot. As the qualifying round played out, the Czech coaches trusted the Kraken prospect with more time on ice, including on the penalty kill. The PK work really stood out during the quarterfinals through the bronze-medal winning game in which countryman and fellow prospect Eduard Sale (No. 20 overall in 2023) converted back-to-back goals in the 13th and 14th rounds of the shootout against favored Sweden.
Fibigr was trusted from Game 1 of the prelims, which was another upset win, this time against host Canada. When the Canadians tied the game at 2-2 in the third period, the Czech coaches sent Fibigr out on the next shift amid thunderous crowd noise in Ottawa.
“Fibs said ‘it was so loud I couldn't even hear myself,’ ”said Murphy. “But if you watched him play during that game, you would never know there was any nerves. A big thing that has impressed me is the way he plays the game with poise. He's calm, he's under control. He's had a lot of games I’ve attended where it's been pretty physical with guys taking runs at him [then tells you something about his progress]. He just shrugs it off and keeps going with confidence. That demeanor was impressive on the big stage in Ottawa. That’s my hometown, I was lucky to see every game in person.”
