Despite the former first-round NHL Draft pick being mired in the AHL, fans of the Dallas Stars are still curious about Julius Honka’s play. Here’s a little update on the youthful defenseman.
On Saturday night, the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League hosted the Grand Rapids Griffins at HEB Center at Cedar Park, falling to the defending Calder Cup champions 5-1. The Stars split the weekend set with Grand Rapids – the minor league affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings – winning 2-1 the prior night.
This, any fan up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area could have found out on their own. How well defenseman Julius Honka, still playing with Texas on loan from the Dallas Stars, performed in the defeat is something you have to watch the game to see, however.
Advanced stats, the variety of such that can really paint the picture of what occurred in a game, are not tracked by the AHL. It’s a league that doesn’t even track time on ice, for example. It’s neccesary to tune into or physically attend games to get a feel for a player’s individual impact, especially if their name is absent on the scoresheet.
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Julius Honka falls into line with that. He didn’t score a point, which means an “eye test” is all that can be offered in terms of scouting and reporting. For that reason, we throw down some scouting knowledge and expertise to bring you a Julius Honka report from Cedar Park, Dallas Stars style.
First, we must lay out the ratings system. I’m an amateur scout with the popular scouting, fantasy hockey, and NHL Draft guide magazine McKeen’s Hockey, so I’ll be using the same scoring arithmetic here as I do there. It’s a scale that ranges from 20 (lowest possible score) to 80 (highest possible score), with 50 being league average.
If you’re familiar with McKeen’s Hockey and some of the Dallas Stars content there, as a subscriber or a casual reader of such, then skip ahead to the scouting report. If not, keep in mind that AHL players normally rank from 40-55, so subtlety and a lack of bias is important in scouting.
The categories in which the ratings will be used are skating (speed, pivoting, edgework, acceleration), shooting (shooting motion, speed, accuracy, and usage on wristers, slap shots, and snap shots), skills (puck handling, passing, controlling loose pucks, stick readiness, elusiveness), smarts (defensive awareness, play anticipation, positioning, decision-making), and physicality (hitting, shielding the puck off, fighting off checks, power moves).
Here’s the thing, you already know how Honka plays his game. He’s an elusive, speedy, fearless right-handed defenseman that loves to skate and have the puck on his stick. Nonetheless, it’s important to get a feel for your game on assignments like these and further refine your overall abilities in the AHL. How Honka reacts to playing with Texas, and how he controls the flow of his game – and the contest altogether – is imperative to his quest for another NHL promotion.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at how Julius Honka, in our eyes, faired on Saturday night for the Texas Stars.
SKATING:
Julius Honka, of course, loves to skate, with or without the puck on his stick blade – this isn’t news. His confidence and ability to assert himself into the match is a tad bit different in the AHL, though. On Saturday, Honka used his wheels to make a difference in all three zones and utilized his good edgework and pivot power to keep the puck in the right position when he had it.
His feet were almost quicker than normal, as though he was out to impress. Honka made defenders miss with his feet in the Stars’ offensive zone as the Dallas Stars prospect looked to get the puck on net, something few Dallas defensemen do on a consistent basis. Grade: 60.
SHOOTING:
Julius Honka’s shot isn’t looking better than it was at training camp, but that’s because it can’t improve – it is already a splendid wrist shot. Honka fired a couple of wristers on Saturday with a fluid and clean release, and a few slap shots that mostly hit the net or found a teammate off the boards.
One thing I liked from Honka’s shooting wasn’t his shot itself, as much as his confidence within it. Honka was calling for pucks at the blueline in the offensive zone, even with some of the Stars’ best forwards (Curtis McKenzie, Travis Morin, etc) on the ice. He rapidly ripped the puck into the area of the net and Grand Rapids goalie Jared Coreau to create chances.
Honka, on Saturday, was not playing around, regardless of the score. Honka wanted to shoot, shoot, and shoot some more, looking like a guy an NHL club would want on the power play unit. Grade: 55.
SKILLS:
Julius Honka has always been a highly-skilled offensive-defenseman, one that can change the face of a game and take over any contest all alone. Although the score of the event limited his capabilities in that regard, Honka showed great hand-eye coordination and a constant control of the puck, settling it down after passes and putting it where it needed to be.
Honka is a great passer, but last night looked like he wanted to do more than could be done. Honka iced the puck three times in attempts to find his forwards with stretch passes, and only connected on a couple of them. His best hockey is played when he can be an effective facilitator, and last night, he was not that.
Dallas Stars
Still, Honka showed great elusiveness with his body and snuck the puck into places nobody else on the Texas blueline can. His hands were quick and his puck handling looks to be at NHL level. Grade: 50.
SMARTS:
Honka did something on Saturday night – as he has in his whole stint – that I can’t remember him doing in his prior three seasons at the AHL level: play top-unit penalty kill minutes, and make a huge difference in doing it. Honka was clearing creases, blocking shots, getting into passing lanes, and clearing the puck out from behind the red line like a PK specialist.
His gaps on zone entries have improved from previous AHL viewings – he’s leaving his stick out in front of opposing forwards and using his hips to turn laterally and retrieve dumped pucks. In this way and many others, Honka has improved in helping his defensive partner in the D-zone.
Despite wanting to push the puck up and steam his way into the offensive zone, Honka isn’t sacrificing his defensive position for offense. He’s getting back and doing his job in the defensive zone and staying composed until an offensive opportunity arises. Grade: 55.
PHYSICALITY:
Julius Honka is far from a physical player, and it is unfair to expect him to be. He’s getting dirty in behind his goal and scraping pucks out of hard areas, but at 5’11” and 186 lbs, Honka does not project to be a lockdown physical force. He’s effective at fighting off checks to pinch offensively, and tries his hardest to shove players out of hard areas. Grade: 45.
SUMMARY:
Julius Honka played around 23 minutes, if I had to make an educated guess, on Saturday night as the Texas Stars number-one defender. It’s important for him to play in the AHL, even if he’s an NHL-quality player, just to keep his legs fresh and get more and more reps as a defenseman in North American pro hockey. I would expect Honka to be promoted back to the Dallas Stars shortly with his play recently, but with the dysfunction between coaches and GMs, it’s hard to say what will happen with that organization.
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Julius Honka has still shown a lot of promise from his entire tenure playing in Cedar Park. As a Texas Star or a Dallas Star, Julius Honka will be one of the best and most exciting players to watch on the ice at all times. Selfishly, I want to keep watching him in the Central Texas area, but I also would love to see his fast #6 zip up and down the ice at American Airlines Center.