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Samuel Honzek

Flames Recall Matt Coronato, Reassign Samuel Honzek

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Forward Samuel Honzek’s return to the NHL will be shortlived despite playing in the Calgary Flames’ loss to the Utah Hockey Club last night. The organization announced Honzek has been reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, while forward Matthew Coronato has been recalled in his stead.

Honzek skated in 10:52 of yesterday’s action registering one block, two hits, one giveaway, and one takeaway. It was his first game back from an upper-body injury since October 15th after cracking Calgary’s roster out of training camp. It will be Honzek’s first time with the AHL Wranglers since registering two games last season after concluding his time with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants.

The former 16th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft could likely use an extended look in the AHL especially with the Flames regressing toward the mean. He was productive during his tenure in the WHL with 33 goals and 87 points in 76 games. Still, he only has seven professional games under his belt.

Calgary drafted Coronato 13th overall two years before Honzek and he’s a more established talent at the AHL level. He spent much of last year in AHL Calgary maintaining a point-per-game output with 15 goals and 42 points in 41 contests. His season was not as positive in the NHL with three goals and nine points in 34 games with a -15 rating.

He got off to a solid start this season scoring two goals in five games but was reassigned on October 25th in response to the activation of Yegor Sharangovich. As one of the top blossoming offensive talents in the Flames organization, it’ll be imperative for the coaching staff to find Coronato middle-six minutes throughout his time on the NHL roster.

Flames Activate Samuel Honzek From Injured Reserve

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The Flames announced yesterday before their 5-1 loss to Utah that they’ve activated rookie Samuel Honzek from injured reserve. Adam Klapka was reassigned to AHL Calgary to open an active roster spot.

Honzek had been out of the lineup since sustaining an upper-body injury against the Blackhawks on Oct. 15, which occurred on a brutal hit from Chicago defenseman Connor Murphy late in the game. He was ruled week-to-week two days later before he landed on IR. The specific injury he sustained on the play remains unclear, but it cost him five games. He re-entered the lineup last night against Utah, posting a -1 rating in 10:52 of ice time.

Selected 16th overall in 2023, Honzek had an excellent preseason and truly earned a spot on the Flames’ opening night roster. That hasn’t yet translated to regular-season success, though, as he’s been held without a point and has six shots on goal in five appearances. That’s despite seeing a small bit of power play time and spending most of his time at even strength in first-line duties alongside Nazem Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko. He returned to the lineup yesterday in a slightly diminished even-strength role alongside Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman.

Nonetheless, his return gives the Flames a fully healthy NHL lineup that’s lost four straight in regulation after starting the season 5-0-1. It’s not an unexpected regression for the Flames, who many expected to be closer to lottery contenders than playoff ones after finishing 24th in the league last season and proceeding to trade away Andrew Mangiapane and Jacob Markström. Jake Bean and Anthony Mantha have been strong albeit inconsistent reinforcements acquired through free agency, though, and top goaltending prospect Dustin Wolf is holding his own with a .907 SV% and 1.8 GSAA through five starts.

Meanwhile, Klapka heads to the minors after cracking the Flames’ opening night roster. He’s been passed on the depth chart by veteran call-up Justin Kirkland, who’s notched five points in nine games and already leads Calgary forwards in blocks with 11. The 6’8″ right-winger was a healthy scratch in two out of their three games and scoreless in five appearances. The 24-year-old is still waiver-exempt, and his demotion was the most convenient and logical one to get Honzek back on the roster.

Snapshots: Panthers, Joshua, Honzek, Harkins

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Already missing three forwards due to illness or injuries, the Panthers won’t have forward Jonah Gadjovich available to them tonight against Vegas due to an undisclosed injury, relays team reporter Jameson Olive.  The 26-year-old has taken a regular turn on the fourth line so far this season, picking up a goal in Florida’s first six games.  As Florida doesn’t have enough cap space to afford a recall from the minors, they will dress just 17 skaters for this one, ten forwards and seven blueliners.

It’s not all bad news on that front, however.  Head coach Paul Maurice indicated that winger Matthew Tkachuk is expected to return from his illness on Tuesday while captain Aleksander Barkov should be back not long after that.  Meanwhile, Tomas Nosek is due to return early next month for their Global Series games.  With that in mind, while the Panthers will be eligible for a cap-exempt recall after tonight’s contest, they’re unlikely to actually need to use it.

More from around the NHL:

  • Canucks forward Dakota Joshua skated today for the first time as he continues to recover from surgery to address a cancerous lump from earlier this summer, mentions NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman (Twitter link). The 28-year-old had a breakout effort last season, notching career-highs in goals (18), assists (14), points (32), and hits (245) across 63 regular season contests, earning him a four-year, $13MM extension in late June.  There remains no timetable for Joshua’s return but the fact he has returned to the ice is certainly a good sign.
  • The Flames have placed forward Samuel Honzek on injured reserve, relays Tim Hiebert of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 19-year-old is in his first professional season and played in four games before sustaining an upper-body injury that will keep him out on a week-to-week basis.  Calgary now has an open slot on their active roster and it stands to reason that it won’t take too long for it to be filled, likely with the expected pending return of Kevin Rooney who was a full participant in practice on Friday.
  • The Ducks have re-assigned forward Jansen Harkins to AHL San Diego, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 27-year-old is in his first season with Anaheim after signing with them in free agency but cleared waivers at the end of training camp.  Harkins was brought up yesterday following the injury to Isac Lundestrom and Frank Vatrano’s absence from the team for paternity leave and he suited up in their loss to Colorado, recording one shot on goal in 10:11 of ice time.  In a corresponding move, Vatrano is now back on the active roster.

Samuel Honzek Out Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury

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Flames rookie Samuel Honzek will miss significant time after being listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the team announced. He likely sustained it on his last shift of Tuesday’s 3-1 win over the Blackhawks, during which he took a heavy hit from Chicago defenseman Connor Murphy with less than three minutes left on the clock.

The Flames haven’t yet placed Honzek on injured reserve, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they do so in the coming days. They’re down to 12 healthy forwards without him and don’t have a roster spot open for a recall.

Honzek, 19, already has a lengthy recent injury history. An abdominal injury he sustained during the preseason with Calgary in 2023 delayed his season debut with WHL Vancouver until December, while another one suffered while playing at the 2023 World Juniors cut short his draft year. That didn’t stop Calgary from selecting the 6’4″ Slovak forward with the No. 16 pick, though.

Given that injury history, it’s fair to assume the Flames will be extremely cautious with his return. He’s in his first full season of pro hockey after spending the last two seasons in major junior play and was a somewhat surprising inclusion on the opening night roster after a strong exhibition performance. The left-winger has yet to make much of an impact for the undefeated Flames, though, going without a point and averaging 12:47 through his first four NHL contests.

Honzek was logging time at even strength on Calgary’s top line alongside Nazem Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko, so they’ll have to find a replacement in the interim. Their whole stable of current right-wingers – Kuzmenko, Blake Coleman, Anthony Mantha, and Matthew Coronato – all have experience playing the left side and could flip over. 6’8″ right-winger Adam Klapka, who played in Calgary’s first two games but was scratched for the last two, will likely re-enter the lineup against the Kraken on Saturday if the Flames don’t make a corresponding transaction.

Pacific Notes: Pickard, Honzek, Räty

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Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard left Saturday’s 5-4 win over the Kraken midway through the first period with an apparent upper-body injury, writes The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman. The 32-year-old did not return to the bench after the play, and he saw his head hit the post as he fell backward after colliding with Kraken forward Yanni Gourde and teammate Philip Kemp.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch said postgame that Pickard is undergoing further evaluation and should receive an update on his status Sunday afternoon. For now, though, Edmonton’s No. 2 goalie option behind Stuart Skinner is questionable for the start of the regular season next week.

Pickard found his way back into full-time NHL action last season for the first time since 2018-19 after Jack Campbell faltered early, leading the Oilers to waive him and promote Pickard from AHL Bakersfield. The nine-year veteran was above-average the rest of the way, posting a .909 SV% and 2.45 GAA in 20 starts and three relief appearances en route to a 12-7-1 record. He signed a two-year, $2MM extension on June 28 to avoid hitting unrestricted free agency and stay in Edmonton.

The Oilers are projected to open the season with $946K in cap space and an open roster spot, per PuckPedia. That gives them plenty of flexibility to roster a third goalie on their opening night roster if Pickard’s absence is short-term and he isn’t eligible for long-term injured reserve.

That third goalie could be 24-year-old Olivier Rodrigue. The 2018 second-round pick is coming off a strong season in Bakersfield, where he posted a .916 SV% in 37 games. 52-game NHL veteran Collin Delia is also an option, but the 30-year-old struggled mightily with a .872 SV% in 32 games for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose last year while in the Jets organization.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • Flames 2023 first-round pick Samuel Honzek is getting a long leash in the preseason, playing in four exhibition contests thus far. After he posted a +1 rating in 16:20 of ice time Saturday against the Canucks, Calgary head coach Ryan Huska said Honzek is “going to make it really hard on us” to leave him off the opening night roster. The 19-year-old Slovak sniper will be turning pro this season regardless. After posting 31 points in 33 games with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants last year, his November birthday means he’s old enough for a full-time AHL assignment in 2024-25.
  • In Vancouver, center prospect Aatu Räty is making a similarly strong impression. Acquired from the Islanders in the Bo Horvat swap in 2023, the 21-year-old pivot has looked promising in the preseason in a potential third-line role between Conor Garland and Nils Höglander, opines The Province’s Patrick Johnston. The 2021 second-round pick did have 52 points in 72 games for AHL Abbotsford last season, finishing fourth on the team in scoring. One factor working in his favor, as Johnston points out – he’s a right-shot center on a team without any others.

Pacific Notes: Coleman, Honzek, Lipinski, McDavid, Carrick

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The Calgary Flames will be without forward Blake Coleman, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link). Coleman suffered the injury on a hard hit from San Jose Sharks defenseman Kyle Burroughs, though he finished out the game.

Coleman has found a new layer to his game on the struggling Flames roster, posting an impressive 29 goals, 23 assists, and 52 points in 77 games. Each of those represents a career-high for the 32-year-old, who hasn’t topped even 40 points in any of his seven seasons up to this point. He and winger Yegor Sharangovich—who’s posted 30 goals of his own—have been pivotal to the Flames this season, setting the pace for the team’s limited offense.

The Flames are well outside of a playoff spot, removing some of the stress of finding a fill-in for Coleman. Kevin Rooney is expected to slot into the lineup for the short term. Calgary has five games left in its season.

One player who won’t be filling in is 2023 first-round pick Samuel Hoznek, who is in Calgary after the end of his WHL season, though he’s nursing an injury that could hold him out, per Ryan Pike of Flames Nation (Twitter link). Calgary signed Honzek last summer, loaning him to the WHL’s Vancouver Giants for the season. He returns to the Calgary organization alongside WHL teammate Jaden Lipinski, who has signed an amateur try-out contract with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. Honzek will also close out the season with the Wranglers once he’s cleared to play.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • The Edmonton Oilers haven’t received any positive news about superstar Connor McDavid, who remains day-to-day and questionable for the team’s next game, per TSN’s Ryan Rishaug (Twitter link). McDavid will be poised to miss his second game with a lower-body injury. He’s been filled in for by Dylan Holloway, who was recalled ahead of the team’s Wednesday matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. Holloway scored his first NHL goal since February 13th in the spot start.
  • The Oilers will also be without forward Sam Carrick, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury suffered during the team’s Wednesday night matchup, per NHL Network’s Tom Gazzola (Twitter link). Carrick, who moved to Edmonton alongside Adam Henrique at the Trade Deadline, has recorded four points and 12 penalty minutes in his first 12 games with the Oilers. He’ll likely be replaced by Connor Brown.

Injury Updates: Honzek, Klingberg, Järnkrok

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The longer 2023 first-round pick Samuel Honzek sticks with the Calgary Flames through their preseason, the more likely it becomes that he receives, at the very least, a nine-game trial in the NHL to begin the season. Especially after Calgary Flames winger Jakob Pelletier was lost to a long-term injury, there could be room for Honzek in new head coach Ryan Huska’s forward lineup. But now, the possibility of Honzek making Huska’s opening-night lineup could be in question. CapFriendly wrote on X that Honzek “left last night’s game with an undisclosed injury. He’s considered day-to-day.”

This injury could impact Honzek’s ability to earn an NHL job to start the season, and could hasten his return to the Vancouver Giants, Honzek’s WHL side. According to The Province’s Steve Ewen, Vancouver plans on utilizing Honzek as a center this season, so if Calgary does hope for a future in the NHL for Honzek down the middle, the best route, especially after this injury could be to give Honzek a full season in Vancouver.

Other injury updates:

  • Toronto Maple Leafs free agent signing John Klingberg hasn’t practiced for Toronto since suffering an injury last week. That absence could end today, though, as The Hockey News’ David Alter reports that Klingberg was skating in Toronto this morning. A return to full health for Klingberg before Toronto’s season-opening game against the Montreal Canadiens next week could be in the cards, which would be good news for the Maple Leafs. Toronto GM Brad Treliving invested $4.15MM of valuable cap space to acquire Klingberg in the hopes that he’d be a capable offensive threat for the team, and that’s only something he’ll be able to do if he’s healthy.
  • Another Swedish Maple Leaf is making his own return to the ice: forward Calle Järnkrok. A neck injury has held Järnkrok out of the team’s preseason thus far, but based on Toronto’s listing of him on the roster for their preseason matchup against the Detroit Red Wings today, it appears he’s back and ready to hit the ice for the team once again. Järnkrok is looking to follow up on a strong debut season in Toronto, having scored 20 goals and 39 points in his first season with the Maple Leafs.

Flames Sign First-Round Pick Samuel Honzek

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The Calgary Flames announced today they’ve signed forward Samuel Honzek, their first-round pick in last month’s 2023 NHL Draft. It’s a standard three-year, entry-level contract, and FlamesNation’s Ryan Pike reports it carries an average annual value of $950K. Selected 16th overall by the Flames, Honzek is the tenth 2023 first-round talent to sign his entry-level deal.

Calgary selected the 18-year-old Slovak forward out of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants. Able to play both wing and center, Honzek leveraged his massive 6-foot-4 frame to register 23 goals and 56 points in 43 games for the Giants during an injury-shortened campaign. He may have gone earlier than some expected, but it’s hard to be too angry about the pick value Calgary got with Honzek in the mid-teens.

Honzek headlined a quietly intriguing 2023 draft class for the Flames, who also nabbed Canadian defenseman Étienne Morin in the second round and high-scoring Russian winger Aydar Suniev in the third. The intelligent and all-around smooth-skating Honzek is the prize of their class, though, and he ranks as the organization’s fourth-best forward in the pipeline, according to DobberProspects.

Calgary will likely return Honzek to junior hockey next season, which will slide his entry-level contract back a year to 2024-25. Given Honzek was 18 at the time of signing his ELC, Calgary is allowed to execute this maneuver twice. If he’s not ready for full-time NHL play in 2024 either, the Flames could delay the start of Honzek’s deal to 2025-26, keeping him under contract for a six-figure cap hit as far along as 2028.

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