David Honzik Talk

[NuxFan09]

The Canucks have until the end of May, I believe, to sign Honzik. If they don't he'll become a free agent or maybe re-enter the draft. I'm not sure how that works.

[Squeak]

The Canucks have until the end of May, I believe, to sign Honzik. If they don't he'll become a free agent or maybe re-enter the draft. I'm not sure how that works.

[wshdrvvn]

They weren't even playing Cannata

[stonecoldstevebernier]

As some may know, Honzik needs to be signed before June 1st if we want to retain his rights. I have to believe that management isn't going to be looking at his stats when they take into consideration whether or not he's signed... his team was absolutely brutal. I found this article from a while back that illustrates a lot of what Honzik endured this year:

http://www.kforbesy....tional-content/

This is a bit delayed but I wanted to follow up on this article on QMJHL goaltenders who have their rights owned by NHL teams.

Here's a quick look at the list:

1. Francois Brassard, Quebec - Ottawa Senators

2. Brandon Whitney, Victoriaville - Chicago Blackhawks

3. Chris Gibson, Chicoutimi - Los Angeles Kings

4. Francois Tremblay, Val d'Or - St. Louis Blues

5. Maxime Lagace, PEI - Dallas Stars

6. David Honzik, Cape Breton - Vancouver Canucks

This list was a hard one to put together, because there wasn't a clear standout and every player has some ups and downs about them.

It was recently suggested to me that I take a second look at David Honzik and where I ranked him. When talking about Honzik, first let me talk about Maxime Lagace. Lagace actually finished the season with poorer stats than Honzik, despite playing for a team that earned 50 (!) more points than Honzik's hapless Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. I originally had Lagace last on this list and for good reason: Lagace had a difficult year and lost his starting position pretty early on, never to regain them. I was surprised when he got an NHL deal from the Dallas Stars and when he was named to Hockey Canada's roster for the Summer Challenge against Russia. But I also have to respect that (acknowledge that people who are smarter than me saw something I didn't see in him) and in a list of six goaltenders, Lagace is the only one right now with an NHL contract.

That said, Lagace's play rightfully should put him on the bottom of this list.

As I mentioned in the article, Honzik has been in a rough situation for the past two years. He battled for time in Victoriaville and ended the season with the team turning to Brandon Whitney when the wheels fell off in the playoffs. But that was a case of the wheels falling off for the entire team, rather than just Honzik alone. Team captain Philip Danault made mention of that enough when I interviewed him in the summer, talking about team chemistry.

The decision to move Honzik was made for a few reasons by Victoriaville, not just because they had two goaltenders capable of being starters, but I also believe Honzik's age (Whitney will return to the Q next year) and the fact that Honzik is an Import played into it (the Tigres added forward Dominik Rehak, who just turned 18, again a move for a younger team in Victoriaville as they plan for the future). Finally, Honzik was scheduled to miss the beginning of the season recovering from shoulder surgery, which possibly was also a factor in the Tigres choice to send him away.

The shoulder is important, because it was an injury that Honzik suffered during last season in Victoriaville and played through. So that also might help explain his struggles in the playoffs and the poor numbers he put up in January and February of 2012 (a 6-2-1 record, but a .869 save percentage and a 4.04 GAA).

Which then brings us to this year. Much can be said about the problems that plagued the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. They finished with 36 points this season and just 14 wins. My error here was attributing too much of the team situation to the situation with the player.

Honzik appeared in 32 games for the Eagles, the most out of the 3 goaltenders they used this year. But more importantly, he played the majority of those games after any hope that Cape Breton had was already breathing its last breath. Because of the rehab for the shoulder surgery, Honzik did not return to the ice until November.

Honzik rejoined the team after missing the first 19 games of the year. In those 19 games, Cape Breton had a record of 5-10-2-2. Considering their final standings, 38% of their points came in the first 28% of the season. For a team like Cape Breton, who at this point had already fired their GM and would soon fire their coach, things were about to go from bad to worse.

Honzik joined a team in disarray and one that was on the cusp of being hit by numerous significant injuries. By the end of December/early January, William Carrier, Kyle Farrell, Jakub Culek and Loic Leduc would all be out of the lineup with injuries and they would not return for the rest of the year. Furthermore, top scorer Alexandre Lavoie would request a trade in late December and sat out until he was accommodated.

For Honzik, the period of December and January was his best. After needing a few games to get his feet back under himself (a 6.24/.771 November over 6 games in November), those two months were very strong. Cape Breton fired their coach at the beginning of December and that seemed to spur on the Czech goaltender. Honzik appeared in 14 games over those two months and although his record was 2-10-0-1, his save percentage was .909 and his GAA was 3.09. Strong stats for any goaltender in the league, let alone one on a team in freefall.

So that's the story on David Honzik. In retrospect, I was incorrect in placing him last among the six. I did not look as close into the situation as I should have when doing my original research for the article.

Those numbers from that period of time in December and January, where Cape Breton was playing at the closest they came to full strength are no doubt a better reflection of the player than the situation he found himself in and place him comparable to Francois Tremblay, Chris Gibson and his former teammate Brandon Whitney.

[Salmonberries]

Better goalies out there that weren't drafted.

[Fred65]

Better goalies out there that weren't drafted.