Pictures with a trio of NHLers celebrating championships in his hometown drives him to create a new memory
Samuel Honzek has three prized photos of himself and the Stanley Cup.
As a youth, he was on hand when a trio of NHLers celebrated with hockey’s Holy Grail in his hometown of Trencin, Slovakia: Marian Hossa, Tomas Kopecky and Zdeno Chara.
“Legends,” said the big left winger drafted by the Calgary Flames in the first round of this year’s draft.
Even as a child, though, Honzek knew the rules. Asked whether he put his hand on the Stanley Cup — believed to be a bad omen if you are not part of a championship team — Honzek immediately replied: “No. I know what they say.”
Flames fans will be thrilled if Honzek earns the right to hoist the Cup while part of the club, an opportunity that became more of a possibility after he was selected 16th overall at the draft last week in Nashville. Between those pictures and taking the next step to being in the NHL by being drafted makes that aspiration feel more attainable.
“It’s some dream but the dream is really close,” Honzek said. “It makes me think it can happen.”
That said, the 6-foot-4, 186-pound winger knows there are plenty of leaps to make before that dream is reality, starting with making the Flames roster. Mostly likely Honzek will spend this season with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, where he’s expected to be named captain and try to improve on the 23 goals and 56 points he netted in 43 regular-season games.
Before then, his job is to absorb as much information as he can during the camp that concludes Saturday at WinSport with a three-on-three scrimmage starting at 10:30 a.m.
Like most 18-year-olds, Honzek will be pushed to improve his fitness, strength and skating, plus develop the skills required to make it to the NHL.
“We’re just getting to know Sammy and all the guys,” said Ray Edwards, the Flames’ director of player development. “But when we leave here, we’ll have a good understanding of what we have to do for them. Each player, when they leave here, will have a development plan put together. The action piece is the critical part. We’ll have goals and objectives for everybody, but how we’re going to get to those goals and objectives is the key piece.”
Honzek knows the key will be to work hard and learn everything possible, even if he’s a first-round draft choice with the expectations that come with it.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure and attention, but for me, it’s still stay focused, stay humble and do the right things and don’t go off my road which I’m on right now,” he said. “Especially here at development camp, take as much as I can. Get new things, get new information and leave from here as a new player and the player who can develop more. I want to come into main camp and rookie camp as a really prepared player.”