Flames’ Sam Honzek to miss up to six months with upper-body injury
Calgary Flames rookie forward Sam Honzek underwent surgery on Thursday to address an upper-body injury and will miss up to six months while recovering, according to multiple reports.
Honzek, 21, sustained the injury on an awkward collision with teammate and captain Mikael Backlund midway through the second period of last Saturday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
The Flames confirmed Honzek’s recovery timeline on Friday afternoon. If Honzek does need the full six months to recover, he’ll likely miss the rest of the 2025-26 season, including the 2026 Winter Olympics.
I hope Sam Honzek is ok after this massive collision between him and Mikael Backlund.
Honzek was having a good rookie season and I think he is on the verge of breaking out offensively.
Hopefully we will see him on the bench in the 3rd period. pic.twitter.com/bTXiGE8pYw
A first-round pick (No. 16 overall) of the Flames in the 2023 NHL Draft, Honzek is a 6’4″ winger who has also spent time down the middle during his developmental years with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers and WHL’s Vancouver Giants.
With Honzek now sidelined yet again, the young Slovak forward will now miss significant time due to injury for a fourth consecutive season. He played just 43 games with the Giants in his draft year and 33 in his D+1; then, after making the Flames out of camp in 2024-25, he appeared in just five games before being injured on a heavy reverse hit by Chicago Blachkawks defenseman Connor Murphy.
Honzek suited up for Team Slovakia at three consecutive World Junior Championships between 2022 and 2024 and looked to be a shoo-in to play for the national team once again at the upcoming Olympics, but it now looks unlikely that he’ll be cleared to participate.
Through 18 games with the Flames this season, Honzek has collected four points (two goals, two assists). He’s appeared in 23 career NHL games with the Flames dating back to the start of the 2024-25 campaign, which he predominantly spent with the Wranglers.
The Flames currently sit in last place in the entire National Hockey League with a 6-13-3 record through 22 games this season. Without Honzek in the lineup, they’ll return to action on Saturday night to take on the Dallas Stars at the Scotiabank Saddledome.