The Calgary Flames have announced that rookie winger Samuel Honzek (upper-body) is out week-to-week after colliding with captain Mikael Backlund in Saturday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. Honzek was hit in open ice while trying to cross into the offensive zone. He exited the game in the second period.
Honzek has been a lineup fixture in a year where the Flames are focused first on developing their top prospects. He has four points, 22 shots on goal, and 35 hits through 18 games this season. He is playing through his rookie season in the NHL, after spending the majority of last year with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. Honzek posted 21 points in 52 games with the Wranglers, enough to warrant the first five games of his NHL career at the end of the season. He managed no scoring in those appearances.
Honzek will join fellow rookie Zayne Parekh, and fellow forward Martin Pospisil, on the Flames’ sideline. Calgary is likely to turn towards Yegor Sharangovich to fill the hole in the bottom-six initially. Sharangovich has only four points through 16 games this seaosn, but could be spurred back to production after serving as a healthy scratch. He scored 31 goals and 59 points, both career-highs, in the 2023-24 season, his first year in Calgary.
If Sharangovich continues to underwhelm, the Flames could opt to recall rookie Matvei Gridin from the minor-leagues. Gridin began the year on the NHL roster, but earned an assignment to the minors after posting one goal and a minus-three in four games. The first-year pro has looked much more comfortable in the minors, netting 13 points in his first 13 AHL games, good for third on the Wranglers in scoring. He has also posted a plus-seven, second-highest on the team.