Daniel Pribyl

History

2008-09: Pribyl dominated playing for his hometown IHC Pisek U-18 squad – scoring 30 goals with 17 assists while racking up 88 minutes in penalties in his final season.

2009-10: Pribyl moved to the top Czech junior league playing for the Sparta Praha U-18 and U-20 squads. In eight U-20 games, Pribyl scored 1 goal with 1 assists and accumulated 10 PMs. Pribyl was a key member of the U-18 squad, scoring 21 goals with 19 assists in 41 games including playoffs.

2010-11: Pribyl made his Czech Extraliga debut – appearing in three regular season contests as well as four relegation contests for Sparta Praha – after spending the bulk of the season with the Sparta Praha U-20 team. In seven games total, he scored 2 goals with 1 assist and avoided taking any penalties. Pribyl also appeared in one game for HC Berounsti Medvedi in the Czech second league as well as playing eight games for the Czech U-20 team (though he did not participate in the World Championships, Pribyl had 3 goals and 4 assists in eight matches). Pribyl dominated at the domestic junior level, scoring 31 goals with 32 assists in 45 contests with the Sparta Praha U-20 team. Pribyl was ranked 46th amongst European skaters in Central Scouting's final rankings and was drafted by Montreal in the 6th round (168th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft.

2011-12: Pribyl started his 2011-12 hockey season playing in the senior Czech league for the HC Sparta Praha where the rookie scored two goals in 17 games. The team decided to loan the young forward to its affiliate, HC Berounsti Medvedi of the Czech 2 league for the remainder of the season. The Czech-born player would represent his country at the 2012 World Junior Championship but a leg injury suffered in the pre-tournament games reduced his playing time and he only contributed an assist in five games. He would finish up his season in the Czech 2 league as HC Berounsti Medvedi's third leading scorer with nine goals and four assists in only 21 games. Daniel Pribyl was able to play in the U-20 Czech playoffs for HC Sparta Praha after his season ended in the Czech2 league for his HC Berounsti Medvedi team. The lanky center excelled in the four playoff games against players of his own age finishing fifth in scoring despite his team playing so few games. He scored five goals along with two assist while taking only a two-minute penalties and having 1.75 points per game (2nd amongst the scoring leaders) for the 2012 U20 playoffs.

 

Talent Analysis

A bit of a late-riser, Pribyl is a work in progress whose height, long reach, and soft hands make him a capable goal scorer. Despite that height, he is not an overly physical player and has not yet demonstrated the ability to consistently battle in small areas. As with many players his height, his skating balance and overall agility are issues but should improve as he matures. Pribyl's positional play is also a bit of an unknown at this point but coaches who have worked with him compliment his work ethic and determination to improve.

 

Future

The Canadiens have been known to take low-risk, high-reward chances with players from Europe with thier late round picks and that is again the case with Pribyl. A fairly dominent scorer at the lower levels of junior hockey, he has enjoyed the advantage of being bigger than most of his opponents at that level. Whether he can develop the complete game and add the strength and bulk necessary to dominate at the pro level is the big question with Pribyl. If he is successful, Montreal may have discovered a late-round steal - think Sergei Kostitsyn - who will be an effective scorer. Conversely, Pribyl's development is by no means guaranteed and he could spend his entire career in Europe; as have several previous Montreal late round picks.

Pribyl has top-six forward upside.