One of Honzek’s closest friends reminded him of this earlier this week, after the Calgary Flames demoted the 19-year-old left winger to the AHL’s Wranglers.
“I think during the summer, if he even thought that he would start with the first team, he probably wouldn’t believe it,” said Flames player Martin Pospisil, Honzek’s off-season training partner in Slovakia. “So I instructed him to go down there and dominate. He’ll get a lot of playing time in all scenarios, which I believe will be beneficial to him.
“Gain some more confidence and hopefully he is going to be back soon.”
Honzek is one of only ten adolescents to skate in the NHL this autumn.
He was a first-round pick in 2023 and the surprise story of training camp at the Saddledome, leading the Flames in pre-season scoring and earning an opening-night roster berth, but he eventually lost momentum due to an upper-body injury.
Honzek has played five NHL games so far. He missed the same amount after being whacked on a reverse hit by Chicago Blackhawks blue-liner Connor Murphy.
The Wranglers’ next game is Tuesday at home against the Bakersfield Condors.
“Just keep doing what he’s been doing,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska said when asked what his advice was for Honzek, who has yet to score or assist in a big league game. Unfortunately, he sustained that injury. He was playing quite well for us, and we wanted him to get back up to speed with a lot of puck touches and return to the level he was at throughout camp and the early part of the season.
“I am sure we will see.
And in the meantime?
“He can’t feel sorry for himself,” said the 24-year-old Pospisil, who spent part of five seasons in the AHL. “He just needs to grab it and dominate with the farm team.”
ICE CHIPS
Rory Kerins, a Wranglers centre, was named the AHL Player of the Month for October on Friday. The 22-year-old Kerins topped the league with nine goals and 11 points in ten games. He has largely played on a line alongside Jakob Pelletier and Dryden Hunt as the Flames’ farm team has surged to a 9-1-0 record. “Rory is a guy that, like some other players, everything seems to be stacked against him, but he just keeps believing in himself and pushing,” Huska said of Kerins, a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NHL draft.
“And he’s discovered a way to get around the net and score a lot of goals for the Wranglers. I believe there is a lot of belief in his talent, and he will continue to demonstrate that until he is given the opportunity.
