Heika: Players must do their part to prove they belong

DENVER -- A hockey team -- any sports team, really -- is a complicated collection of different parts at different stages of development that have to come together to form a cohesive unit.
And that creates a challenge not only for the mechanic, but for the parts, as well.
Imagine a gear or bolt being able to change size or shape. Imagine if the gear or bolt had the primary power to effect that change. When you take it outside the realm of human beings, it seems darn near impossible.
But human beings can change, and they do it pretty much everyday -- sometimes for good and sometimes for not. So as you watch the Dallas Stars come together, you witness just how tough it is for some of these parts to find the right size or shape.

It's a story all too common for Stars fans, and one that is happening today, not unlike so many other days in the past.
Julius Honka is a talented defenseman -- the 14th overall pick in the 2014 NHL draft -- and this is supposed to be his coming out season. In addition to getting a fresh start under a new coach who has a history of working with young players, Honka has seen a catastrophic string of injuries clear the deck for him to walk in and get the best playing time of his life.

But there he was a healthy scratch on Friday. There he was getting 9:52 in ice time on Saturday. Stars coach Jim Montgomery said before inserting Honka in the lineup against the Colorado Avalanche, he told the defenseman: "Make sure you play well enough so that there's no reason to take you out again."
Honka probably didn't do that.
He was on the ice for Nathan MacKinnon's goal at 13:11 of the second period and seemed to get caught beside the net while MacKinnon drifted into a wide open spot on the ice.
After that play, Honka had a seat on the bench for the next 13 minutes. He played three quick shifts in the third period, and clearly was not an option that the coaching staff wanted to trust in an intense one-goal game.
It was a continuation of a rough season for Honka, and you can say that the pressure to perform is getting to him. He seems tentative, afraid to make a mistake -- and that's a reasonable response to where the 23-year-old is. Jamie Oleksiak reacted similarly. Same with Patrik Nemeth at times. Stephen Johns did some of the same things until he said he just decided he couldn't play scared and became a lineup regular.
It's a process with these young(ish) defensemen, and each has to deal with it in his own way.

"I think confidence comes from your preparation," Montgomery said. "If you're prepared and you start having success, you gain confidence, and then you want the puck more. Then, you're going to pressure pucks, because you understand how we want to play and you're getting results from it. So your confidence comes from your own mental and physical preparation."
Montgomery said he is well aware of the battles each player is fighting, and that he wants to help them by giving them opportunities to prove themselves. That said, he still has to select the players who can help the Stars win the next game.
"When they're not progressing at the same level as other teammates are, that's when you fall out of the lineup or fall down in the depth chart," Montgomery said. "But with that, you've got to get them back in games. I found when I played and as a coach, when you sit players out, the players that want to be players they learn when they are out and when they come back -- they have an impact on your team."
Take Gavin Bayreuther, for example. He was great in camp, got sent back to the minors, battled an injury in Cedar Park, and was called back up on Nov. 15. Bayreuther could have struggled in his first crack at NHL play, but instead was solid. He played 14:48 that first game and then was elevated to 19:11, then 19:48, then 21:42, then 22:35. He played 23 minutes Saturday against the highest-scoring team in the league.
He has moved ahead of Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen to play on the top power-play unit, and while that group is badly missing John Klingberg, the coaching staff right now believes the 24-year-old Bayreuther is the best replacement.
That's high praise.

"He just seems to be getting better and better every game," Montgomery said. "The way he is playing every game and the minutes we are giving him, he looks like an NHL player. He could be a big part of what we're doing here for the rest of the year."
That's a pretty strong statement. Because if Klingberg (hand) and Marc Methot (knee) and Johns (neck/headache) and Connor Carrick (foot) return at some point, then the blueline will be pretty crowded. Now that's a lot of "ifs," but the fact Bayreuther has the coaching staff thinking in terms of year-long top six more than top 10 is a great accomplishment.
And, of course, even more pressure for a player like Honka to prove he deserves a place at the table.
But that is the essence of the human battle that is pro sports. Each gear does have the opportunity to make himself fit. Each bolt can prove it is crucial to holding the machine together.
"The best example is Jason Dickinson," Montgomery said of the forward who was healthy scratched twice in the first six games. "When we sat him out, he's never looked back."
Which makes the decisions so much easier for the coaching staff.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika,and listen to his podcast.