Samuel Honzek is a prospect that needs our patience

In the past few years, the Calgary Flames have built a prospect pool that has come to be well respected around the league. Headlined by the obvious in Zayne Parekh and the recently drafted Cole Reschny. The Flames’ pool has matured into great depth in the system. While a majority are happy with the prospects the Flames possess, one that has sparked controversy in Samuel Honzek.

Honzek has had debates revolving around him emerge from the second he was drafted. Being seen as a safer pick in a draft with tons of high upside prospects was the first factor. Now, with injuries, making the opening night roster, and some so-so production, Honzek is the topic of many conversations surrounding the Flames.

Honzek’s career so far

Honzek headed on over to North America from his home country of Slovakia just in time for his draft year. He would join the Vancouver Giants and serve as one of the top players on the team. Honzek battled with injuries over the season but finished with 56 points in 43 games. The combination of size, raw skill, and good production slotted Honzek to go in the mid-to-late first round of the 2023 draft. With the 16th overall pick, the Flames would walk up to the podium and select Honzek.

Following being drafted, Honzek would head back to the WHL. He was poised to be the main offensive weapon for the Giants and was bound to take steps, especially being moved over to centre. Unfortunately, Honzek would be injured in a preseason game against the Edmonton Oilers. The injury sidelined him until the end of November in 2023. Overall, Honzek would only play 33 games, never fully recovering from his injury. In those games, he would produce 31 points.

Honzek would follow his disappointing season with some great signs. With a tremendous preseason performance, Honzek made the Flames’ opening night roster of the 2024–25 season. Honzek was injured once again in his fourth game. Upon return 13 days later, he played one more game. Looking a little outclassed for the NHL level, Honzek was sent down to the AHL to play for the Calgary Wranglers. Honzek would score his first professional goal in his season debut for the Wranglers. In the next 40 games, he would score 18 points until he fractured his ankle and was sidelined for a month. When he returned from the said injury, Honzek would hit a bit of a slump with only three points in 12 games.

Honzek is a prospect you have to be patient with

Injury issues

Look, should Honzek be further ahead in his production? Probably. But is it time to completely write him off? Not at all. Honzek hasn’t had a career that has been smooth sailing. Ever since his draft year, Honzek has been dealt an unfortunate injury in every season. Sometimes, even multiple injuries a year. Is it fair for that to raise concerns, especially about his durability? Absolutely. However, the Flames took this chance when they drafted him. Taking a prospect who suffered an awful Achilles with a difficult recovery will always come with risk. He was sidelined for two months, missing crucial development in his draft season. The Flames decided to believe him despite the high risk of continuing injuries.

In the past three seasons, Honzek has missed pivotal time in his development. About 25 games in his draft year, roughly 30 games the year after, and 15 games this prior season. That is in the range of 70 missed games in the most important years of development! There’s a reason why Honzek could be behind schedule on production. Players don’t magically fully heal from injuries, and Honzek is no different. He is bound to have injuries that linger, and a consistent yearly stretch of injuries will never help that.

A chance to rebound

It is fair to look at Honzek’s development so far and be disappointed with it. But you have to weigh in why it could pull in some disappointment. Plus, he’s only about to turn 21 years old. Honzek still has time to rebound and get himself back on track.

Heck, Connor Zary had a similar first proseason that was considered lacklustre while only being a few months older than Honzek. Then, he rebounded in a big way the following year, and then won our hearts the year after that. Zary did have better junior production, but still, we have to give Honzek the same chance to bounce back, hopefully fully healthy.

I think that if Honzek has another so-so season next year, some panic can start to settle in on what Honzek can really be. But next season is still to come, and until then, we have to be patient. It really has come lost in time that Honzek had a great preseason that landed him a spot on the opening-night roster. Something no one was predicting. He was poised for a strong year until injury derailed him once again.

Potential still sits with Honzek

Temper expectations

Something about Honzek has been that he was never projected to have super-high potential. He wasn’t supposed to be someone you took at 16th overall and then turned your franchise award. The common consensus was that he fit the bill of a middle-six forward, maybe someone who reaches the top-six. He also was and still is an incredibly raw prospect. I always thought there was a chance Honzek could become a top-line forward, but he’d have to be almost perfectly developed due to how raw his skills were. Now, it does seem like that is out the window, but he still very much has his path to that middle-six projection.

It is not like the 16th overall pick has a wide history of crafting great players. There are some great players like Dave Andreychuk, Markus Naslund, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Mathew Barzal, but most 16th overall picks sit in that middle-six range. The issue people had with the Honzek selection was that they liked other prospects available more. I was guilty of this, but now, it’s been two years, and the Flames have developed their prospect pool greatly. All that’s left to do is give Honzek full trust and patience.

The skill is still there

Honzek was said to portray the skill of a lanky power forward. A good shot, good playmaking, good hands, and a strong stance. Many said bulking up would be a great move for Honzek. Many of this still stands the same today. Honzek still possesses qualities of potential in his shot, passing, hands, puck-protection, and stance.

One area where I believe Honzek has made significant strides is in his skating. This really showed in the preseason to me. He moved around with a lot more pace and speed, which mixed well with his strengthened stance. I think this really showed in his highlight-reel goal. Playing with a high awareness to attack the puck with speed, then being in a one-on-one situation, and charging around the opponent with strong legs for the goal. This improved skating, mixed with his puck-protection and hands, is what I believe to be the goal for Honzek to succeed.

Many of these traits still showed in Honzek’s small stint in the NHL. He was outclassed, and it became clear some AHL time was the path. Nonetheless, he skated with confidence and had successful attempts of using his body in effective manners. Both were great things to see for a prospect coming off a major injury.

There’s no need to panic quite yet

Samuel Honzek has always been a prospect that sparked conversation amongst Flames fans, from the moment he was drafted. His career hasn’t been the prettiest, being plagued by injuries. It has left him in a spot where some have grown disappointed with the development they’ve seen. However, this was a chance the Flames were willing to take upon drafting him.

Things may look bad to some, but there is still a good amount of time for Honzek to get back on the right track. The positives of his game have done a pretty good job of carrying over to the big leagues, even with some improvement in his skating. It flashed even in the NHL games where he was outclassed.

Panic is not yet needed when it comes to Honzek. There is a little chance a player bounces back immediately from injury, and we have seen that with Honzek. There’s a solid chance Honzek hasn’t been fully healthy since before his draft year. He has the timeline to rebound and fully set himself back on course, and have the worries wash away.

Expectations also need to be tempered. He wasn’t ever really a prospect with a high ceiling and was seen as a safer pick. That should make it much easier to stomach a mediocre production line so far. And it’s not like the skill has faded either. Honestly, he has more skill than when he was drafted. With everything considered, Honzek is a prospect that we have to be patient with.