Samuel Honzek to Miss Up to Six Months After Surgery, Flames Fans React to Unexpected Decision
CALGARY – The Calgary Flames announced Friday afternoon that highly-touted prospect Samuel Honzek will undergo shoulder surgery next week and is expected to miss four to six months of action, effectively ending any realistic chance of the 19-year-old making his NHL debut this season.
The news, delivered jointly by general manager Craig Conroy and head athletic trainer Kent Kobelka during a hastily arranged media availability at the Scotiabank Saddledome, caught most observers off guard. Honzek had been a full participant in training camp and preseason games, scoring twice and adding an assist in four appearances while routinely skating on a line with Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil.
“Samuel reported lingering discomfort in his left shoulder following the rookie tournament in September,” Conroy explained. “We initially managed it conservatively with rest and rehabilitation, and he felt good enough to return for main camp. Unfortunately, recent imaging showed that we repeated yesterday showed that the labral tear had worsened. At this point, surgery is the best long-term solution for his career.”
The injury stems from a hit Honzek absorbed during the Young Stars Classic in Penticton against the Winnipeg Jets prospects on September 15. Although he finished that game and played the following night against Edmonton, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound winger has been playing through pain ever since.
Dr. Kobelka confirmed the procedure, described as a labral repair with possible biceps tenodesis, will be performed early next week in Los Angeles by noted orthopaedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache. Recovery timelines for this specific surgery in hockey players typically range from four months at the low end to six-plus if complications arise or if additional cartilage work is required.
For a Flames organization that has pinned significant future hopes on Honzek, selected 16th overall in 2023, the timing could hardly be worse. The native of Trenčín, Slovakia was widely projected to challenge for a roster spot this season after a dominant 2023-24 campaign split between the WHL’s Vancouver Giants (31 goals, 78 points in 47 games) and a brief AHL stint with the Calgary Wranglers (3 points in 5 playoff games).
Many within the organization privately believed Honzek was ahead of schedule and could have pushed veterans such as Dryden Hunt or Jakob Pelletier for a bottom-six role out of camp. Instead, the earliest realistic return date now falls somewhere between late February and early April, meaning the teenager will likely spend the bulk of the season rehabilitating rather than developing against NHL competition.
Reaction from the fan base was swift and emotional. Within minutes of the announcement, #FreeHonzek and #GetWellHonz began trending locally on social media platforms. Long-time season-ticket holder Darren McMillan spoke for many when he posted: “This organization can’t have nice things. Just when we finally have a legitimate power-forward prospect who can skate and score, he’s out half the year. Brutal.”
Others expressed frustration with how the injury was handled. “He played four preseason games on a torn labrum?” wrote user @FlamesNation87. “Why wasn’t this caught sooner? Feels like another case of rushing kids back too fast.” That sentiment echoes memories of past prospect setbacks, most notably the multiple surgeries that delayed Juuso Välimäki’s development several years ago.
Conroy pushed back firmly on any suggestion of mismanagement. “This wasn’t a stable tear that became unstable,” he said. “Samuel wanted to compete for a job, and medically he was cleared to do so. We don’t believe playing those preseason games caused further damage; the imaging simply showed progression that now requires surgical intervention. These decisions are never taken lightly.”
Head coach Ryan Huska, who had repeatedly praised Honzek’s maturity and two-way detail throughout September, admitted the loss stings. “He was doing everything we asked and more,” Huska said. “It’s disappointing for him more than anyone. But the silver lining is he’s young, he’ll come back stronger, and we’ll have him for the most important part of his career.”
In the immediate term, the Flames will lean on the organizational depth they spent the summer building. Pelletier, Hunt, Cole Schwindt, and newly signed Justin Kirkland are among the candidates to fill any forward vacancies. Top prospects Matt Coronato and Zary, both healthy and performing well in camp, are now virtually guaranteed roster spots.
Honzek himself addressed reporters via Zoom from his downtown Calgary apartment, speaking softly but with resolve. “Of course it’s hard,” the soft-spoken winger said in accented English. “I felt ready to play here. But I trust the doctors. I will work every day to come back better. See you soon, Calgary.”
The Flames have assigned Honzek to the Wranglers for salary-cap and roster-management purposes while he rehabilitates, though he will remain in Calgary for the surgery and initial phases of recovery. Strength and conditioning coach Ryan van Asten will oversee a program designed to maintain Honzek’s lower-body power and cardiovascular base even as his upper body heals.
For a franchise still searching for its next great homegrown star since the days of Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, Honzek’s setback serves as another painful reminder of the fine line between promise and production in professional hockey. The organization insists the long-term outlook remains bright; the 2025-26 season could still mark the true beginning of the Honzek era in Calgary.
Until then, Flames fans are left to grit their teeth through another chapter in what has too often felt like an injury-cursed decade. As one banner unfurled by supporters outside the Saddledome on Friday evening read: “Labrums heal. C of Red forever.”
Samuel Honzek’s NHL dream is merely delayed, not denied. But for a fan base starving for the next great hope, six months suddenly feels like an eternity.