CALGARY, Alberta -- Summoned yesterday from the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League, Roman Horak is ready to slide back into the Calgary Flames lineup when they host the St. Louis Blues at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday night.
Horak, who played two games with the Flames to start the season, was recalled in place of Paul Byron, who suffered a fractured left hand just 2:51 into his first NHL game of the season.
"Obviously I was happy," Horak said. "On the other side, it's too bad for the club when guys get injured, but that's part of the game. Like I said, I was happy to be here and I appreciate the call."
The 21-year-old is expected to take Byron's spot between Curtis Glencross and captain Jarome Iginla.
"If I actually get the chance to play with those guys, it will be a big honor for me and hopefully we can click right off the start," Horak said.
Wherever he uses him in the lineup, Flames coach Bob Hartley just wants to see one thing.
"Whenever a young player from Abbotsford that's coming in, we're looking to bring energy," he said. "Obviously he's offering lots of skills, he's a great skater, I think that he has an unbelievable vision for a young player, but I also want to see that spark in his eyes."
After serving as a healthy scratch for Calgary's past two games, Derek Smith also will also return to action. Defenseman Anton Babchuk will make his season debut. Babchuk missed the first eight games of the season with a shoulder injury before being scratched for the past three games.
Here are the line combinations Hartley is expected to use against the Blues:
Jiri Hudler – Alex Tanguay – Roman Cervenka
Curtis Glencross – Roman Horak – Jarome Iginla
Michael Cammalleri – Matt Stajan – Lee Stempniak
Blake Comeau – Blair Jones – Tim Jackman
Mark Giordano – Jay Bouwmeester
Injured: Sven Baertschi, Mikael Backlund, Paul Byron, Miikka Kiprusoff
Scratched: Steve Begin, Chris Butler, Cory Sarich