Flames prospect Honzek on the verge of leadership role

Just one year into his North American hockey career, Calgary Flames 2023 first-round pick Samuel Honzek is on the verge of a leadership role with the Vancouver Giants. 

Honzek, an 18-year-old native of Trencin, Slovakia, is getting serious consideration to become the next captain of the Western Hockey League team for the upcoming 2023-24 campaign.

The Giants have had an impressive group of leaders in the past, including former Flames winger Milan Lucic, current Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher, and Ottawa Senators prospect Zack Ostapchuk, all of whom were either captains or alternate captains. If selected, Honzek would be the first European captain in team history. 

For general manager Barclay Parneta and head coach Michael Dyck, the decision to consider a younger captain still new to North America is an easy one. 

“He loves the game and is passionate about it,” Parneta said. “It’s infectious. It leaks into other people. He has high expectations of himself. He also is able to lift up other players around him. Just the way he carries himself, his work ethic, his attention to detail in practices really stands out. I think that when other players around him, particularly when they’re younger, they recognize that…they follow him.”

“The way he carries himself on and off the ice, plays the game the right way, lives the right way,” Dyck said, when asked why Honzek warrants the captaincy. “He has the ability to influence others and he makes a difference. He’s a guy we can rely on.”

Honzek, a left winger, has proven a quicker study to North American hockey than Parneta and Dyck anticipated, tallying 56 points in 43 games for the Giants last season while garnering attention from NHL scouts. 

“He came here not only with a purpose and very focused, but also with that humility and sense that he was going to come and fit into what we were doing here,” Dyck said. “He became a part of his billet family’s family. A lot of that has to do with the person.”

Parneta was pleasantly surprised that Honzek shot up the pre-draft rankings despite a gruesome injury at the World Juniors where he suffered a deep cut in his leg after an American player accidentally stepped on it. 

“I don’t think I would have said initially when he came over that he would have turned into a first-round NHL pick as he did,” Parneta said. “His English is very good, and it allowed him to settle in right away.”

Honzek credits his mother for investing in an English tutor back in Slovakia.

“Big thanks to her. If I didn’t go to the tutors, then I wouldn’t be standing here [speaking] English,” he said at the team’s prospect development camp last week.

He also described his leadership style as team-first and selfless. 

“I see myself as a leader by example,” he said. “I’ll put the team in first place and myself in second place. I’ll do everything to make sure we win and help my teammates.”

Honzek and fellow Calgary first rounder Matthew Coronato stood out during the on-ice sessions, looking noticeably faster than other prospects. Both got hands-on advice from Jarome Iginla, the former Flames star and Hockey Hall of Famer now in a front office role, during the development camp. 

“He was talking to me about my shot,” Honzek said. “For the next camp, I need to work on a quicker release and work on dropping my shoulder, finishing high…he said I have a really good shot but can use it more when I cut to the top of the circles and am close to the net. Definitely, I can shoot more. It was really good he told me that.”

Honzek has already spent time with the Stanley Cup. He attended three Cup parades in Slovakia as a child, rubbing shoulders with Marian Hossa, Zdeno Chara, and Tomas Kopecky. Those moments have had a huge impact on Honzek as he begins his own path towards the NHL. 

“I have three pictures with the Stanley Cup in my hometown,” Honzek said, calling the three “legends.”

“The dream was really close. It wasn’t just me standing next to them.”