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

[Figgy44]

Saw this on reddit and gave me a laugh
View attachment 910002

That last tickbox... Sam HOFzek? No, no. Not going that far.

 

[Lunatik]

That last tickbox... Sam HOFzek? No, no. Not going that far.

oh definitely, but worth a chuckle

 

[Figgy44]

oh definitely, but worth a chuckle

Sam HahaZek.

 

[Lunatik]

Sam HahaZek.

Hahahonzek is smoother

 

[Siignal]

He is attacking all three zones with speed, pace and confidence which opens up space for not only himself but his teammates. He is competing hard every shift. He is going to the front of the net with regularity. He is forechecking hard by utilizing his reach and size to his advantage. His vision and playmaking for a big man is high end.

It's incredibly exciting to think what he can do with another 10-15 pounds of muscle. It's easy to see why this scouting staff fell in love with his tools.

Super exciting to read, thanks for the summary <3

 

[Yepthatsme]

He is attacking all three zones with speed, pace and confidence which opens up space for not only himself but his teammates. He is competing hard every shift. He is going to the front of the net with regularity. He is forechecking hard by utilizing his reach and size to his advantage. His vision and playmaking for a big man is high end.

It's incredibly exciting to think what he can do with another 10-15 pounds of muscle. It's easy to see why this scouting staff fell in love with his tools.

This is the point I’ve been trying to drive home about Honzek, it’s terrifying to think that he’s not supppsed to be this good yet. He still looks wirey, and while his skating is obviously already good he still has that “post growth spurt” stride to him that anyone who’s been around hockey has seen. Yet after one off-season of pro style training and with a healthy prognosis, he’s bodying AHL/NHL pros in puck battles and his skating is already helping him create opportunities.

When this kid is 24 and settling in to a likely 6’4”, 210-215 pound frame, he could be a scary player. Just a puck possession monster with his mix of size, skating, and offensive IQ.

 

[Rubi]

These preseason games are the only games I've seen Honzek play but what I've seen i like.
I've said it before and I'll say it again.. in Conroy I trust.

 

[alko]

Is there a room for him on the Flames roster?

 

[Lunatik]

Is there a room for him on the Flames roster?

In theory, but I think it's best for his development to join the Wranglers and play on their top line. The only real spots up for grabs on the wing is 4LW, putting him in the top 9 would either force Zary or Pospisil out of the top 9 and Coronato off the roster all-together. The only possible chance is if the decide to play him as 4C with Lomberg and one of Pelletier or Coronato.

That said, if Bahl or Pospisil start the year on IR, then anything can happen.

 

[Figgy44]

This is the point I’ve been trying to drive home about Honzek, it’s terrifying to think that he’s not supppsed to be this good yet. He still looks wirey, and while his skating is obviously already good he still has that “post growth spurt” stride to him that anyone who’s been around hockey has seen. Yet after one off-season of pro style training and with a healthy prognosis, he’s bodying AHL/NHL pros in puck battles and his skating is already helping him create opportunities.

When this kid is 24 and settling in to a likely 6’4”, 210-215 pound frame, he could be a scary player. Just a puck possession monster with his mix of size, skating, and offensive IQ.

I haven't gone back to check the rest of the threads yet, but I know that the words "raw" was used a lot, but was it mentioned in the past that he was a project? I know mentions of Janko were made, but I'm unsure about the project moniker.

 

[Yepthatsme]

I haven't gone back to check the rest of the threads yet, but I know that the words "raw" was used a lot, but was it mentioned in the past that he was a project? I know mentions of Janko were made, but I'm unsure about the project moniker.

I don’t know if he was ever officially labeled as a project, but every scouting report as well as the eye test came out the same. A 6’4, 185 pounder with good skating despite a flawed and janky stride, who wasn’t using his body to his advantage yet and dealing with injury issues. To me that screams a guy has the potential to make huge jumps as he adds mass and power, which will only benefit his skating while he also gets used to his height and fixes his mechanics. So while not labeled a project, definitely a guy you draft for what he might look like at when he’s 210 pounds and done growing, which was impressive because he was absolutely piling up the points in his draft year before his injury.

Said it back then and I’ll say it again, if he didn’t get injured his draft year he was a top 10 pick. Guy started his season with 30 points in 21 games as a WHL rookie that year. How good he looks offensively only came to a surprise to people that didn’t pay attention, and he’s still no where close to a finished project. Guy took this leap after 1 year of training with a fellow pro, and dropped a quote that said this was the first summer he’s really added in mobility work.
He has so much room to grow still.

 

[JPeeper]

I haven't gone back to check the rest of the threads yet, but I know that the words "raw" was used a lot, but was it mentioned in the past that he was a project? I know mentions of Janko were made, but I'm unsure about the project moniker.

The comparisons to Jankowski were always dumb IMO. Janko was drafted out of a high school league whereas Honzo was drafted out of the CHL. Took Janko until his senior year to be a PPG guy in the NCAA, he was always vastly overrated by our dumb GM and his dumb assistant both of which are gone.

Honzek was/is raw because of his size and rough skating, but at least shown he can put up points in the CHL. I think we can all agree last year is a wash, really down year in terms of production, but was battling injury the entire time. He's healthy now, has some confidence and is putting up points in pre-season pushing for a spot.

I don't believe for a second Honzek should be in the NHL this year, after the injuries last year he just needs to stay healthy this year. Going from an injury plagued season to your first full time NHL 82 game regular season is a MASSIVE jump. Have a good AHL season and next year we'll re-evaluate.

 

[Figgy44]

The comparisons to Jankowski were always dumb IMO. Janko was drafted out of a high school league whereas Honzo was drafted out of the CHL. Took Janko until his senior year to be a PPG guy in the NCAA, he was always vastly overrated by our dumb GM and his dumb assistant both of which are gone.

Honzek was/is raw because of his size and rough skating, but at least shown he can put up points in the CHL. I think we can all agree last year is a wash, really down year in terms of production, but was battling injury the entire time. He's healthy now, has some confidence and is putting up points in pre-season pushing for a spot.

I don't believe for a second Honzek should be in the NHL this year, after the injuries last year he just needs to stay healthy this year. Going from an injury plagued season to your first full time NHL 82 game regular season is a MASSIVE jump. Have a good AHL season and next year we'll re-evaluate.

Yeah, that makes sense for me. Just to clarify though, CHL or WHL?

Just curious if it's a minor error or if you legit read it before because I recall seeing so many errors in some of the scouting reports that I wondered if some scouts were looking at the wrong guy, called it Honzek and then moved on or something. It was kinda weird how many times I saw contradictory stuff like that on Honzek. I'd never seen it that bad before for prospects.

IIRC, rt mentioned something similar for Danielson? He mentioned that there were strange contradictions he hadn't noticed for any other prospects before and he felt those two guys were most affected in their draft rankings as a result.

 

[Lunatik]

Yeah, that makes sense for me. Just to clarify though, CHL or WHL?

Just curious if it's a minor error or if you legit read it before because I recall seeing so many errors in some of the scouting reports that I wondered if some scouts were looking at the wrong guy, called it Honzek and then moved on or something. It was kinda weird how many times I saw contradictory stuff like that on Honzek. I'd never seen it that bad before for prospects.

IIRC, rt mentioned something similar for Danielson? He mentioned that there were strange contradictions he hadn't noticed for any other prospects before and he felt those two guys were most affected in their draft rankings as a result.

CHL is an umbrella league, it encompasses the WHL, OHL and QMJHL...

So your answer to CHL or WHL is... yes

 

[Rubi]

I would love to see Honzek get a 10 game or so cup of coffee with the Flames at season start but where is there room for him? I think the players ive listed on the 1st three lines are a lock so that leaves a lot of players fighting over three 4th line positions plus a spare... and maybe not even that since I would be surprised to see Coronato not wearing a Flames jersey at season start.

 

[Figgy44]

CHL is an umbrella league, it encompasses the WHL, OHL and QMJHL...

So your answer to CHL or WHL is... yes

Huh... I learned something new today. That's a strange and confusing distinction. Also makes more sense for some of the Gridin discussions.

 

[Lunatik]

Huh... I learned something new today. That's a strange and confusing distinction. Also makes more sense for some of the Gridin discussions.

It really is, I don't care enough to look into the history...
but I assume it is something like:
Hey we have 3 different leagues with the same age and skill of players from different areas of the country, we should combine them... no too much travel, costs too much... how about if they never play each other except a championship tournament of the 3 league champs?... cool, let do it....

I look at it like MLB, how they were before interleague play with the American and National Leagues when they only crossed paths at the ASG and World Series.

 

[Yepthatsme]

I would love to see Honzek get a 10 game or so cup of coffee with the Flames at season start but where is there room for him? I think the players ive listed on the 1st three lines are a lock so that leaves a lot of players fighting over three 4th line positions plus a spare... and maybe not even that since I would be surprised to see Coronato not wearing a Flames jersey at season start.

View attachment 911409

I’m operating under the assumption Pospisil centering Huberdeau was an early pre-season experiment more than a guaranteed outcome that some people are expecting it to be. This late in the pre-season, lines are usually getting relatively set and whenever a regular sits a spot filler usually takes their spot (ie Coronato in Manthas spot, Honzek in Zary’s spot last game, Solovyov in Bahl’s spot while he’s injured). The fact that Sharangovich centred Huberdeau last game tells me they’re more than likely leaning towards him being the centre in the top 9 than Pospisil as of now, even with him just nursing an injury. Now’s when they want lines getting their timing and chemistry back, if Rango was destined to play on Kadri’s wing he would’ve played there last night with Honzek sliding in elsewhere.

If Honzek makes the opening night, it probably looks like this:

Huberdeau-Sharangovich-Mantha
Honzek-Zary-Kuzmenko
Zary-Backlund-Coleman
Lomberg-Pospisil-Coronato
Pelletier, Rooney

Then after Honzek gets his cup of tea, everyone slides up a peg at game 10:

Huberdeau-Sharangovich-Mantha
Zary-Kadri-Kuzmenko
Coleman-Backlund-Coronato
Pelletier-Pospisil-Lomberg
Rooney, Klapka/Hunt

 

[Rubi]

I’m operating under the assumption Pospisil centering Huberdeau was an early pre-season experiment more than a guaranteed outcome that some people are expecting it to be. This late in the pre-season, lines are usually getting relatively set and whenever a regular sits a spot filler usually takes their spot (ie Coronato in Manthas spot, Honzek in Zary’s spot last game, Solovyov in Bahl’s spot while he’s injured). The fact that Sharangovich centred Huberdeau last game tells me they’re more than likely leaning towards him being the centre in the top 9 than Pospisil as of now, even with him just nursing an injury. Now’s when they want lines getting their timing and chemistry back, if Rango was destined to play on Kadri’s wing he would’ve played there last night with Honzek sliding in elsewhere.

If Honzek makes the opening night, it probably looks like this:

Huberdeau-Sharangovich-Mantha
Honzek-Zary-Kuzmenko
Zary-Backlund-Coleman
Lomberg-Pospisil-Coronato
Pelletier, Rooney

Then after Honzek gets his cup of tea, everyone slides up a peg at game 10:

Huberdeau-Sharangovich-Mantha
Zary-Kadri-Kuzmenko
Coleman-Backlund-Coronato
Pelletier-Pospisil-Lomberg
Rooney, Klapka/Hunt

I think the fact that Pospisil has been injured since last Wednesday is screwing up Huska's lines and his experiment re Pospisil centering Huberdeau.

 

[Yepthatsme]

I think the fact that Pospisil has been injured since last Wednesday is screwing up Huska's lines and his experiment re Pospisil centering Huberdeau.

I mean I imagine he would’ve loved to give it a bigger trial, but realistically if it was reserved for Pospisil we’d be seeing guys like Morton and Schwint getting shots in that spot to impress while Rango gets a chance to build chemistry with his duo. There wouldn’t be much point screwing with other lines chemistry building time because Pospisil’s day to day in pre-season.

I think the last two games will be telling. Lineup should be getting pretty close to opening night, with our highest potential guys of getting a spot filling in for whichever guaranteed player gets a night off. If Rango plays another game of centering Huberdeau I think it’s safe to say Huberdeau-Rango-Mantha is atleast how we start the year.

 

[Rubi]

I mean I imagine he would’ve loved to give it a bigger trial, but realistically if it was reserved for Pospisil we’d be seeing guys like Morton and Schwint getting shots in that spot to impress while Rango gets a chance to build chemistry with his duo. There wouldn’t be much point screwing with other lines chemistry building time because Pospisil’s day to day in pre-season.

I think the last two games will be telling. Lineup should be getting pretty close to opening night, with our highest potential guys of getting a spot filling in for whichever guaranteed player gets a night off. If Rango plays another game of centering Huberdeau I think it’s safe to say Huberdeau-Rango-Mantha is atleast how we start the year.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1841156331295637555

 

[Yepthatsme]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1841156331295637555

Well there you go, looks like it’s getting its shot. That second line does look filthy so no complaints from me, Sharangovich could see and increase in goals this year while everyone predicts a decrease riding shotgun there.

 

[Khrox]

was it mentioned in the past that he was a project?

I don't think it was the "project" part, it was more "needs a couple years to grow into his frame" type thing. The skill, talent, IQ, were always there, but he was a big boy with a lanky frame that needed to add some weight to his body to be able to properly use his size. On the upside, I guess training with Pospisil this off-season has also helped a lot

 

[JPeeper]

I would love to see Honzek get a 10 game or so cup of coffee with the Flames at season start but where is there room for him? I think the players ive listed on the 1st three lines are a lock so that leaves a lot of players fighting over three 4th line positions plus a spare... and maybe not even that since I would be surprised to see Coronato not wearing a Flames jersey at season start.

View attachment 911409

Honzek had a good pre-season, but he's in a position where going down to the AHL would not hurt considering the circumstances from last year, being he barely played because of injury. Having a good camp is one thing, can you continue to play at this level for 82 games? Also, is it better to develop playing 20+ minutes on the top line in the AHL or a 4th line 8-10 minutes a night, I'd argue the former.

 

[Bounces R Way]

If we're really going by entirely preseason performance to this point I would have Honzek on the team ahead of both Pelletier and Coronato. Conroy says you have to go rip a job from a guy well that's the kind of hair on fire hockey Samuel has been playing. But there's more to it, none of us are in the drills, in the weight room, in the locker room etc. The games are only part of the picture. Not a lot of guys have stood out to the same extent he has since Tkachuk, he has at least made it a very tough decision for the coaching staff.

I don't think it would hurt his progression at all to start this season in the NHL. Even if he burns out by Christmas and gets sent down after a poor stretch that's valuable experience. And gives him the confidence that he can make the show while rewarding him with some top level paychecks.


Would love to see at some point this season
Honzek-Pospisil-Klapka
Get the Czechoslovakian band back together for the teamup.