There’s no shortage of Calgary Flames youngsters worth tracking this season, with Zayne Parekh, Simon Nemec and Matvei Gridin drawing plenty of attention as they try to take another step at the NHL level.
Sam Honzek has gotten lost in that crowd.
The 16th overall pick in 2023 has been slowed by injuries and has yet to produce the kind of numbers that usually force a prospect into the spotlight. At this stage, he’s starting to feel less like a blue-chip prospect and more like a player trying to prove he still belongs in the conversation.
Honzek will turn 22 this November. He’s 6-foot-4, 200 pounds and shoots left, but the clock on the “prospect” label is beginning to tick loudly.
His NHL stint last season produced just two goals and four points in 18 games. The year before, he had eight goals and 21 points in 52 AHL games.
In junior after the draft, he posted 31 points in 33 games, down from the 56 points in 43 games he put up in 2022-23.
Since being drafted three years ago, Honzek has played only 110 games across different leagues, and the scoring has never really popped at any stop.
That kind of injury-hit development curve would usually be a bad sign for an NHL hopeful, especially in a Calgary system that keeps getting more crowded. But there were some encouraging signs in his play last year that point to more than just a fringe future.
He brings size, strong skating and real puck skill. That’s the package the Flames clearly liked when they spent a first-round pick on him. Players with that blend can carve out NHL careers if the offense comes around enough to keep them in the lineup.
The numbers from his 18 NHL games last season are where things get more interesting.
Honzek led the Flames in shots-for percentage at 56.3% and expected-goals-for percentage at 61.5% at even strength. Calgary as a team finished around 49% in shot share and about 46% in expected-goals share, so his results stood out even in a small sample.
He also posted a +1.29 expected goals for per 60 minutes relative to his teammates, which was the best mark in the league among skaters with at least 190 minutes of ice time.
Those are the kind of underlying numbers that don’t jump off the page at first glance, but they do suggest a player who was driving play. Mikael Backlund was showing similar possession and chance-generation traits at about this age.
In Other News...
Matvei Gridin Is Giving Flames Fans Real Top Six Hope
Matvei Gridin is starting to look like the kind of prospect who can change the conversation around a lineup. The 28th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft has already logged time in the USHL, QMJHL, AHL and even the NHL, and that climb has come with the kind of offensive touch and puck-handling ability that makes scouts and fans pay attention. For a Flames organization that has been looking for more skill to emerge up front, his progression has been easy to notice.
The next step, though, is the one that separates an intriguing young player from a real top-six option. Gridin still has work to do on consistency and defensive coverage, two areas that can quickly determine how much trust a coach is willing to give a young forward. The talent is there to keep pushing him toward a full-time role with Calgary, but the challenge now is turning flashes into the kind of complete game that sticks. [Read more 🡒]
4 Flames Facing Serious Pressure To Deliver In 2026-27
The next step for Calgarys young core is already starting to feel like a measuring stick season, even with 2026-27 still ahead. Dustin Wolf, Connor Zary, Yegor Sharangovich and Simon Nemec all sit in different spots on the roster and on the development curve, but each carries a version of the same burden: show real progress, show it consistently, and justify the belief the Flames have placed in them. Their recent seasons, roles and contract situations only sharpen the scrutiny, especially in a market that is quick to notice when promise lingers longer than production.
Wolf has the highest profile of the group because of what goaltending means in Calgary, while Zary and Sharangovich are being judged on whether their offensive games can take the next step. Nemec, meanwhile, brings his own set of expectations as a player the Flames will want to see settle into a dependable impact role. The common thread is pressure, and not the vague kind that comes with being on an NHL roster, but the sort that turns every shift, every stretch of games and every inconsistency into part of a larger conversation about where this team is headed. [Read more 🡒]
Morgan Frost Just Became A Bigger Flames Question Than Expected
Morgan Frost arrived in Calgary in the January 2025 trade with Philadelphia carrying the kind of upside teams love to talk themselves into, but this season is where the Flames need to learn what they actually have. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent next July, and the way he settles into the lineup over the coming months could go a long way toward defining both his value and his role.
Frost has a real chance to establish himself as a top-six center, which would make him far more than a midseason acquisition with promise. The bigger question hanging over the Flames is how they want to handle him if he does, because the decision ahead is not just about keeping a useful player around, but about whether he becomes part of the long-term core or a name that eventually draws interest from elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]