Prospect Info: Samuel Honzek (LW/C) Vancouver Giants (Drafted 16th overall 2023)

[Volica]

Sure.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Would have liked Moore but we do need some size up front to compliment some of our other players

He’s got the production to back up the size though.

 

[SlovakFlame]

Another Slovak Flame! I could not be happier. He is the 7th Slovak player drafted by the Flames.

Igor Liba / Robert Svehla / Ronald Petrovicky / Martin Pospisil / Milos Roman / Adam Ruzicka / Samo Honzek.

 

[Rubi]

 

[Lunatik]

Nice. 2024-25 w/ the Wranglers without starting his contract could be great. Unfortunately this also means the next WJC will also be his last.

Now my thoughts on the pick... I'm not going to pretend I know much of anything about the players that are draft eligible but after watching a scouting video on him, and listening to Conroy's comments, I'm pleased with the pick Honzek. He's got a good shot, good passing ability, his puck skills are his bread and butter and he's a natural leader (expected to be the Giants captain). I also like that his production isn't due to his size, so if we can teach him to use his size a bit that will only help.

He needs improve away from the puck (like most Jr scorers) and get faster, but the latter should come as he adds strength to his frame.

Looking forward to watching him develop.

 

[Haatley]

I will admit that I am a little biased as I live in Owen Sound and as I watched Barlow falling I hoped he was coming to us.

Honzek's backstory and injury plagued rookie/first season in Canada has me intrigued. Had he been healthy all year, he could have ended up a top ten pick with his size and goal scoring ability.

Lets see how he develops.

 

[BobColesNasalCavity]

Admit my mind immediately went to Slovakian Jankowski. That could just be the trauma tho.

100%. First thoughts as well.

 

[Body Checker]

Not disappointed per se but as our pick was up I said out loud “just pick one of Moore, ASP or Barlow”. Well all three of them went immediately after Honzek. So for me the comparison moving forward is always going to be who of those four ends up the best player. But at least it wasn’t a reach; Honzek rated in that area.

 

[Ainsy01]

Wanted Barlow or Perrault but he seems like safe bet

 

[Ainsy01]

With the high level talent that was still available - I think Conny could have traded down to 20-25 and netted another 3rd rounder but there was so little movement on the floor I think everyone was just happy to take their guy and go home, despite if he was a few spots off of where they were drafting.

Quote from NHL.com regarding lack of trades and Chevy from wpg:

Entering the night, expectations were high that there would be lots of trades during the first round and once the dust settled, not one deal was made. It's the first time since 2007 that no trades were made during round one an NHL Draft.

"It got to be a little bit a flurry of activity, a phone call came right around our pick," said Cheveldayoff. (flames picked 2 spots ahead of the Jets)

"Again, it's an interesting dynamic sometimes things like this happen where there is no movement. Everyone talked about what a good draft it was, I think if your player was there, you had to strike."

 

[Kipper933]

Warming more to the pick after sleeping on it.

There wasn't a point when watching him this year that I didn't think he would be an NHL player. He's a good skater in general, not just for his size, and he shows off some slick puckhandling and better skill than you would expect. He's less raw though than you generally see of a player with his frame in Juniors. He's already learned to use his size to his advantage (vs. Junior players) and he applies a consistent effort, likely because he's already played a good number of professional games. Also a 2004 birth date, so it was his u19 season this past year.

I see him as more developed and refined than most of the draft class. He already played 50+ games (season/playoffs) in the top Slovakian league last year, and two seasons ago he was also seeing time in the Top 2 Slovakian professional leagues. Maybe there's less growth to his game.

But he's 18, so there's no need to put a cap on his upside yet. Hopefully it turns out because Barlow and ASP were both guys I had rated in the top-10.

 

[InfinityIggy]

Seems "fine" to me. There are a couple guys like Perrault and Barlow I would've preferred but Honzek's draft profile is intriguing enough. He was projected right around this spot so there is probably good reason for that. Just hoping we didn't settle for a safe option.

 

[BRobMint]

He said he models his game after Draisaitl. If he ends up even a quarter as good as Draisaitl I’ll be happy

 

[Double Dion]

Would have liked Moore but we do need some size up front to compliment some of our other players

He’s got the production to back up the size though.

Moore was the guy I wanted too. Any of the 3 players taken right after Honzek really.

 

[Snazu]

They interviewed the Vancouver Giants GM on 960 and he said that Honzek's favorite day of the week was Tuesdays because his billet family had taco Tuesdays every week. That made me laugh
Flames Talk

 

[Rubi]

Sounds like Conroy spent a lot of time watching this kid play. I trust Conroy's opinion.

 

[GettingYourMoms]

Gonna be the best player from the draft in 10 years . . .

Rip

 

[Figgy44]

Yeah, after sleeping on it, I'm much more excited for this pick. I think we nabbed an over looked player similar to how we landed Pelletier.

IIRC, both were stated to have skill in the top 10 a year before the draft. Both had some form of injury that limited scouts viewing of them at the beginning of the year prior to the draft. Improved viewings of other prospects play allowed those prospects to leap above them in the ranking. I wouldn't even say Pelletier and Honzek technically fell. I think they stayed in the same slot and were just leapfrogged by risers due to more sample sizes available for the scouts.

Honzek also perceives a significant uphill battle to keep developing (due to the national team stuff) which is good. He's not like other prospects who think they have incremental improvements required. Pelletier is also of this mentality due to his size.

I think we nabbed a really good one and in other timelines where he didn't get injured, I think he is taken higher. I think it's almost like the Valimaki situation where we lamented Liljegren, but then started getting excited reading the fine print on him. Too bad Valimaki wasn't as durable as other products out of Nokia. He was blasting past his second line expectation towards a 1D potential until he got injured and then got caught in a mental block.

The Toffoli, Honzek and Morin moves were kinda odd at first, but it's kinda crazy how the more I sleep and analyze the moves, the more they are extremely consistent with what Conroy said he was going to do. Conroy is doing exactly what he said his intentions were and how he wanted the roster to change. It's just more seemingly "creative" than first perceived. That's not necessarily too bad. He wants a dollar and if he can't get a loonie, it's 3 quarters and a dime and a funny slot token for the arcade that may be worth a quarter or more for something specific, or completely nothing.

I'm actually getting quite excited for all of Conroy's moves so far. I like it!

 

[Snazu]

They interviewed the Vancouver Giants GM on 960 and he said that Honzek's favorite day of the week was Tuesdays because his billet family had taco Tuesdays every week. That made me laugh
Flames Talk

 

[CamPopplestone]

I'm laughing pretty hard at some of these comparisons. He's nothing like Backlund, nothing like Rantanen. He's most like a more consistent Ruzicka. Lots of tools, but not hard enough on the puck. He will play, but most likely a middle 6 role.

There were half a dozen players I liked better in this spot. Oliver Moore is a lock to be a top 6 C. He might be better than Will Smith right now. ASP I haven't seen, but most had him around #10. I've seen tons of Cristall. He's vastly better than Honzek right now, although Honzek has more pace and size.

When I say Backlund, I don't mean as much the style of player as I do overall impact, like low end second C, high end 3C is where I see him reaching

 

[TheHudlinator]

When I say Backlund, I don't mean as much the style of player as I do overall impact, like low end second C, high end 3C is where I see him reaching

Not to mention being a 200 foot player.

 

[Double Dion]

When I say Backlund, I don't mean as much the style of player as I do overall impact, like low end second C, high end 3C is where I see him reaching

Yes that's fair. I'd call Backlund a high end 2C at worst though. He's 29th in 5 on 5 scoring for centers over the last 5 seasons and I don't think anyone would dispute he's elite defensively.

 

[InfinityIggy]

Anyone else reminded of Martin Hanzal? The more I read about Honzek the more similarities there seems to be.

 

[CraigsList]

I didn’t like the pick at first. But the more I read about him the more I like it.

Trust in the scouts.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Anyone else reminded of Martin Hanzal? The more I read about Honzek the more similarities there seems to be.

A little bit definitely. Hanzal had 3 inches and almost 50lbs on him tho. Honzo looks like a much better skater, hope he doesn't lose too much of that when he fills out. Honestly I think his skating is better than Draisaitl and Rantanen's were at the same age, but the passing and shooting are a couple tiers behind at this point.

Pavel Zacha with better hands was my thinking watching some videos. Hopefully he develops better than Zacha did considering he just broke 50pts for the first time in his 8th season.