Slovakia is rolling at the World Juniors, now a perfect 3-0-0 after a big 8-4 victory over Norway earlier this morning. The Calgary Flames’ only prospect playing in the tournament is Sam Honzek, who had another solid performance for Slovakia.
For those who don’t know, Honzek was the Flames’ first round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, taken 16th overall. Standing at 6’3″ and weighing in at 181 lbs, Honzek fits the bill as a big, skilled player that the Flames were targeting in the draft. He missed most of this year’s season due to injury sustained in the preseason, but returned to play the last five games for the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, scoring three goals and seven points before joining Slovakia for the World Juniors.
Honzek was named captain of the Giants this season, and is wearing an “A” for Slovakia, too.
Another game, another goal
Honzek has scored in every tournament game for Slovakia so far, and scored his team’s opening tally in their game against Norway.
Norway had scored earlier in the period, and Honzek finished a beautiful pass with an even more beautiful deflection into the top corner of the Norway net on the power play.
Honzek has a knack of finding soft areas of the ice and going to work close to the net. His big frame allows him to stand his ground, but he has a ton of skill which was on display for this goal. Despite being a man up, this is a world class finish from one of the Flames’ top prospects.
He played 15:19 in this game which ranks sixth among forwards, but in a runaway win the Slovakia forward group shared ice time fairly evenly with no players eclipsing the 17 minute mark in the game.
Honzek also fired three shots on net, the third most on the team.
Making an impact
This marks three straight games with a goal for Honzek as he’s scored in every game for Slovakia so far. He’s now up to three goals and four points in three games, good for 14th in overall tournament scoring, and tied for fourth in goals scored in the tournament.
Honzek is also tied for the tournament lead with a +5 rating, a testament to his strong two-way play.
Slovakia is back in action for their final qualifying round match against the United States on December 31, 2023 at 12:00 pm local time, 4:00 am MST.
