| Julius Honka | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Honka in 2014 | |||
| Born | (1995-12-03)3 December 1995 (age 29) Jyväskylä, Finland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NL team Former teams | HC Davos Dallas Stars JYP Jyväskylä Lahti Pelicans Luleå HF SC Bern | ||
| National team |  Finland | ||
| NHL draft | 14th overall,2014 Dallas Stars | ||
| Playing career | 2014–present | ||
Julius Honka (born 3 December 1995) is a Finnish professionalice hockeydefenceman forHC Davos of theNational League (NL). Honka was selected by theDallas Stars in the first round (14th overall) of the2014 NHL entry draft.
Honka was a top rated prospect[1] who was ranked #11 on theNHL Central Scouting Bureau final list of 2014 NHL Draft eligible North American skaters.[2]
During the 2012–13 season Honka played with theFinland men's national under-18 ice hockey team at both the2013 IIHF World U18 Championships and the2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.[3] Moving to North America for the2013–14 season, he competed with Team Finland to win gold at the2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and was also selected to compete in the 2014CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.[4]
On 14 July 2014, Honka was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars.[5] During the2016–17 season, Honka scored his first career goal on 4 April 2017, a game winning overtime goal in a game against theArizona Coyotes.[6]
In the following2017–18 season, Honka was sent down to the Stars AHL affiliate, theTexas Stars, on 31 October 2017.[7] He was later recalled and remained with Dallas to appear in a career high 42 games.
Unable to cement a role at the NHL level within the Stars' blueline, Honka as a pending restricted free agent formally requested a trade from the Stars in September 2019.[8] Unable to facilitate a satisfactory trade during the off-season, on 10 October 2019, Honka signed a contract with his original Finnish club, JYP Jyväskylä of theLiiga. As a restricted free agent, the Dallas Stars would retain his rights.[9] In the2019–20 season, making his top level Liiga debut, Honka contributed with 4 goals and 15 points through 46 regular season games before the post-season was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
On 30 October 2020, Honka returned to the Dallas Stars organization after he was signed to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000 at the NHL level and $90,000 at the AHL level.[10][11] Honka was placed on waivers by the Stars on 20 January 2021. After going unclaimed Honka was reassigned by Dallas to Texas appearing in 17 games at the AHL level.
Unable to further his NHL career, Honka returned to Europe and signed a two-year contract with Swedish club,Luleå HF of theSwedish Hockey Leagu (SHL), on 26 May 2021.[12]
Honka comes from a family of hockey players; his three brothers also play the same sport.[13] His younger brotherAnttoni was drafted in the third round (83rd overall) by theCarolina Hurricanes in the2019 NHL entry draft and currently plays forJYP Jyväskylä of Finland'sLiiga.[14]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2011–12 | JYP | FIN U18 | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | JYP | FIN U20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | JYP | FIN U20 | 42 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 47 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | ||
| 2013–14 | Swift Current Broncos | WHL | 62 | 16 | 40 | 56 | 52 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2014–15 | Texas Stars | AHL | 68 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 55 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2015–16 | Texas Stars | AHL | 73 | 11 | 33 | 44 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | Texas Stars | AHL | 50 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 16 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 42 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Texas Stars | AHL | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 29 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | JYP | Liiga | 46 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Pelicans | Liiga | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Texas Stars | AHL | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Luleå HF | SHL | 46 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 22 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 87 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Liiga totals | 55 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Representing Finland | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 | 2014 Malmö | |
| World U18 Championships | ||
 | 2013 Sochi | |
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Finland | IH18 |  | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2013 | Finland | WJC18 |  | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Finland | WJC |  | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 2015 | Finland | WJC | 7th | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |
| 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 | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| WHL | ||
| CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game | 2013–14 | [15] |
| International | ||
| IIHF World U18 Championship | 2013 | [16] |
| Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament | 2013 | [17] |
| IIHF World U20 Championship gold medal | 2014 | [18] |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Dallas Stars first round draft pick 2014 | Succeeded by |