Winger is happy, healthy and was one of Calgary’s best two players, alongside Aydar Suniev, in pre-season loss to Seattle Kraken

Is Sam Honzek primed for a breakout season?

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.

“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.

It may only have been a pre-season game, but Sunday’s return to the ice was the first opportunity Honzek had to truly test out his shoulder in a competitive setting. There weren’t any doubts about whether he was ready, but athletes still need to get into game action to feel 100% confident.

It didn’t take long for Honzek to start feeling good about his shoulder — and his game.

“I think it’s hard to test everything in one game and I think I felt still a little bit, kind of slower, if I could say that, just like reading the game and sticking with the game plan,” Honzek said. “But it’ll come eventually, just look at the video tomorrow or the next day and go from there. I think overall, I wasn’t scared of anything, kinda of trying to play my game and stick as much as I can to the plan and do my job.”

Drafted 16th overall by the Flames in 2023, Honzek is still so young. His impressive training camp in 2024 earned him an opportunity early that season with the Flames, so it may feel like he’s been around for a while.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that when he showed up in ‘24 and played his way onto the NHL roster for opening night, it was something of a surprise. He was ahead of schedule.

The injury last season may have put his NHL breakout on hold for a little while longer, but he’ll enter 2026-27 with completely reasonable expectations of spending the whole season with the Flames.

And after Sunday’s performance, where he picked up an assist and was dangerous throughout the game, it feels like Honzek’s time really has arrived.

“He’s got something we don’t have,” Huska said. “The speed he brings to the table and I do think he’s a smart player, too.

“He’s going to make his mistakes along the way but he doesn’t often make them twice, so he’s an intelligent player as well.”

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