Julius Honka

Julius Honka (born 3 December 1995) is a Finnish ice hockey defenceman who currently plays with JYP Jyväskylä of the Finnish Liiga.[1] He formally requested a trade from the Dallas Stars, who currently retain his NHL rights, in September 2019.[2] Honka was selected by the Dallas Stars in the first round (14th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Julius Honka
Honka at the 2014 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
Born (1995-12-03) 3 December 1995
Jyväskylä, Finland
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
Liiga team
Former teams		 JYP Jyväskylä
Dallas Stars
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 14th overall, 2014
Dallas Stars
Playing career 2014–present

Playing career

Honka was a top rated prospect[3] who was ranked #11 on the NHL Central Scouting Bureau final list of 2014 NHL Draft eligible North American skaters.[4]

During the 2012–13 season Honka played with the Finland men's national under-18 ice hockey team at both the 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships and the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.[5] Moving to North America for the 2013–14 WHL season, he competed with Team Finland to win gold at the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and was also selected to compete in the 2014 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.[6]

On 14 July 2014, Honka was signed to a three-year entry level contract with the Dallas Stars.[7] During the 2016–17 season, Honka scored his first career goal on 4 April 2017, a game winning overtime goal in a game against the Arizona Coyotes.[8]

In the following 2017–18 season, Honka was sent down to the Stars AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, on 31 October 2017.[9] He was later recalled and remained with Dallas to appear in a career high 42 games.

Personal life

Honka comes from a family of hockey players; his three brothers also play the same sport.[10] His younger brother Anttoni was drafted in the third round (83rd overall) by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and currently plays for JYP Jyväskylä of Finland's Liiga.[11]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 JYP Jyväskylä Jr. A 424111547 400025
2013–14 Swift Current Broncos WHL 6216405652 62026
2014–15 Texas Stars AHL 688233155 31124
2015–16 Texas Stars AHL 7311334438 40114
2016–17 Texas Stars AHL 507243159 —————
2016–17 Dallas Stars NHL 161454 —————
2017–18 Dallas Stars NHL 4213414 —————
2017–18 Texas Stars AHL 100226 —————
2018–19 Dallas Stars NHL 2904410 —————
2019–20 JYP Jyväskylä Liiga 464111516 —————
NHL totals 872111328 —————
Liiga totals 464111516 —————
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Finland
World Junior Championships
2014 Malmö
World U18 Championships
2013 Sochi

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Finland IH18 5th 5 0 2 2 4
2013 Finland WJC18 71342
2014 Finland WJC 70116
2015 Finland WJC 7th 51126
2017 Finland WC 4th 10 1 2 3 4
2018 Finland WC 5th 8 0 1 1 0
Junior totals 24 2 7 9 18
Senior totals 18 1 3 4 4

Awards and honours
Awards Year
IIHF World U18 Championship (Team Finland) 2013 [12]
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament (Team Finland) 2013 [13]
IIHF World U20 Championship Gold Medal (Team Finland) 2014 [14]
CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game 2013–14 [15]

References
  1. "Julius Honka vahvistamaan JYPin takalinjoja" [Julius Honka to bolster the defensive lines of JYP]. jypliiga.fi (in Finnish). JYP Jyväskylä. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. "Former first-round pick Julius Honka requests trade from Stars: 'It's time to move on'". Dallas News. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  3. "Move to North America suited Julius Honka's style of play". National Hockey League. 21 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  4. "NHL Central Scouting Service 2014 Draft North American skaters final rankings". National Hockey League. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  5. "Julius Honka: 2014 Top Prospect". WinnipegHockeyTalk.com. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  6. "2014 Draft Eligibles: Julius Honka's move to North America has been worthwhile". Flyerdelphia.com. 20 February 2014. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  7. "Dallas Stars Sign Defenseman Julius Honka To Three-Year Entry-Level Contract". NHL.com. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  8. Stepneski, Mark (5 April 2017). "Julius Honka goal lifts Stars to overtime win". NHL.com. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  9. "Dallas Stars Download: Work in Progress Edition". The Hockey Writers. 4 November 2017.
  10. "IIHF - Big brother is watching you". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  11. "Anttoni Honka at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  12. "Julius Honka player profile". HockeysFuture.com. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  13. "2013 Ivan Hlinka Tournament: Canada wins Gold". HockeyProspect.com. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  14. "Honka Broncos' true golden boy after World Juniors". Prairie Post. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  15. "Martin and Honka skating in Top Prospects Game tonight". The Guardian. 15 January 2014. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Jason Dickinson		 Dallas Stars first round draft pick
2014		 Succeeded by
Denis Gurianov
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