Why Calgary Flames winger Sam Honzek looks ready for breakout year

It’s a question that could have been asked a year ago, only for a shoulder injury in November to rob the young Slovak of the opportunity to put a full season together.

Now, though? Honzek’s happy, healthy and was one of the Calgary Flames’ best two players — alongside Aydar Suniev — in Sunday night’s 4-2 pre-season loss to the Seattle Kraken.

And it doesn’t feel too early to start speculating about whether or not the 21-year-old winger might be ready to step into the spotlight.

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“He was back like he hadn’t missed a year,” Flames head coach Ryan 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.”

So far in pre-season, Honzek has mostly been skating on a line with Flames captain Mikael Backlund and Joel Farabee. Honzek spent a lot of time with Backlund last season before a collision forced him out of the lineup only 18 games into his campaign.

He had picked up two goals and two assists in that stretch and was a +1 while finding his feet at the NHL level.

It’s completely reasonable to expect him to pick up where he left off this year. He was close to returning at the end of 2025-26 and Huska said Sunday that Honzek likely could have returned to the lineup if the Flames had been in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Instead, he was able to focus on rehabbing his shoulder and getting stronger, a process that continued throughout the summer.