'I like to battle hard' | Helenius brings mature, competitive identity to Sabres

LAS VEGAS – Kalle Helenius smiled as he sat inside a suite within Sphere in Las Vegas, overlooking the 160,000-square-foot screen that had served as a backdrop for the NHL Draft and the small circular stage from which his younger brother’s name had just been called.

Konsta Helenius stood nearby speaking to a Buffalo Sabres scout, with other members of the organization and the Helenius family scattered around. As he glanced toward his brother in his royal blue jersey, Kalle was reminded of the years of work that had precipitated Konsta being selected by the Sabres with the 14th-overall pick.

“From a young age, I’ve seen him working hard,” Kalle said. “Today was the day that he was working for.”

Hard work, defensive reliability, and on-ice intelligence are the traits most often associated with Konsta Helenius, who was the third-ranked international skater in the draft by NHL Central Scouting Services. Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said the forward was in the top 10 on the team's draft board; that they were able to pick Helenius at 14 spoke to the high variance of opinions in what is considered a deep class.

In Helenius, the Sabres see a true centerman whose experience could ready him for a move to pro hockey in North America sooner rather than later.

“We see a winning hockey player,” Adams said. “Someone who’s going to play center for us and help us win hockey games.”

Konsta attributed his competitive nature – and by extension his desire to win – to growing up with a brother who was two years his elder. The two competed in sports ranging from soccer to basketball to badminton, and of course hockey. Kalle recalled one instance when, in an attempt to lift his older brother’s stick, Konsta delivered a high stick to Kalle's face that required three stitches.

“He hates losing,” Kalle said. “Every time I won against him in the backyard, he wanted to play again until he won.”

Those battles helped forge Konsta’s on-ice identity. He’s listed at 5-foot-11 and 189 pounds, yet his physicality – his ability to win battles down low and create offense off the forecheck – is considered a strength. It’s allowed him to excel while playing against men since he was 16 years old in Liiga, the top professional league in Finland.

Helenius had 36 points (14+22) in 51 games this past season, the fourth-highest single-season total by an under-18 player in Liiga history behind current NHL forwards Aleksander Barkov, Mikael Granlund, and Kaapo Kakko. His 47 career points trail only Barkov among U-18 players in the league’s history.

Helenius’ sophomore campaign – and his subsequent point-per-game performance in the playoffs – earned him a place on Finland’s team at the men’s World Championship in May. He was 17 when that tournament began, playing against rosters partially comprised of NHL players.

“I think it was good for me to play against men because I like to battle hard,” he said. “I’m not the biggest guy, but I think I’m a very strong guy, and I think it was good for me.”

Helenius is touted for his mature defensive game, which he credits to having spent the past two seasons playing for longtime NHL forward Olli Jokinen. Those close to Helenius say he has a knack for being in the right places at the right time.

“He knows what’s going to happen half a second before everybody,” said forward Emil Hemming, a teammate of Helenius who was drafted 29th by the Dallas Stars.

Packaged all together, the professional experience and mature on-ice habits make for the sort of identity that Adams said could translate to the NHL before long. The Sabres have experience to that end, having seen Zach Benson play 71 games last season after being drafted 13th-overall. (Jokinen, who played over 1,200 NHL games, told “The Athletic” in April that he believed Helenius could make a roster out of training camp next fall.)

Adams said the Sabres, Helenius, and his representatives will discuss the best path for his development, be it another season in Liiga or a jump to North America in Rochester or Buffalo.

“We’re always open to things,” Adams said. “We want to hear what the player has to say and the agent, what they feel is best for their development. This is a player we’d like to get over here as fast as possible.”

Here are more notes from Day 1 of the NHL Draft.

1. Adams said last week that he had told opposing teams that the Sabres’ first-round pick – originally 11th-overall – was available for the right offer.

The Sabres did trade that pick on Thursday, acquiring the 14th-overall pick from the San Jose Sharks along with an additional pick in the second round (42nd overall). They did so with the belief that, given the depth of the class, they would still select a player high up on their board.  

It went according to plan, with the one player the Sabres would have been worried about missing out on at 11 – Adams didn’t name the player – having already been selected by that point.

“We felt there was potentially one player that we would really be nervous about falling if we moved out of 11, if he was there and we didn’t have a chance to take him,” Adams said. “So, we had to weigh that. That player wasn’t there. … We had Konsta inside our top 10, and that’s a great thing.”

2. Adams said he had discussions on trades involving the 14th pick for immediate roster help, but none came to fruition. In fact, there were no trades involving NHL players for the duration of the first round.

“We were certainly aggressive,” Adams said. “So, that’s just the way these things go. But that’s why you still do the work and make sure you’re prepared with your list. But we’re going to do everything we can to make our roster better. That was what I was making clear to teams around the league. We were open to anything, but it wasn’t the way the draft fell this year.”

3. Adams said the Sabres are still pursuing all avenues to improve the roster, including the trades of Day 2 draft picks or existing prospects.

“If the right trade’s there, we're gonna make it to make our team better, including our prospects,” he said. “And I've made every team aware of that. Some of the conversations or people asking about our prospects has been a little bit more focused on maybe the prospect they have or a draft pick, and that's really not what we're focused on doing.

“We really like our prospect group, but we want to make our team better. So, if we're gonna move a prospect, especially a top prospect, it's with the goal of us improving our roster right now. And that just hasn't been available yet.”

4. Helenius was welcomed to the Sabres in true Buffalo style - with a yellow Guess jacket, à la Buffalo Bills rookie Keon Coleman.

5. Day 2 of the draft begins at 11:30 a.m. EST on ESPN+ and NHL Network. The Sabres enter the day with the following selections:

Buffalo’s Day 2 picks are as follows:

Round 2, 42nd overall (from New Jersey via San Jose)

Round 2, 43rd overall

Round 3, 76th overall

Round 4, 108th overall

Round 4, 109th overall (from Philadelphia)

Round 5, 161st overall (from Florida)

Round 6, 172nd overall

Round 7, 204th overall

For continued draft coverage, visit Sabres.com’s NHL Draft Hub.