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RD Julius Honka (2014, 14th, DAL)

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Honka was loaned to SC by JYP (he had a one year junior contract).

Honka plays the season in SC, gets drafted. JYP's loan expires, so Honka is no longer obliged to play in SC - his contract with JYP overrules that.

However, his contract with JYP expired this summer. So he can't play for SC because the loan is up, but he doesn't currently have a contract in Europe (although he could get one easily). This is why both Texas and Finland are options.
 
Mark Stepneski ‏@StarsInsideEdge 2m2 minutes ago

Dallas Stars assign six players to Texas (AHL): Justin Dowling, Radek Faksa, Julius Honka, John Klingberg, Curtis McKenzie, Brendan Ranford.
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Argue the rules all you want, it's happening. Jim Nill gets his way again.
 
Hats off to Jim Nill, great work. Most of the GM's would've just sent him back to WHL.
 
The AHL it is. Very interesting!

As mentioned, the Jensen situation was similar but not exactly the same. This is the first time I can remember someone getting drafted out of the CHL and playing in the AHL a few months later.
 
Primetimey said:
The AHL it is. Very interesting!

As mentioned, the Jensen situation was similar but not exactly the same. This is the first time I can remember someone getting drafted out of the CHL and playing in the AHL a few months later.
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Happens all the time but they're usually older (Alan Quin, Sven Andrighetto, JC Lipon, Brenden Kichton from 2013 alone)
 
It's a very interesting outcome. About a few weeks ago it started to become clear that Dallas' endgame was to get him in the AHL by whatever means possible and apparently they did their research well enough on the JYP/SC loan situation that they were able to present their case effectively. I do believe he's ready for the AHL step in terms of his current development. Whether he'd benefit more by going to Finland is an open question but I do like the idea of continuity in terms of staying in North America rather than yo-yoing back and forth.

You can bet there will be other teams trying to follow this route in the future and potentially even drafting more Europeans playing in the CHL with an eye to accelerating their timetables to the NHL.
 
piqued said:
It's a very interesting outcome. About a few weeks ago it started to become clear that Dallas' endgame was to get him in the AHL by whatever means possible and apparently they did their research well enough on the JYP/SC loan situation that they were able to present their case effectively. I do believe he's ready for the AHL step in terms of his current development. Whether he'd benefit more by going to Finland is an open question but I do like the idea of continuity in terms of staying in North America rather than yo-yoing back and forth.

You can bet there will be other teams trying to follow this route in the future and potentially even drafting more Europeans playing in the CHL with an eye to accelerating their timetables to the NHL.
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I don't see any way that Finland would be better for his development. SM-Liiga is only slightly better than the AHL in terms of competition, it's North American style, and it gives the Stars direct control over his development versus having him in Europe with a team that cares more about winning games than developing players for an NHL team.
 
SmellOfVictory said:
I don't see any way that Finland would be better for his development. SM-Liiga is only slightly better than the AHL in terms of competition, it's North American style, and it gives the Stars direct control over his development versus having him in Europe with a team that cares more about winning games than developing players for an NHL team.
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If you can't see any way it would be better then you don't have your eyes fully open. There's simply no telling whether SM-Liiga/SHL/KHL or AHL is better for any given player. It's certain that one isn't better for development than the other in general. So, it's pretty unreasonable to think that the AHL is absolutely better for him in this case. What matters is that the AHL will be good for him and good is good enough.
 
What are the odds that he'll be released from the AHL to play in the WJC? If the odds are slim, it would be polite to relay that message now because he is an integral part of the U20 team's blue line.
 
Gaps said:
What are the odds that he'll be released from the AHL to play in the WJC? If the odds are slim, it would be polite to relay that message now because he is an integral part of the U20 team's blue line.
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Ristolainen was released too from the AHL.
 
Gaps said:
What are the odds that he'll be released from the AHL to play in the WJC? If the odds are slim, it would be polite to relay that message now because he is an integral part of the U20 team's blue line.
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They know how important it's for the young players, pretty sure they let him go.
 
Rob Paxon said:
If you can't see any way it would be better then you don't have your eyes fully open. There's simply no telling whether SM-Liiga/SHL/KHL or AHL is better for any given player. It's certain that one isn't better for development than the other in general. So, it's pretty unreasonable to think that the AHL is absolutely better for him in this case. What matters is that the AHL will be good for him and good is good enough.
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I have no problems with him going to AHL since he wanted to go. Liiga or AHL, either were better than CHL. I just hope he's physically prepared for AHL. If you ask JYP fans, they might agree as well that he's better off playing in AHL since they're not all that happy with their coach. :laugh:
 
Derek Laxdal (Texas' new HC who led Edmonton to the Memorial Cup this spring) on Honka:

He's a headsy, smooth-skating, and hard to play against defenseman. It's going to be big learning curve for him to go from juniors to the AHL. I'm sure he'll have peaks and valleys in his game, but the fans of Texas are going to see an exciting player. He's here to play. I think he's going to surprise a lot of people how poised he is on the ice, and you'll see his game take off as the season moves along.
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Nill explains the situation a bit more:

I understand Swift Current’s position, he’s a great player and it’s awful to lose a player of that caliber. But once it became clear that he was on a one-year loan from Finland, it was cut and dry and became a moot point. We had to find a place to play him, and he showed through Traverse City and then more so in training camp, that he’s ready to play with men. We were open to go in either direction, but the players make the decisions for you sometimes with their play.
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http://wrongsideoftheredline.com/2014/10/02/nill-honka-will-remain-a-member-of-the-texas-stars-this-season/
 
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Naah.. I think he has been good. He just doesn't get much talk because he plays in the AHL and he is a Dallas Stars prospect. There just isn't a lot of Stars fans.

And we don't hear his name in Finland either a lot. Dallas has 8 d-men up and on 1-way contracts so it's really hard to see him getting any NHL time this season. I am just stats watching though, so if Stars fans want to tell something about him, I am also interested.
 
Honka , Lindell and Bäckman are still up with the big team fighting for a spot. The team has 7 other players under NHL contract so either the Stars have to carry 8 defenseman again or someone would have to get waived ( Jamie Oleksiak i'm looking at you ) for another defenseman to make the team .

Honka has been very noticeable offensively but he also can still be an adventure on defense from time to time. If he makes the team it would be 3rd pairing as an offensive/PP specialist that plays very sheltered minutes .
 
Haven't forgotten that he exists but the games aren't televised and the HFStars is dead - what can you do?

I'd actually greatly prefer it if Honka was talked about more than players like Pokka and Lindell. I think that he has some serious talent to be a brilliant NHLer.
 
Can Lindell and Honka both make it to the Stars lineup? If they simply just outplay the regulars, would it still be a no?
 
Oan said:
Can Lindell and Honka both make it to the Stars lineup? If they simply just outplay the regulars, would it still be a no?
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At most one makes the team. Oleksiak has been pretty bad and Jordie is better suited to be the 7th defenseman to fill in every once in a while. Thats whats available and that leaves just 1 spot .

Nemeth had a strong pre-season and camp . He should be a safe bet as a regular and the others aren't even up for discussion imho.
 
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