With the Calgary Flames set to wrap up their homestand Wednesday against the New York Rangers, the club has shuffled its roster again. Forward Sam Honzek has been activated from injury reserve and sent to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers.
That move lines up with the Wranglers’ schedule, as they’re due to face the Henderson Silver Knights twice, on Thursday and Saturday night.
Honzek, a first-round pick by the Flames in the 2023 NHL Draft and Craig Conroy’s first draft choice as a general manager, has been on the NHL club’s opening night roster in each of the last three seasons. Injuries have also followed him early in each of those years.
He was knocked out by a concussion after taking a hit from Chicago defender Connor Murphy early in the 2024-25 season. Last November, a collision with Mikael Backlund turned into a freak accident that turned into season-ending shoulder surgery, and that injury likely kept him from a shot at the Olympics with Slovakia. More recently, he suffered a lower-body injury a few games into this season against Colorado.
Honzek’s injury history stretches back beyond his NHL years, too. He was also hurt in his draft year and again in the season after that with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League.
For now, the Flames have some room to manage his return carefully. Honzek is waiver exempt this season, giving the team flexibility in how it brings him back. Because his deal slid a couple of times as a late birthday, he’ll be waiver eligible for the first time next season even though that’s the final year of his entry-level contract.
In his pro career, Honzek has appeared in 27 NHL games and 54 AHL games. He has no points in four games with Calgary this season. When healthy, he’s shown real promise and built chemistry with Mikael Backlund, but after missing about a month, a straight return to the NHL would be a heavy ask.
A few games in the AHL should help him get his legs back under him, and it also gives Calgary a little more time to sort out its NHL roster picture.
In Other News...
Flames Must Rebuild Their Game After A Brutal Blue Line Loss
The Flames are trying to steady themselves after losing one of their most important defensemen, and the response has been to strip things back to basics. With Kevin Bahl sidelined, Calgary is leaning into a simpler approach, stressing quick puck movement and tighter system play as it looks to keep its blue line organized without its top stopper.
Joel Hanley has moved into a bigger role as the Flames sort through the fallout, while Jonathan Huberdeau and Sam Honzek were both on the ice for practice as they continue working back from injuries. Huberdeaus return still does not have a set timeline, which leaves Calgary balancing the immediate challenge on defense with the longer process of getting more of its lineup healthy. [Read more 🡒]
Wranglers Face A Tough Bakersfield Test With Lineup Questions Looming
The Calgary Wranglers are still working through the early stretch of a five-game road trip, and the next stop brings a familiar kind of AHL test in Bakersfield. The Condors, Edmontons affiliate, are the sort of opponent that can expose any teams depth, especially when the lineup has been in flux and the club has been juggling recent roster moves while trying to keep the right mix together.
Goaltending has been part of that uncertainty, with the Wranglers carrying three netminders lately, and the forward group may not be settled either after a recent injury situation added another layer to the decision-making. Calgary also made a minor-league swap in the ECHL, sending Kent Anderson out and bringing Tyson Feist in, a reminder that the organization is still shuffling pieces while the road trip and the lineup questions both keep building. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Suddenly Have A Roster Crunch Young Players Cant Ignore
The Flames have kept rolling through injuries to Jonathan Huberdeau, Sam Honzek and Brennan Othmann, and the most encouraging part has been the way younger players from the Wranglers have helped hold things together. Calgary has been able to stay competitive while leaning on call-ups and shuffling the lineup, a reminder that the organizations depth is doing more than just filling holes in the short term.
Now the challenge is starting to shift from surviving the absences to figuring out what happens when everyone is healthy again. A roster that looked flexible a week ago can suddenly feel crowded, and the Flames will have some uncomfortable decisions to make about who stays in the mix and who heads back to the AHL once the injured forwards are ready to return. [Read more 🡒]