Who does Helenius model his game after?
"Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers) because he's born in Tampere, where I am, too," Helenius said. "He played for Tappara where I played and he's a two-way player and an all-around good player."
Jukka-Pekka Vuorinen, NHL director of European Scouting, has been impressed with the maturity and consistency that Helenius has exhibited. It was certainly a big reason he was No. 1 on Central Scouting's midterm ranking of International skaters.
"He's shown very good progress taking a big role on the men's team," Vuorinen said. "He still has hidden talents. I thought he got better as the World Juniors progressed."
Forward Lenni Hameenaho (New Jersey Devils), who was Helenius' linemate for a few games at World Juniors, feels two full seasons in Liiga will pay off in the future.
"I think he's a very smart player, can pass, shoot and is fun to play with," Hameenaho said. "He's a big player for Jukurit, so I wasn't too surprised by his play at World Juniors, though some people were. He's a strong guy even though he's not the biggest player on the ice. He can win those battles by being smarter than the opponent."
Helenius will continue to improve his defensive play, an area he wants to be more consistency. He has scored three power-play goals and has a 50.3 face-off winning percentage (374 draws taken).
"I am a minus-1 in Liiga right now but was plus-9 last season (in 33 games)," Helenius said. "I need to get better in the defensive zone but also in the offensive zone. I didn't score many 5-on-5 goals, just on the power play, so I need to get better in both areas."
PROSPECTS ON THE RADAR (listed alphabetically)
Kamil Bednarik, C, USA U-18 (NTDP): Bednarik (6-0, 185), No. 22 on Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters, has 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists) in 34 games with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team. He participated in the All-American Game on Monday that featured 41 of the top 2024 NHL Draft-eligible skaters and goalies from the NTDP and the United States Hockey League. He'll attend Boston University in 2024-25.
"Kamil is a good-sized center with a lot of skill," NHL Central Scouting’s David Gregory said. "He's got a real balanced attack, can finish but also can be a playmaker and has excellent compete. He's always on the right side of the puck and plays a solid game."
Trevor Connelly, LW, Tri-City (USHL): The No. 5 skater on Central Scouting's midterm list of North American skaters is tied for sixth in USHL scoring with 35 points (11 goals, 24 assists) in 25 games. Committed to Providence College next fall, Connelly (6-1, 161) is first with 13 power-play assists. He had one assist in the All-American Game.
"Connelly is a prospect that continues to impress scouts as he grows his game with speed, skills and compete," NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr said. "He plays and processes the game at speed, similar to what Patrick Kane and Mitchell Marner displayed in their draft years."
Matvei Gridin, RW, Muskegon (USHL): An All-American Game participant, Gridin (6-1, 185), No. 30 on Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters, is third in USHL scoring with 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists) in 32 games. Gridin, who is committed to the University of Michigan in 2024-25, is tied for fifth with seven power-play goals.
"Matvei has a nice combination of size, skill and goal-scoring ability," Central Scouting's Pat Cullen said. "He's very offensively gifted and has excellent hands and hockey sense. He's dangerous around the net and likes to score and find open ice to give himself chances."
LNH.com staff writer Guillaume Lepage contributed to this report.
