Yahoo Sports Buffalo Sabres Prospects – #3 Konsta Helenius
The Buffalo Sabres are considered one of the best deepest prospect pools in the NHL, not only because of their selecting high in recent drafts but also due to their eye for talent and their organizational choices of either leaving players to develop in their home countries or bringing them to North America. Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club’s top 40 prospects. All are 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals and have played less than 40 NHL games.
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3. – KONSTA HELENIUS - C (Jukurit – SM Liiga)
Helenius was the Sabres first-round pick (14th overall) at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas after an impressive season in the SM-Liiga and internationally for Finland at three levels. The young center exceeded at the junior level at the age of 16 and played 33 games against adult competition, and played at the Under-18’s in 2023.
At 17, Helenius had 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists) in 51 games for Jukurit, seven points in five games at the Under-18’s, played seven games at the IIHF World Juniors in Sweden, and saw limited action at the World Championships in May.
The Hockey Prospect Black Book said “Helenius can be characterized as a natural playmaking center who plays with an edge while offering a good amount of agility and craftiness……(his) biggest asset is his playmaking ability, (he) is a gifted passer, who can routinely make high end passes while at half and full speed. Much of his success as a playmaker is due to his ability to fluidly move through all three zones while baiting a level of pressure or attention that he’s able to handle, in order to open up options.”
Konsta Helenius is such a fun player to watch.
Check out this play from the 1st round pick on the assist to Anton Wahlberg as the #Sabres wrapped up the Prospects Challenge against the Penguins.
Jiri Kulich said postgame that Helenius doesn't play like an 18 year old.@WGRZ pic.twitter.com/PAyuPpMOgl— Jonathan Acosta (@_jacosta) September 17, 2024
Many draft analysts believed Helenius’s highly advanced two-way game made him close to being pro-ready, which is the reason after development camp in early July the Sabres signed him to an entry-level contract and decided to bring him to North America. At last week’s Prospect Challenge, the 18-year-old played center with 2022 first-rounder Noah Ostlund (normally a center) shifting to the wing.
Helenius will likely remain at the center when he starts his professional career in Rochester, and his timeline for the NHL will be based on how quickly he adjusts to the North American game.
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