Sam Honzek earns spot on opening-night Flames roster

Before the start of the Flames' training camp, general manager Craig Conroy and the coaching staff had a message for the young players.

There would be opportunities to make the opening-night roster, but you had to earn it.

That's exactly what 2023 first-round pick Sam Honzek did.

He had a terrific training camp and has traded in his No. 42 for No. 29.

Honzek says he's thrilled to earn a spot with the Flames.

"I still haven't really processed it," the 19-year-old forward said.

"It wasn't official until this morning at practice. My first thing was where I saw myself last year, and I basically compared it to a year after, like where I am now."

What a difference a year makes

Honzek struggled at last year's camp and was sent back to junior, but his season with the Vancouver Giants was plagued by injuries.

Some had written him off.

Honzek says he used it as motivation.

"It's tough to hear or see, but I knew that it was true," he said.

"I could tell the same thing -- this isn't the first-rounder that this is supposed to be. That kind of pushed me through and I just stayed focused, and I want to prove to everyone that I'm worth the first-round pick and I'm a good player."

Coaches were impressed

Honzek put in the work in the off-season.

He worked out with Flames forward Martin Pospisil in Slovakia and Pospisil pushed him to be in tip-top shape when he arrived at camp.

Head coach Ryan Huska says Honzek was one of the best stories at this year's camp.

"It seemed like everybody had written him off before we even started," 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."

Great opportunity

The Flames announced on Monday that forward Yegor Sharangovich will be out week to week with a lower-body injury suffered in the last pre-season game against the Winnipeg Jets.

That will give Honzek an opportunity to play on one of the top lines.

According to practice on Monday, he'll start the season on a line with Nazem Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko.

Honzek wants to play his game but learn from the veterans.

"Playing with Kadz (Kadri) and Kuzy (Kuzmenko) is going to be a big thing for me," Honzek said.

"They're top NHL players and I'm going to try to learn a lot."

The Flames placed three players on waivers on Sunday, including 2019 first-round pick Jakob Pelletier.

He didn't get claimed and neither did goaltender Devin Cooley, so they're both headed to the Calgary Wranglers.

One player did get claimed -- centre Cole Schwindt is headed to the Vegas Golden Knights.