'Don't Cheat The Game'

STOCKHOLM - Sam Honzek knows the stakes.

Immediately. And down the road.

Honzek, sitting in with Slovakia as a one of two-dozen 20-or-unders at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, can comprehend how important every moment is for him on the global stage.

"I would say the games... you can't make a mistake, right?" Honzek said. "That's basically the same as the NHL. You have to play the system. You have to play the right way. You have to play good hockey and bring your best. You have one game against each team.

"That's kind of like what the NHL is all about."

He'd know.

Honzek earned five big-league twirls with the Flames this season, each coming after a standout training camp that forced management to offer the Trencin product a spot on the opening-night roster.

It was well earned.

So, too, is his tour with Slovakia to book-end the season, according to one who might run up against the 20-year-old in tournament action a bit further down the road.

"His start was pretty... I've never seen a start like his, especially in his first year (pro)," said Flames forward Adam Klapka, on the other side with Czechia in his own Worlds debut. "That was pretty nice to see. Obviously it was up and down. He's a young guy. But at the end of the season he found his role. I mean, he's a good guy and he's a good hockey player and he's going to be working on his stuff.

"When he gets to be better he's going to be in the NHL one day."

The five-game foray Honzek saw, which ran from Oct. 9-30, was his only taste of the big leagues.

Injury played a part.

Education played another, the first-year pro admitted.

"The whole season was learning from my point of view," said Honzek, who learned he'd be given the opportunity after his year with the AHL's Wranglers came to a close. "I started in the NHL and got sent down and then finish with this. It's lot of... I don't want to say ups-and-downs, but lots of little experiences and learning. I know how things are, and I feel like I learned a lot.

"The main thing was winning my puck battles. Don't cheat the game and win the puck battles. That's where I can take the puck and make some plays from there and create some offence. That was the big point. I think I had my chances during the season and unfortunately they didn't go in, but still, it's progress and lots of learning.

"I think I know how to use everything I learned and prepare for next season."

Next season comes in September, when he'll shoot for an encore to an incredible run which saw him finish with a share of second in NHL preseason scoring with six points (1G, 5A) in four games - a total locked alongside the likes of Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov, and Clayton Keller, and a single digit behind league-leader and rookie phenom Matvei Michkov.

There are more immediate concerns, however.

On the global stage with Slovakia.

"He's a responsible player," said Slovak coach Vladimir Orszagh, who spent seven seasons and 289 games playing with the New York Islanders, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues. "He's got good size. He has really, really good hands and skating ability for his size. I think he can be a good player, but it's still a lot of work.

"There's still a lot of work in front of him. It's everyday work. For him, it's good he got a stint in the NHL, five starts in the NHL. That's got to be light at the end of the tunnel. 'That's where I'm going to go and I need to dig in and dig in and dig in and just find a way.'

"And he knows there's still a lot of work ahead of him."

Work at Worlds.

A crash course while clashing with other countries.

A valuable experience, his other coach believes.

"I saw him after their first game against Sweden, and he was all smiles," Head Coach Ryan Huska, on his own international journey as an assistant with Canada. "He was like, 'This was one of the hardest games I've ever played in my life,' because this Sweden team is very good this year. It's an experience. He's being used against top players in these situations. The situation like (against Canada), too.

"He'll come out of this one having a better understanding of how hard it is to play at, not just a tournament like this, but in the NHL in high pressure situations."

The learning curve is steep.

But the fact Honzek has something to tuck into the back pocket for when he's ready to resume his push for full-time duty with the Flames is priceless.

"Even being here, it's really, really... I don't want to say learn, but at the exit meeting they told me what to do better," Honzek said. "Maybe now I can focus on that stuff, right, starting from this point, and bring it to the offseason and get ready for camp.

"And bring my best again."