Where will prospect Samuel Honzek start the season for the Calgary Flames?

The Calgary Flames are gearing up for a massive 2024/25 campaign, and while they aren't expected to compete for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there's still plenty of ways that this season can be a success for the team. The biggest of all is the emergence of some young names, and with Connor Zary, Martin Pospisil and Dustin Wolf all expected to take larger roles this season, there's room for some fresh new faces to emerge and cement their spot in the NHL.

While Matt Coronato and Hunter Brzustewicz are both candidates, the prospect with the biggest potential that could make his debut in 2024/25 is 2023 first-round draft pick Samuel Honzek, who is making some noise in the pre-season. At 19-years of age, the former top pick can make the jump to the NHL, head back to the Vancouver Giants of the WHL or even join the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL, so now the question becomes, where is the best fit for Honzek?

A return to juniors?

While this is technically a possibility after Honzek captained the Vancouver Giants in the WHL a year ago, it's incredibly unlikely, as Honzek's impressive combination of size, skating ability and skill make him too developed for the WHL at this stage. Honzek was injured throughout plenty of his tenure with the Giants, but he still managed a solid 33 goals and 87 points during 76 games over the past two seasons.

On top of that, Honzek capped off his final World Juniors tournament with a solid three goals and four points in five games played for Slovakia, so while nothing can be discounted, it just wouldn't make sense for him to step back down to that level in 2024/25.

The Calgary Wranglers newest star?

The most likely option for Honzek in 2024/25 is to head to the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL, as he is eligible to join the league due to turning 20 before the deadline that makes former CHL players eligible to join the American Hockey League. If he were to make the NHL team, it would likely be in a fourth line role, but given the skill that Honzek provides, the belief could be that a top-line role alongside other skilled players in the AHL to continue his devlopment may be the way to go.

Currently, the top forwards in the AHL for Calgary will be the likes of Jaden Lipinski, William Stromgren, Clark Bishop and Sam Morton among others, and with Honzek, they could run riot for the Wranglers this season. Simply put, if the Flames want to be patient with their 2023 first-round pick and let him continue to get his legs under him in the professional game, the AHL is the way to go, but don't be surprise if the hype around the next option continues to grow.

A shock debut in the NHL?

Coming into training camp, Honzek was seen as an outside chance to make the NHL roster after a quiet time in Penticton, but with impressive performances in camp and the pre-season, he remains in camp with final cuts looming. In the 2024/25 pre-season, Honzek is second on the team in points, adding five assists in his three games, tying him with Matt Coronato for the team lead.

During that time, the team have absolutely dominated with Honzek on the ice, and given the positions available on the team's fourth line, he becomes a perfect candidate to be eased into his NHL debut.

While debuting Honzek in the NHL this season would be an amazing story, there's still some development he needs to go through before making the jump, so while we should certainly expect him to make his NHL debut at some point this season, the best move would be to start in the AHL and work his way up from there.