Flames 2023 first-round draft pick Sam Honzek out with upper-body injury

The Calgary Flames' Sam Honzek skates for the puck against the Edmonton Oilers' Corey Perry in Edmonton on Sept. 23, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken

The Flames' top 2023 draft pick, Sam Honzek, is out with an upper-body injury, the team announced Thursday.

The 19-year-old winger is "week-to-week," the team said on social media.

Honzek hasn’t recorded a point in the team’s first four games, which were all victories.

He was selected 16^th overall in the 2023 draft.

Honzek played last season with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, where he scored 10 goals and added 21 assists in 33 games.

Bounced back

After a bumpy 2023 camp, Honzek bounced back strong in 2024, earning the teams’ support.

"It seemed like everybody had written him off before we even started," Flames coach Ryan Huska said.

"He came in and he did a lot of great things for us and the one that was important was the size and speed that he played the game with where he was assertive.

"Even as a young man, he didn't at all look out of place when we played against the better competition."

Forward Yegor Sharangovich is also out week-to-week.

Next up for the undefeated Flames is a Saturday night road game against the Seattle Kraken.

With files from CTV News Calgary's Glenn Campbell