Samuel Honzek

July 2023- Honzek has signed his entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames. Honzek finished his year with the Vancouver Giants as a top-tier player and was a finalist for the rookie of the year award in the WHL. Honzek will look to stay healthy and participate in the WJC again this season where he can hopefully represent Slovakia this December. Carson Klein

June 2023 – Honzek has been selected 16th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2023 NHL Draft. Curtis Rines

April 2023 – Honzek will likely be picked higher than we have him ranked (23), but we like this player a lot, and he could be a riser on our final board. Honzek is well-rounded and can play a variety of roles effectively. He is among the strongest and most powerful players in the class, he can play keep away with his tremendous reach like few other draft eligibles can. He consistently establishes inside positioning and initiates contact in puck battles. This array of pro-level habits that he formed while playing professionally last year really popped in the WHL this season. He is a good distributor, if not a high-end playmaker, but it is his shot that poses the biggest offensive threat in his toolkit. He generates impressive power and is a real threat to score from medium range. His handling, compete, and skating all project as plus-level professional tools, as well. While Honzek lacks significant top-line upside, he is a very good bet to become an impactful and versatile middle-six winger. Sebastian High

December 2022 – Honzek has been one of the most productive draft-eligible players in the WHL this season, trailing only Connor Bedard and Andrew Cristall in scoring nearly halfway through the season. Prior to joining the Vancouver Giants for his draft year, Honzek also gained valuable experience in Slovakia’s top professional league, netting 10 goals and four assists in 49 games during his age-17 season.

Honzek is a rangy forward with quality puck skills and high-end offensive vision. He looks clunky at times but is deceptively agile playing through traffic and generates good speed when there is open ice in front of him. When he gets a step on a defender at the junior level, it is nearly impossible for them to recover because of how he uses his large frame to keep pursuing defenders on his back while utilizing his long reach to extend the puck out in front of his body, either on his forehand or backhand. He doesn’t often initiate contact, but that large frame also allows him to absorb contact along the wall and maintain possession or make a play coming off the boards. Honzek has good hands in tight, especially for a player his size, and he is deadly around the net with how quickly he can pull the puck across his body to get around sprawling defenders or goaltenders. He is a dual-threat who can finish scoring plays in tight or find the back of the net with a quick release, but I think his playmaking ability and vision will be his ticket to the NHL. Honzek is a composed and decisive passer who makes quick reads to set up defenders and manipulate lanes to find teammates in good positions. He can shield off opposing players to come away with contested pucks and make a play under pressure because of how he consistently scans the ice around him. The main area of concern with Honzek is that his level of engagement and intensity appear to waver at times, but when he is on, he can be downright dominant at the junior level. His raw physical tools won’t be as much of a separator at the pro level, so continuing to round out his game and improving his overall mobility will be key to reaching his potential. Honzek may never drive a line on his own at the NHL level, but he projects as an effective complementary winger who can generate offense in a middle-six role. Nick Richard