Sabres Draft #14: Konsta Helenius, 5'11" 189lb Center

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, JP51 said:

Cmon man he is another European under ft under 200 prospect that will never strike fear into the hearts of anyone in the corner... please just please... it's Adams motif and the motif of this team for 2 failing decades. 

I explain why you were wrong about this in another thread. You really wanna argue over 1inch of height and 10lbs of weight? Helenius is some light soft guy. He plays through contact and he is built, 18yrs old and 190lbs is thicc. Again, he isn't like Rosen or Östlund who were 165lbs sopping wet after a big spaghetti dinner. 

6 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:

Sounds like a player with upside. 

Watch this, note that it was from January so clips are of a 17yr old in a mens league.

 

Edited Saturday at 02:04 AM by LGR4GM

[JP51]

3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I explain why you were wrong about this in another thread. You really wanna argue over 1inch of height and 10lbs of weight? Helenius is some light soft guy. He plays through contact and he is built, 18yrs old and 190lbs is thicc. Again, he isn't like Rosen or Östlund who were 165lbs sopping wet after a big spaghetti dinner. 

I love how you say I am wrong as if any of us know how an 18 yr old is gonna play out in 6 years. You said I was wrong when I told you who Adams would pick too... we don't agree. I respect your opinion... I don't even say you are wrong... I say his (adams) philosophy is flawed and the look on Lindys face should say something about that. Time will tell

Edited Saturday at 02:06 AM by JP51

[LGR4GM]

1 minute ago, JP51 said:

I love how you say I am wrong as if any of us know how an 18 yr old is gonna play out in 6 years. You said I was wrong when I told you who Adams would pick too... we don't agree. I respect your opinion... I don't even say you are wrong... I say his (adams) philosophy is flawed and the look on Lindys face should say something about that. Time will tell

Time will tell.

13 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

Hellanus

This name alone should strike fear in to every opposing player in the league. 

Hide the baked beans!!!

Helenius not Hell *****... there's a joke here.

[LGR4GM]

wait ***** is a blocked word? It is anatomically correct

[Second Line Center]

Beginning to feel like it.  Adams isn’t going to sleep much this summer.  
 

 

[Second Line Center]

 

 

[LGR4GM]

Olli Jokinen on Konsta Helenius (Jokinen is his coach)

“He was the best player out there on the ice and generated a couple of goals just with a heavy forecheck generating turnovers and takeaways,” Jokinen says. “He can generate 5-7 takeaways per game which is something that Pavel Datsyuk was the last guy to be able to do as a center. Barkov is really good on that as well. So there’s a lot of similarities to those guys in the way Konsta plays.”

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5435518/2024/04/27/konsta-helenius-2024-nhl-draft/?source=emp_shared_article

from the same article

"His (Helenius) 36 regular season points were the fourth-most ever by an under-18 skater in Liiga, behind names like Barkov, Granlund and Kakko, and ahead of others like Laine, Lehkonen, Puljujarvi and Teravainen."

Edited Saturday at 02:18 AM by LGR4GM

[JP51]

10 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Time will tell.

Helenius not Hell *****... there's a joke here.

Omg I just spit out my bourbon lol 😆 well played lol 😆 

Edited Saturday at 02:18 AM by JP51

[LGR4GM]

3 minutes ago, JP51 said:

Omg I just spit out my bourbon lol 😆 well played lol 😆 

He spelled it Hell-Anu$ I mean, someone needed to point it out.

Also I hope it was not expensive bourbon haha. 

[LGR4GM]

 

[...]

I don't get the hand wringing. All of our decent forward prospects are on the cusp of being in the NHL so we need to stock up for the future. If you want a player overpay with some of the current prospects and roster players. 

In the meantime we got a true center who already has a two-way game and whose realistic ceiling is a 2C.

I remember when finding a good, true center was a challenge - is that no longer true?

 

[GoPuckYourself]

27 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I explain why you were wrong about this in another thread. You really wanna argue over 1inch of height and 10lbs of weight? Helenius is some light soft guy. He plays through contact and he is built, 18yrs old and 190lbs is thicc. Again, he isn't like Rosen or Östlund who were 165lbs sopping wet after a big spaghetti dinner. 

Watch this, note that it was from January so clips are of a 17yr old in a mens league.

 

He seems really skilled and aware both offensively and defensively. Like the guy said though, he wont have as much room at the NHL level but playing against men will help.

[pi2000]

IMO time will tell us this was overall a very weak draft.   Seems like the vast majority of top picks have their fair share of warts.   My expectation are low.

[LGR4GM]

lol

 

[Ctaeth]

I don't mind them making the pick.  Plus I like the idea of Helenius, seems like he would be a pretty good fit with his skillset.  The issue, for me, has always been that they have too many picks that will be ready at roughly the same time.  If you are going to make a trade, trade some of our current prospects b/c they can't all join the team at once.  Hopefully KA has something cooking with the 2nd and/or current set of prospects...

[thewookie1]

Like the pick but don't like the lack of improvement to the present roster thus far.

[dudacek]

A most Sabres-y pick on a most Sabres-y day.

[Brawndo]

Adams mentioned he was in the Top Ten on their list

[...]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

 

 

 

For all whose heart has been crushed by Mitts signing with the Avs, this guy here is just like Mitts. Actually, while he plays like Mitts, he hits better than Mitts does.

[Brawndo]

Adams also mentioned they want him in North America next year and will talk to Helenius and his agent about getting him over here 

Edited Saturday at 03:20 AM by Brawndo

[Pimlach]

18 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Adams mentioned he was in the Top Ten on their list

Did he mention why he didn’t trade the pick? 

[thewookie1]

3 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Did he mention why he didn’t trade the pick? 

He made mention that teams weren't interested in picks/packages for players this year for some reason and pointed to the lack of such trades through the night as proof 

[dudacek]

I'm a fan. He was my top choice @ 14 after we made the trade to the bottom of the tier.

Works hard, plays a complete game, good character, good skill: he's a good pick where we got him, on a tier with Kulich, Savoie and Östlund, IMO, as a likely NHL second- or third-liner, with a skill set that will be more adaptable to the bottom 6 than any of those guys will. Upside is Saku Koivu.

No issues whatsoever with the selection.

Plenty of issues with the work done so far on improving next year's roster.

[Second Line Center]

34 minutes ago, ... said:

 

For all whose heart has been crushed by Mitts signing with the Avs, this guy here is just like Mitts. Actually, while he plays like Mitts, he hits better than Mitts does.

 

ZERO issue with the player.  I like him a lot.  
 

This is an ominous start to the off season - the most important of Adam’s career and to some extent this current group of players.  
 

It’s never make or break.  But this is as close as it gets.  

[SabreFinn]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I will add that Helenius in comparison to Nygard is 7 months younger. Nygard is closer to Benson than Helenius so Helenius really has that growth potential. My concern is that Liiga is not a fast league, go watch it. Players can play fast but the speed in transition and the darting play that you see all over the NA game is just not really there because theres more ice and they just play a bit different. If Helenius adapts to the NA ice and can play with better pace, I think he could be pretty good. There's a bunch of NHL players that are really good 2nd line guys that aren't particularly flashy. We will see how he develops, I would focus on burst, handling, and let him continue to improve his shot. 

You are absolutely right about the way hockey in Liiga, I don't like it at all. It is very much focus on tactic. On the other hand, to play against men in that age in a league like that demand smartness and hockeysense. Speed is easier to work on.