Latest news with #SamHonzek
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
A Look At Flames Players' Performances In The Prelims Of The 2025 World Championships
With the group stage of the 2025 IIHF World Championships coming to a close, we take a look at how the Flames' representatives performed at the summer competition. First off, Slovakia's Sam Honzek got great experience playing for the senior team in his first outing. Considering the Slovaks are minnows in world hockey, it was expected that Honzek wasn't going to produce many points but the time on ice against the Swedes (13:25) and a stacked Team Canada (11:57) will go a long way in his development. Czechia's Dan Vladar started off his tournament backing Karel Vajmelka for the openers against Switzerland and Norway. He then started and won games against Denmark, Hungary and Germany, giving up just three goals and recording a shutout against the Germans. His .952 save percentage is fourth-highest for goalies who have played at least three games in the tournament. Adam Klapka, also representing the Czechs, has had a slow tournament scoring two goals and three points in the game against Kazakhstan, but producing zero points in his other three appearances in the world championships. The Czechs are slated to face against hockey powerhouse Sweden in the quarterfinals. Speaking of of the Swedes, Mikael Backlund and Rasmus Andersson represented the hosts. Backlund, who is the oldest player on Flames roster at 36, scored one goal and five points in six games with a rating of +6. His best showing was against Slovakia when he scored what wound up being the game-winning goal and recorded an assist. Andersson has scored two goals and four points in seven games with a rating of +5. Canadian MacKenzie Weegar recorded one assist in the tournament.
National Post
07-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Sam Honzek at centre? Calgary Flames could see sneak-peek during world championship
Article content Sam Honzek sees this as an audition — and in more ways than one. Article content He hopes, with a stellar showing at the world championship tournament, that he can start to build his case to be a full-timer with the Calgary Flames next season. Article content The 20-year-old forward also is aiming, in his first appearance with Slovakia's senior national team, to showcase why he should be on the roster to represent his country at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Article content Article content 'There's going to be lots of eyes on the tournament, so it's going to be really, really good for me,' Honzek said. 'I think this can open up lots of eyes and kind of set me up for the future, for next season.' Article content Article content It's a good question. Article content 'I talked to the GM of the Slovak national team and he said I might have to play centre,' Honzek revealed after his exit interview with the AHL's Calgary Wranglers. 'So that is going to be definitely a big challenge for me, but I think I can handle it.' Article content Wouldn't that be a welcome wrinkle for the Flames? Article content It's well-documented that the organization is short on centres, especially in the 25-and-under age range that they are targeting to form the nucleus for an eventual contender. Article content Their top two pivots — leading scorer Nazem Kadri and captain Mikael Backlund — already are in their mid-30s and there are not any sure-things in the prospect pipeline. Article content Could Honzek, a potential power-forward presence at 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, be part of the solution at this crucial position? Most envision him as a long-term left winger, but he played a fair bit of both as a rookie in the minors and skates well enough to handle the extra responsibilities up the middle. Article content Article content Remember, when the Flames opened training camp this past fall with Martin Pospisil at centre, part of the rationale from head coach Ryan Huska was that he had received positive reports about his performance as Slovakia's 1C at the world championship. Article content Article content Huska is serving this spring as an assistant on Canada's bench staff, so he'll have a see-for-himself opportunity with Honzek. He was on the flank for a tuneup against France, but any shifts at pivot will offer a valuable sneak-peek for the staff at the Saddledome. Article content Would that sway the Flames to give him an extended look at centre as soon as next season? The experiment didn't work with Pospisil, whose crash-and-bang style makes him more of a menace on the wing, but that doesn't mean it's not worth a try with another guy.
Calgary Herald
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Sam Honzek at centre? Calgary Flames could see sneak-peek during world championship
Article content Sam Honzek sees this as an audition — and in more ways than one. Article content He hopes, with a stellar showing at the world championship tournament, that he can start to build his case to be a full-timer with the Calgary Flames next season. Article content The 20-year-old forward also is aiming, in his first appearance with Slovakia's senior national team, to showcase why he should be on the roster to represent his country at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Article content Article content 'There's going to be lots of eyes on the tournament, so it's going to be really, really good for me,' Honzek said. 'I think this can open up lots of eyes and kind of set me up for the future, for next season.' Article content Article content Article content Could the next couple of weeks alter exactly where Honzek, who was a first-round draft pick in 2023, fits on the Flames' future depth chart? Article content It's a good question. Article content 'I talked to the GM of the Slovak national team and he said I might have to play centre,' Honzek revealed after his exit interview with the AHL's Calgary Wranglers. 'So that is going to be definitely a big challenge for me, but I think I can handle it.' Wouldn't that be a welcome wrinkle for the Flames? Article content It's well-documented that the organization is short on centres, especially in the 25-and-under age range that they are targeting to form the nucleus for an eventual contender. Article content Their top two pivots — leading scorer Nazem Kadri and captain Mikael Backlund — already are in their mid-30s and there are not any sure-things in the prospect pipeline. Article content Article content Could Honzek, a potential power-forward presence at 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, be part of the solution at this crucial position? Most envision him as a long-term left winger, but he played a fair bit of both as a rookie in the minors and skates well enough to handle the extra responsibilities up the middle. Article content Article content Remember, when the Flames opened training camp this past fall with Martin Pospisil at centre, part of the rationale from head coach Ryan Huska was that he had received positive reports about his performance as Slovakia's 1C at the world championship. Article content Huska is serving this spring as an assistant on Canada's bench staff, so he'll have a see-for-himself opportunity with Honzek. He was on the flank for a tuneup against France, but any shifts at pivot will offer a valuable sneak-peek for the staff at the Saddledome.
National Post
28-04-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Calgary Flames' Sam Honzek to play for Slovakia at world championship
It has been a challenging 2025 for Sam Honzek. Article content Article content This spring, though, he's going to have the chance to make it memorable for the right reasons. Article content Miroslav Satan, the longtime NHLer who now serves as the president of the Slovak national team, announced that the 20-year-old winger will be joining his country's national team for the coming IIHF world hockey championship. Article content Article content Honzek spent the majority of the 2024-25 season with the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL, recording eight goals and adding 13 assists in his first season as a pro. Article content He started the season with an eye-catching training camp that earned him a spot on the Calgary Flames roster, although he played only five NHL games. Article content Injuries disrupted his season, though, first when he suffered a head injury while trying to make his mark in the NHL and then again when he fractured his ankle in February. He did return in March, though, but still only managed four goals in 2025. Article content The Flames first-round pick at 16th overall in the 2023 NHL draft is still viewed as one of the higher-ceiling prospects in the organization's system and surely will want to be pushing for more NHL minutes at training camp this fall. Article content Some time with the national team can't hurt. The injuries meant he didn't play as much hockey as he otherwise might have this season. Article content The Flames will be well-represented at the world championship this year with MacKenzie Weegar suiting up for Canada, Rasmus Andersson and Mikael Backlund playing for Sweden, Dan Vladar joining the Czechia team and Matt Coronato on the American roster. Article content
Calgary Herald
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Calgary Flames' Sam Honzek to play for Slovakia at world championship
It has been a challenging 2025 for Sam Honzek. Article content Article content This spring, though, he's going to have the chance to make it memorable for the right reasons. Article content Miroslav Satan, the longtime NHLer who now serves as the president of the Slovak national team, announced that the 20-year-old winger will be joining his country's national team for the coming IIHF world hockey championship. Article content Article content Honzek spent the majority of the 2024-25 season with the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL, recording eight goals and adding 13 assists in his first season as a pro. Article content Article content He started the season with an eye-catching training camp that earned him a spot on the Calgary Flames roster, although he played only five NHL games. Article content Injuries disrupted his season, though, first when he suffered a head injury while trying to make his mark in the NHL and then again when he fractured his ankle in February. He did return in March, though, but still only managed four goals in 2025. Article content The Flames first-round pick at 16th overall in the 2023 NHL draft is still viewed as one of the higher-ceiling prospects in the organization's system and surely will want to be pushing for more NHL minutes at training camp this fall. Article content Article content Some time with the national team can't hurt. The injuries meant he didn't play as much hockey as he otherwise might have this season. Article content Article content The Flames will be well-represented at the world championship this year with MacKenzie Weegar suiting up for Canada, Rasmus Andersson and Mikael Backlund playing for Sweden, Dan Vladar joining the Czechia team and Matt Coronato on the American roster. Article content
