Welcome back to The Win Column Calgary Flames Prospect Rankings. The first player to break into the single-digit rankings is 2023 first-round draft pick Sam Honzek. The Slovak centreman was taken 16th overall last year and finished his second WHL season for the Vancouver Giants last year. 2024–25 will be his 20-year-old season, and he’ll enter the season with high expectations. While his progression hasn’t been as rapid as many would have liked, there are a lot of reasons to like Honzek as a prospect.
Honzek’s development so far
Honzek has only been in North America for two seasons. He grew up playing exclusively in the Slovak hockey system for HK Dukla, as well as for the country at a ton of international events. He’s one of the best up-and-coming Slovak players and was deserving of a first-round selection in 2023.
His first season in the WHL for the Giants started off hot. Honzek put up 43 points in the first 31 games before heading over to Atlantic Canada to represent Slovakia at the World Juniors. The World Juniors was supposed to be the first big stage for Honzek to show off his stuff, but he, unfortunately, suffered a brutal Achilles injury in Slovakia’s second game. It was the first big injury of Honzek’s career, and it set him back in a big way that season.
The injury didn’t require surgery, but the recovery process was long and hard. With the World Juniors and the injury, he ended up missing 20 games for the Giants, returning on February 18, 2023, for the first time since December 14, 2022. It was over two months between WHL games for Honzek, but he came back with 13 points in 12 games as the Giants pushed toward the WHL playoffs. Despite a first-round exit via sweep, Honzek’s first North American season was very impressive.
The following season in 2023–24, Honzek had put in a solid summer of training, had just been named the first European captain in Vancouver Giants history, and was looking to make an impression at the Flames in training camp. In a preseason game against the Edmonton Oilers on October 4, 2023, Honzek sustained a lower-body injury and was suspected to be out for six to eight weeks. Another massive injury early in Honzek’s career, this one set him back two full months and he missed the first 25 games of the Giants’ season.
He returned for just five games before heading to the World Juniors, where he put up a decent four points in five games and then finished the WHL season with 31 points in 33 games. The Giants then lost in five games to the much better Everett Silvertips. After the WHL playoffs, Honzek joined the Wranglers and suited up for his first three professional hockey games, two in the regular season and one in the playoffs. He did not record a point in the AHL.
It wasn’t a very successful D+1 season, and Honzek’s profile definitely dropped as a result. However, when you consider how much adversity he had to overcome and what he was able to do in spite of it, the future is nothing but bright for the young Slovak.
Because of his birthday, Honzek is eligible to return to the Giants as an over-ager but also eligible to play for the Wranglers. It’s tough to tell at this point which route he’ll take since he didn’t really “grow out of” the WHL last season due to the injuries.
This upcoming season will be the biggest of his life, and he’ll have to blow the doors off to maintain his status as a premier NHL prospect, regardless of whether he plays in the WHL or AHL.
Honzek’s strengths and weaknesses
Heading into the 2023 draft, many pegged Honzek as one of the sneakiest upside picks in the first round. He was lauded as a high-risk, high-reward player with a high floor and undetermined ceiling. The biggest part of Honzek’s upside is his size. The 19-year-old is already pro-sized at 6’3″ and 181 lbs and will likely weigh in even higher when he reports for training camp in a couple of months.
Despite not dishing out punishing hits every shift, Honzek uses his size very well in terms of positioning and puck protection. He’s very effective in shielding and leaning to open up more time and space for himself, which is a translatable skill. He’s a powerful player beneath the dots, excellent along the boards, and crafty around the net.
He’s equal parts scorer and playmaker, very good in all three zones, and boasts an incredibly high hockey IQ. When it comes to adapting your game to the next level, understanding hockey at a high level is the number one attribute that helps this process. Honzek should be a reliable middle-six forward at the pro level if he can get some momentum this year.
Honzek’s next steps
This year is going to be massive for Honzek. He is no longer eligible for the World Juniors, but it’s not really clear whether it makes more sense for him to go back to the WHL or to jump into the AHL. Ideally, he plays in the AHL instead of the WHL next season. His showing at the Penticton Young Stars Classic and training camp will determine where he goes.
Ultimately, Honzek needs to gain momentum, get his game going, and put forward a strong full season. The biggest question mark is how much progress he’s lost due to missing so much time and whether he can rebound and continue developing.
Can Honzek put his injury woes behind him?
At development camp a few weeks ago, Honzek missed the final part of the scrimmage due to a skate laceration that required stitches. Hopefully, he can catch a break in 2023–24 and show why the Flames selected him 16th overall just one year ago.
Calgary Flames 2024 Top 15 Prospects
Honourable Mentions | #15 William Stromgren | #14 Jacob Battaglia | #13 Aydar Suniev | #12 Luke Misa | #11 Etienne Morin | #10 Henry Mews | #9 Samuel Honzek | #8 Matvei Gridin | #7 Jakob Pelletier | #6 Andrew Basha | #5 Jeremie Poirier | #4 Hunter Brzustewicz | #3 Matt Coronato | #2 Dustin Wolf | #1 Zayne Parekh
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