The Calgary Flames have one prospect playing in this year’s IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship taking place in Sweden and Finland.
Sam Honzek, the Flames’ first round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, is suiting up for Team Slovakia. He was injured for most of the season and only returned five games ago for the Vancouver Giants in the WHL. He put up three goals and seven points in those five games for the Giants, and is continuing his dominance on the international stage.
Yesterday morning, Slovakia played their first game of the tournament against fierce rival Czechia. Slovakia entered the tournament as the sixth seed and third highest seed in Pool B. Czechia is the second seed and highest ranked team in Pool B entering the tournament.
The first game, however, did not follow those seeding ranks.
Honzek with a two point effort
Czechia scored just 1:01 into the game and maintained that lead for the first period of play. From there, it was all Slovakia, scoring six of the next seven goals en route to a 6-2 win.
Honzek scored a goal 1:22 into the third period on the power play. He fought for net-front presence and battled to finish off a puck that was loose in the crease. This goal was the eventual game winner for Slovakia.
Later in the third period, Honzek entered the offensive zone and made a slick cross-ice feed to Martin Misiak whose shot was saved by Czech goalie Michael Hrabal, but the rebound was scored by Maxim Strbak. Honzek picked up an assist on this play.
Honzek finished the game with one goal and one assist, second on the team behind Servac Petrovsky who had three points in the big win.
Honzek is a tournament leader
After his two-point effort, Honzek is currently tied for the second most points in the tournament. The official stats count goals as the tiebreaker, so Honzek is fifth in scoring on the official stats board.
What’s more impressive than the points he put on the score sheet is how important Honzek was to the Slovakia win. He was on the ice for five of the six Slovakia goals, and was not in the ice for any of the Czechia goals. Honzek is lauded for his strong two-way game, and that was on display in his tournament opener.
He finished the game with a +3 rating, first overall in the tournament.
Getting past Czechia was a big deal for Slovakia. Their pool features the United States, Switzerland, and Norway, so putting forward a massive win over arguably the second best team in the pool bodes well for Slovakia’s medal hopes.
Honzek and his teammates are back in action on December 27th facing Switzerland.
