Calgary Flames winger Sam Honzek is starting to look like a player ready to make some noise.
After a shoulder injury in November wiped out his chance to build on what he’d started last season, the 21-year-old Slovak finally got back into a competitive game Sunday night - and he wasted little time standing out. In the Flames’ 4-2 pre-season loss to the Seattle Kraken, Honzek was one of Calgary’s two best players, alongside Aydar Suniev.
That kind of performance is exactly why the buzz around Honzek is building. He’s healthy again, and he’s already showing the traits that make him tough to miss: size, speed and a willingness to pressure opponents. Flames head coach Ryan Huska came away impressed.
“He was back like he hadn’t missed a year,” Huska said. “It’s nice to see him out there, he brings an element to our team that we don’t have a lot of, a little bit of size but he’s got some real speed.
“When he’s on the ice, he’s noticeable not just for his ability to forecheck and put pressure on opponents, but tonight he made some really nice plays with the puck, as well. It was nice seeing him back healthy and feeling good about his game.”
Honzek has mostly been lining up in pre-season with captain Mikael Backlund and Joel Farabee, a familiar spot given how much time he spent with Backlund last season before a collision ended his year after just 18 games. The Flames expected him to return before the end of 2025-26, and Huska said Sunday that Honzek likely could have come back if Calgary had been fighting for a playoff berth.
For Honzek, Sunday was less about making a statement and more about getting his body and mind back into game speed. A pre-season game is one thing; trusting the shoulder in real action is another.
“I think it’s hard to test everything in one game and I think I felt still a little bit, kind of slower, if I could say that, just like reading the game and sticking with the game plan,” Honzek said. “But it’ll come eventually, just look at the video tomorrow or the next day and go from there. I think overall, I wasn’t scared of anything, kinda of trying to play my game and stick as much as I can to the plan and do my job.”
That’s the kind of answer you want from a young winger trying to climb into a bigger role. The tools are there, the health is back, and the early signs suggest Honzek may be ready to take the next step.
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