Dallas Stars: Last Year’s Grade, Next Year’s Guess: Julius Honka

Continuing with our series of Dallas Stars player grades for 2017-18, today’s featured player is Julius Honka.

When the Dallas Stars drafted Honka in the first round in 2014, he was talked about as the top defensive prospect in the system, but he’s had his fair share of struggles over his career thanks in part to the mess that is the Stars’ development pipeline.

Last Season

Julius Honka’s 2017-18 Grade: C+

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Last season was Honka’s first proper season with the NHL team. He did play 16 games in 2016-17, but he spent the majority of the 2017-18 season on the Dallas roster, despite only playing in 42 games.

With the overflow of defensemen in the Stars’ system, Honka found himself often sitting in the press box instead of actually getting ice time. His play was decent and warranted more ice time, but he was stuck fighting for it with too many veterans and too many other prospects.

The departures of Jamie Oleksiak and Patrik Nemeth helped clear up a little bit of space on the blue line, but it was still packed and that’s not Honka’s fault.

When he did play, he mostly didn’t look like the player fans were expecting, but a lot of that comes down to Hitchcock’s coaching style. He wasn’t putting Honka in the situations that would allow Honka to play the way he excels. Fans took notice of his “mistreatment,” if you will, and started the #FreeHonka movement in retaliation.

Honka was third on the team in relative Corsi, so his possession numbers were good compared to the other players. He got some time on the power play and was alright in point shares, but his offensive numbers were disappointing compared to expectations.

He did what he could with the situation that was given to him, but unfortunately his season was a bit of a disappointment.

Next Season

Nearly every argument from fans about why Honka had a bad season last year came down to decisions from the coaching staff. They didn’t use him properly, they were putting him in a position to fail, they didn’t think he was reliable, etc.

If that’s truly the case, Honka’s got a golden opportunity to show what he’s got this fall. With both Dan Hamhuis and Greg Pateryn gone, he’s got a chance to push for more ice time, even with the addition of Roman Polak and the potential of Miro Heiskanen joining the line-up. He’s also got a new coach that may let him play his natural style and allow him to flourish.

Of course, he could also be back to square one next year if he doesn’t start strong and make his case to Montgomery. If he struggles enough, he could lose his previous untouchable status (remember the Dan Hamhuis not-trade of 2015-16?) and the team could move him in a deal at some point.

He has so much potential and he’s shown flashes of it, but he has to capitalize on it at every opportunity next year.

Gemel Smith’s our next player in the series, so make sure to check that out tomorrow to see how we grade his season and don’t forget to share your grades with us in the comment section.