Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Czech signee Pribyl gunning to play on Gaudreau-Monahan line in Calgary

Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau

Calgary Flames’ Sean Monahan, left, celebrates his goal with teammate Johnny Gaudreau during the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes in an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

AP

There could be a new right winger skating with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan on the Flames’ top line next season.

Daniel Pribyl, the Czech League scoring sensation that signed with Calgary last month, is hoping to fill the coveted spot alongside the club’s two bright young stars.

“Oh for sure, I’d love to play with them,” Pribyl said, per the Calgary Sun. “I wouldn’t know them to see them on the street or something, but I’ve seen highlights of them and I know of them. They’re really good players.”

Pribyl, 23, had been one of the more sought after European free agents this spring.

A former Montreal draftee -- the Habs failed to sign him to an entry-level deal prior to their rights expiring -- the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder scored 45 points in 45 games for Sparta Praha this season, finishing second in league scoring.

Flames GM Brad Treliving referred to Pribyl as a “big body who shoots right and can make plays,” noting that the club doesn’t have much depth at that position. But he was quick to warn against getting too high on Pribyl too quickly, this while fans in Calgary excitedly penciled him into a first-line role.

“Any time you see a European sign in the last 12 months, everybody is like, “Well, is this the next [Artemi] Panarin?’” Treliving explained. “This is a different player, so let’s be cautious.”