For Julius Honka, coaching change and restored confidence key to truly finding his game

BOISE, Idaho — Jim Montgomery took a deep dive into the game film when he was hired by the Dallas Stars.

He watched systems, he watched individual players, he did everything he could to try to diagnose what happened to the Stars during the past two seasons.

Figuring out Julius Honka was one of the more interesting studies for Montgomery. The defender had first-round talent, he could move the puck, but he was struggling to find success in the NHL and had failed to do so under two head coaches.

When Montgomery looked at the film he saw in Honka a lack of confidence. There were many things to like, but the defender needed to be in a spot where he was trusted and wasn’t second-guessing himself every shift.

“I want to get the confidence back and play the offensive style of game that I do,” Honka said. “It’s nothing too much, just play and, of course, pay attention to those little details. Just enjoy and play, kind of go with the flow.”

And that’s why a coaching change could be the perfect foundation for Honka, who came into training camp here in Idaho with a blank slate and an opportunity off the bat to play alongside Marc Methot in what looks to be the Stars’ second or third pair heading into this season.

“He’s got a ton of talent, lots of skill, lots of potential,” Methot told The Athletic. “With Honks, he’s got everything. I think managing the game properly and knowing when to maybe simplify things a little bit. You beat one guy, maybe you don’t need to beat that other guy on your own. And I think he’s learning from that, and he’s got it all. The ball is in his court, and it’s a matter of him applying it to his games at the NHL level.”

And the Stars’ new approach should fit Honka well. In the past, John Klingberg was the only defender with a true green light from Ken Hitchcock throughout the season. Stephen Johns had earned it by the end of the season, but the rest of the defenders were forced to live a chip-and-chase mentality.

Montgomery has an opposite ideal. If there is a chance, he wants Honka to push the play and create a clean zone entry by skating the puck through the neutral zone.

“I think the biggest thing is I want to be myself more,” Honka said. “I haven’t really had the chance to bring the best out of me yet. It was a good summer. I feel ready to go.”

And on Saturday, the normally stone-faced Honka actually smiled.

“You know what? I saw a smile on his face for the first time today. So I was really happy,” Montgomery said. “He’s always guarded around me, and I felt like someone, I don’t know how, he was smiling around the coaches. I think he’s starting to see that his feet are gonna be something that are gonna really help us the way we want to play defensively and offensively.”

Honka said he’s enjoyed playing with Methot in training camp and it’s a combination that he feels confident with. Methot allows Honka to play his game, while he also creates a bit of a safety net as the younger defender figures out when and when not to jump into the play.

Relying on your feet and trusting a strong skating base are a point of emphasis in camp. And while straight-line speed might not be Methot’s game, he believes his skating ability is the reason he’s still in the NHL at this point.

“I do think I’m probably one of the best backwards skaters in the league right now. I might not be the fastest guy,” Methot said. “But skating has always been one of my strengths for my size. I don’t think I’ve ever been burned in my career one-on-one, ever. So skating is a thing that’s always worked out for me and it’s allowed me my longevity.”

“That’s probably the strength of his game at how good he is in keeping a tight gap and keeping you within arms reach,” Jason Spezza said. “I’d say that’s what makes him so effective. His skills are not that offensively that skilled, but he’s got good feet and he’s that true veteran defenseman that knows about time and angles and time and space and knows about gap control.”

Crease battle

While the Stars goaltending depth chart is set at the NHL level with Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin, there is a key position battle for the starting job in the AHL and the de facto No. 3 role within in the organization between Colton Point, Phillipe Desrosiers and Landon Bow.

Whoever finishes third in that race will likely be back in Idaho by the end of this month and serve as the starting goalie for the Steelheads.

Stars goalie coach Jeff Reese discussed each of the goaltenders with The Athletic on Saturday.

Point seems to have the upper edge based on his draft and recent contract status, and Reese said that he’s seen growth in the Colgate product after he got his first taste of pro hockey in the Traverse City prospect tournament last weekend.

“Yesterday in practice and today he really impressed me,” Reese said. “I actually had skated with him a little bit prior to Traverse City; he came in early. And he’s just getting better and better and better. As he learns how to become a pro and the responsibility of being a No. 1 goaltender, the sky is the limit. I mean, he looks terrific right now and he’s just going to continue to get better.”

Desrosiers has spent the majority of his career in the ECHL and had a small cheering section in the corner on the rink during the final session on Saturday.

“You know what? Phil has been excellent and I’m excited to see there is going to be a competition now,” Reese said. “He’s ready to push and further his career. He’s gonna push. He looks really good.”

Bow played 46 AHL games last season and was the backup behind Mike McKenna during the Calder Cup playoffs. The undrafted free agent has shown up to camp in better shape, and looks more mobile than he has in the past.

“Bowsy has made some huge steps from last year,” Reese said. “He’s got a great attitude. He conditioned at Gary Roberts this summer, so he’s putting in the effort. And he wants it. He’s got a great demeanor for the position. I’m excited how it’s all gonna play out. We have some very good depth right now.”

Reese also said he’s enjoyed working with Khudobin, who has been one of the bigger characters on the team.

“I don’t think he ever has a bad day,” Reese said. “He’s just full of life, just full of energy and he’s looked terrific.

“He’s very polished technically. His positioning, because he’s a smaller guy, he needs to position himself a little more aggressively,” Reese added. “He might not be that tall, but he sure covers a lot of the net and he’s very quick. Very strong, very powerful. He reads the play extremely well, and he’s been a pleasure.”

Growing the game

The Steelheads and the city of Boise had been angling to host training camp for almost a decade before the NHL franchise finally made the trip to Idaho this weekend.

Dallas originally planned to host training camp here in 2012 and there would have been an NHL preseason game between the Stars and Minnesota Wild, but it was wiped out by the lockout.

“It’s terrific not only for our organization but also the City of Boise,” Steelhead coach Neil Graham told The Athletic. “I just think it’s good for the sport and the growth of hockey in the area … from us, for our point of view, we’re getting professional hockey in our arena, obviously NHL-caliber hockey two to three weeks earlier than we start up, so it just gets that buzz going.”

The Stars and Steelheads have been affiliated since the 2003-04 season, it’s the third-longest NHL-ECHL affiliation.

“It’s been terrific. I think the first word that comes to mind is professional,” Graham said. “I think they bring in good people that have similar core values. They have the same beliefs through the top and right through our organization.”

Idaho currently has the longest playoff streak in North American pro hockey, having made it 21 straight seasons, and because of depth within the Stars organization, the ECHL team is expected to be strong this season.

Graham is entering his fourth season as the Steelheads head coach and at 33 is considered a strong candidate for upward mobility sooner than later.

Odds and Ends

— Martin Hanzal skated on his own before the rest of the groups on Saturday. He’s looked more comfortable with each session, but you can’t judge his progress based on skating since it’s completely dependent on how his spine heals.

— Ben Gleason continues to impress after signing a three-year contract with the team earlier this week. The rookie defenseman appears to have worked his way into an AHL roster spot and will likely run one of the Texas Stars power play units.

— Roman Polak addressed the media for the first time on Saturday. He said he’s feeling healthy heading into training camp and feels like he’s ready and comfortable to play with pace of Montgomery’s system after last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

— The Stars will scrimmage on Sunday before flying back to Texas. Montgomery said he expects to get all of the Stars NHL players into the scrimmage, which will be two 30-minute halves after a 35-minute practice.

— When asked about who impressed him on Saturday, Montgomery had more praise for Heiskanen.

“Oh, Heiskanen, Jesus. Can he ever skate?” Montgomery said. “I mean, the one time he got the puck on the pass from Spezza on the two-on-one and I actually thought he was actually supposed to be the defenseman defending it he was so far up the ice.”

(Top photo of Julius Honka: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)