Sam Honzek out week-to-week with lower-body injury

Sam Honzek is going to be out of action for a while.

On Monday morning, the Flames announced that their 21-year-old winger will be out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

It’s a tough break for a young forward to formally establish himself as an every day NHLer, especially because the injury came only four games into a return from action from a shoulder injury that cost him most of last year.

“While he’s out we’ll miss him, for sure,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “The speed he brings to our lineup is something that’s very valuable. Hopefully, it’s the shorter end of the week-to-week schedule.”

Honzek suffered the injury during last Thursday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. He managed to complete the game, but was missing from Friday’s practice and wasn’t in the lineup for Saturday’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

While he hasn’t picked up any points in the four games he’s played in this year, the first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft has been getting consistent minutes alongside captain Mikael Backlund and Joel Farabee.

The Flames are hopeful he can return to action sooner rather than later. This is a big year for the Slovak winger, especially after dealing with the season-ending injury last season and getting hurt the previous year, as well.

“That’s part of being a pro, they have to learn how to deal with it,” Huska said. “There’s situations all the time where you have something nagging or something’s not feeling great and you have to learn how to deal with it.

“Unfortunately, at a young age, he’s had some pretty big ones to deal with but I do think he has a better idea of how to handle these types of things now.”

The Flames didn’t make an immediate move to call anyone up from the Wranglers on Monday morning ahead of a road-trip that will take them to Anaheim for a return engagement with the Ducks and then Vegas for a matchup with the Golden Knights. They are already carrying an extra forward and defenceman, so adding further cover is not necessary.

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