Daniel Pribyl | Photo: Facebook HC Sparta Prague
“Sometimes the story is more than titles and points. Yours is a legend. Thanks to DP74.” This emotional banner was taken out by the home fans before Sparta’s match against České Budějovice on Sunday as a thank you. And it belongs to none other than Daniel Přbyl, who officially ended his professional career.
“His relentless pursuit of a comeback will be an inspiration to many generations to come. His hockey story will remain indelible,” said moderator Libor Bouček at the end of the ceremony.
Even with these sentences, the audience in the O2 arena probably guessed who he was talking about. The well-known fighter on the ice symbolically next to the legends present and during the culminating celebrations of 120 years since the founding of Sparta announced the final end of his hockey journey.
Jan Buchtele, third in the party, subsequently threw bulls of honor between him and Miroslav Forman. The packed stadium applauded the touching moment with thunderous applause.
“His relentless pursuit of a comeback will be an inspiration for many generations to come.”
It is not necessary to mention Příbyl’s protracted health problems at length. The promising forward had stepped into the NHL years ago, but due to a knee injury, he missed more than four seasons and considered an early end to his career.
Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth, underwent a number of surgeries, and despite all the suffering, he persevered… And during the 2021/22 year, he fully returned to his beloved sport. At that time, he received the Radek Novák Award for dedication to hockey from the editors of Hokej.cz.
Daniel Přibyl just announced on the ice during the ceremony @HCSpartaPraha end of career.
Hats off to him for coming back after four seasons without hockey and countless surgeries. ?
— Jiří Vítek (@JVitek94) December 10, 2023
“A lot of people around me were already wondering what I was trying to do and tapping their foreheads. I’m so glad that I proved to myself that everything is possible, no matter how unrealistic it seems,” he recounted in a comprehensive interview in June 2022.
“There were also stages when I asked myself if it was worth continuing. If this is the right path for me. But actually the whole time I felt deep down that it made sense. That it’s exactly what I’m supposed to do…”
“Actually, I felt deep down all along that it made sense.”
The heart-wrenching story of the well-built nice guy was further enhanced by the fact that he worked his way back into Sparta’s starting line-up through a loan spell in Sokolov. Before the January trade to Mladá Boleslav, he managed a total of 18 games in red.
He played his last match at the beginning of March in the playoffs against Kometa Brno. Since then, there has been no news about Přibyl’s future, but now it’s clear anyway.
The admirable story of the Pisek schoolboy has reached its destination.
Photo: Facebook HC Sparta Prague
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2023-12-10 15:32:00
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