Flames prospect Sam Honzek added 15 pounds over the summer

Without a doubt, the biggest story of the Calgary Flames’ training camp in 2024 was the emergence of rookie Sam Honzek and how he forced himself onto the opening night roster.

After a decent enough performance at the Young Stars tournament in Penticton, Honzek was consistently very good throughout the main portion of training camp. He played in six of the Flames’ eight pre-season games, and led the team in the exhibition schedule in assists and points (and only Matt Coronato and Adam Klapka had more goals).

He made his NHL debut on Oct. 9 against the Vancouver Canucks. He was decent enough, but failed to stand out very much. However, his NHL stint was derailed when Honzek himself was derailed by a big hit from Chicago blueliner Connor Murphy on Oct. 15.

Honzek missed two weeks with an upper body injury suffered on the hit. He played with the Flames on Oct. 30, then was assigned to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers the following day. By the end of the season, Honzek had zero points in five NHL games and 21 points in 52 AHL games with the Wranglers.

Speaking to the media at Winsport on Thursday morning, Honzek reflected on what he learned in the 2024-25 season.

“You know, be better on the walls, play harder, be harder on the puck,” said Honzek, via Flames TV. “And, you know, that’s kind of the area I was I have to be better. And, you know, I have to bring it to this camp and, you know, be better on the wall, you know, getting the pucks on the forecheck and using the extra muscles I gained during the summer to use it as my advantage. So, yeah. And one of the other thing was being consistent with that, you know, how I played the last pre-season and training camp. I have to just be like that the whole season.”

By Honzek’s estimation, he gained 15 pounds over the off-season.

The Flames’ first-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, Honzek began the 2024-25 season as a 19-year-old, turning 20 in mid-November. He played his first pro season primarily on the wing, but played a chunk of games at centre. Through our viewings of him with the Wranglers, his positioning and overall game visibly improved throughout the season, but he did face challenges in board battles in the corner and along the wall against more physically mature opponents.

Time will tell if Honzek’s added size will help him return to the Flames’ lineup this coming season. Considering how well he performed in 2024’s camp, he’s definitely worth keeping an eye on this fall.