Konsta Helenius is the 2024 NHL Draft’s skilled and savvy Finnish prodigy
Every year, scouts find specific players who they are particularly drawn towards. Konsta Helenius is one of those players.
Helenius was phenomenal this season playing in the top Finnish men’s league. His performance led to his top-five rank in FCHockey’s Final ranking for the 2024 NHL Draft.
The Ylöjärvi, Finland native played exclusively in Liiga with Jukurit. Across 51 games playing in Finland’s top men’s circuit, Helenius scored 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists). He then added another six points (two goals, four assists) across six ;layoff games. That impressive performance stands as one of the best among players who played in Liiga in their age-17 season. In fact, it’s the the fifth-highest point total by a draft-eligible player in league history behind Aleksander Barkov (48, 2012-13), Olli Jokinen (41, 1996-97), Mikael Granlund (40, 2009-10) and Kaapo Kakko (38, 2018-19).
In 2022-23, Helenius also saw time in Liiga, playing 33 games as a 16-to-17-year-old, scoring 11 points (three goals, eight assists). He also played his first season at the U20 level with Tappara that year, where he dominated with 28 points (eight goals, 20 assists) in just 19 games.
What skills does Helenius possess that have allowed him to have this amount of success?
Helenius is a deceptive skater
One of Helenius’ best traits is certainly his skating. In all three zones, his skating has proven to be a valuable asset to his style. He isn’t necessarily a burner, as he doesn’t fly up and down the ice constantly. However, he has above-average speed and acceleration, able to get up to speed quickly and, at times, pull away from opposing pressure. What allows his skating to be such a focal point of his game is his edge work. Offensively, if he faces pressure, he can stop on a dime and complete sharp turns with no warning, leaving defenders lost in the dust behind him. That ability to change direction effortlessly also helps him in the defensive zone, as he isn’t easily shaken off and can stick with his opponents in almost every situation.
Not only that, but this aspect shines in his transitional abilities as well. He is so slippery, able to cut in and out of traffic. He also does a good job of changing his pace on the go, slowing down and speeding up. This throws off defenders’ gaps and can allow him to open space for himself in order to gain the zone. Simply put, he is very difficult to defend due to his skating alone. He pairs that with other skills, which will be discussed below, making him substantially more difficult to truly defend.
Helenius as a goal-scorer
This season, as previously mentioned, Helenius potted 16 goals at the top level in Finland. How has he done this? Across three randomly tracked games, he recorded 13 total shot attempts, with eight of them being on net for a 61.54% shots-on-net rate. He ended up firing just one shot from the high-danger area—the home plate area in front of the net—and it did not hit the target. Meanwhile, he took eight shots from the medium-danger area—the fringes of the high-danger spot—with five of them on net. While this was not tracked in particular, it felt like a majority of his shots came off the rush, especially those medium-danger shots. He would skate in, angle down just inside the circles, and fire the puck at the net.
Now, his shooting isn’t super threatening. At even strength, he isn’t getting shots from in tight. Away from the puck, he attacks open space very well. Helenius times his movements with the direction of play really well. That said, he does get open for teammates in good spots. However, he does lack consistent power outside of his one-timers. Those one-timers also don’t make a ton of appearances at even strength. That said, he has an accurate shot and has proven to have a knack for finding small openings between the blocker and leg pad of goalies as they drop down into the butterfly.
Something to note: seven of his goals came on the power play, one more came on a six-on-five as the extra attacker, and two more came on empty nets. That means six of his 16 goals came at five-on-five.
Playmaking is his bread and butter
While he can pose a threat with his shot on occasion, the real threat is Helenius’ work as a playmaker. Across those same three games, he attempted 25 offensive zone passes and completed 16 of them, for a completion rate of 64%. Of those completed passes, he recorded four shot assists—a pass that led directly to a shot on net—with all four being scoring chances. Nine of his attempts were high-danger passes—cross-ice passes or passes aimed at the home plate area—and he completed four of them. Helenius loved playing from the outside and working to the inside. He utilized his edges brilliantly to open lanes through to the slot with those quick changes of direction. That explains the nine pass attempts aimed at high-danger areas.
Helenius has very good hands, though he does not use that skill more than he has to. However, he can make subtle plays with his hands. Paired with his skating, he can shake off defenders and open up passing lanes. He is quick with his decisions as well, as previously mentioned. Helenius loves those quick one-touch passes when given the opportunity. He’s usually a step ahead of everyone else on the ice. Now, three of his passes were intercepted, while another six of his incomplete passes were inaccurate—though not turned over—and that’s due to one main concern.
The main concern for Helenius
Throughout those three games, there was one main concern: physicality. Throughout the season, there was a steady improvement from Helenius when it came to the physical side of the game. Early on, it felt like he avoided those board battles and was hardly one of the first two forwards into the zone to forecheck. Steadily, he became more and more involved, which is a positive sign. Despite that, there were still moments where he truly struggled to handle pressure with the puck on his stick. If there was a situation where he didn’t have the space, momentum, or time to use his skating or stickhandling to evade pressure, he had a hard time dealing with the strength of the opposition. That’s what led to the interceptions—albeit just three—and the inaccurate passes.
He wound up recording three forced turnovers off the forecheck—where he was the primary cause for a takeaway off the forecheck—and had one keep-in, moments where he kept the puck in the zone at or around the blue line. But, on top of the intercepted passes, he also recorded eight giveaways, getting knocked off the puck and losing possession. All in all, the smarts, skating, puck skill, and passing ability certainly make up for the mistakes he made as a 17-to-18-year-old player playing against men. It’s important to note that those were not mental “rookie” mistakes; they were primarily moments where he was overpowered. He opened the season weighing 168 pounds at 5-foot-10 — now he is recorded at 190 pounds, adding over 20 pounds over the season. He’ll be alright with the physicality in time.
Offensive game summation
Overall, Helenius predicates his game on being smarter than the opponent. He can also win with the raw skill he has one-on-one if necessary. Helenius uses his teammates well with simple, possession-based passes if there isn’t a play to be made. He can find his teammates in dangerous spots if they can get there. Additionally, he can be a scoring threat on the man advantage with his one-timer. That’s certainly a good player to have on your roster, especially as he continues to develop his shot and physical abilities.
The only true concern still remains—the physicality. He put on more weight and became more confident, which led to more involvement in battles and checks, and it certainly didn’t look to be much of a concern towards the end of the year. But if he cannot create separation with his skating and puck skills, which is very much an issue he will face at the NHL level, how will he handle the tight checking there? If he cannot learn to win those physical battles and work through contact, then he could face some struggles establishing himself. However, that’s something that can be taught and trained, and his quick development in his physical involvement paints a more positive picture for him moving forward.
Helenius is an uber-efficient transitional player
Helenius uses his aforementioned skill set—skating, hands, IQ—and blends them together to be a strong puck mover. Despite playing in the top men’s league in Finland, he ranks second in the forward class, behind Brittan Alstead, who had involvement in five entry attempts. In total, Helenius was directly involved in 26 entry attempts, with 20 successfully gaining the offensive zone with possession, resulting in a 76.92% controlled entry rate. Of his entries, 17 were successful with Helenius skating the puck into the zone himself. Of the six other attempts, four were dump-ins, with two of them being successfully retrieved by his teammates. Thus, 22 entry attempts led directly to offensive zone possessions, which is an 84.62% rate. The other two attempts were considered failures—entries that were denied by the opposition at or just beyond the blue line.
Watching him knife through the neutral zone is always fun. He carries the puck with a ton of confidence, trusting his senses and skill to get through the neutral area and into an attacking situation. Then, when he gains the zone, he will look to get just inside the tops of the circles for a shot. While they aren’t always threatening, they do lead to rebounds for himself or teammates who can catch the defenders flat-footed as they open their hips to turn around and look at the net. It also leads to offensive zone faceoffs if the goalie can hold the puck, allowing the team to win the draw and set up for a strong possession opportunity.
Exiting the defensive zone more of a struggle, but still efficient
When it came to getting the puck out of the defensive zone, Helenius was a bit less involved and efficient. He was not bad by any means, but there was less room for error, leading to different decisions than he would have made entering the offensive zone. In total, he was directly involved in 18 exit attempts, with nine being successful exits with possession, resulting in a 50% controlled exit rate. The other nine attempts included four clears—exit attempts that left the zone but without direct possession.
For example, Helenius registered these clears by soft flips away from the opposition to clear the zone, and the opposition would collect the puck and have to reset for another entry. That means 13 of his 18 attempts exited the zone in some capacity, for a 72.22% clearance rate. The other five attempts included two exit failures and three icings. Fun fact: all three of his icing calls came in one game — the last game tracked on March 30.
The difference between entering the offensive zone and exiting the defensive zone, stylistically
The biggest difference between gaining the offensive zone and leaving the defensive zone came down to his smarts. When gaining the offensive zone, he would use his vision and IQ to find skating lanes, whether they were wide open or a bit of a squeeze that he had to slice his way through. In his own end, he recognized the potential costly errors if he failed to get through that lane. He would opt to simply flip it out and give chase to prevent another entry, thus hardly making mistakes. In the last game, with the three icings, he was under tight pressure and missed his passes or flipped the puck further out than intended. But at the end of the day, Helenius showed his high-end IQ and skill transitionally in both his exits and entries—in different ways.
Defensive game is solid, growing more as the season went on
With the IQ that Helenius possesses, it’s not surprising to hear he is good at defending. However, at the beginning of the year, there were some blemishes. To start, he played different forward positions throughout the season—mostly center with some right wing sprinkled in. Early in the year, as a center, he didn’t always support his defenders low and struggled along the walls. But as the season progressed, similar to what was mentioned with his offensive game, he put on more weight and became more willing to get involved. That led to his game evolving in his own end, becoming a more well-rounded and efficient defensive zone player.
While there were still some blemishes—including moments where he would be everywhere with no organization to his positioning—a majority lay in his tendency to cheat up ice on breakouts. It didn’t happen every time, however. He did show moments of support by swinging low for his defenders to have an easy outlet. But in many breakouts, he quickly shot up ice to gain an advantage on an entry.
Overall, Helenius recorded 19 defensive zone puck touches, with just two defensive zone giveaways. In turn, he forced six turnovers, including one intercepted pass. He even added a shot block to his total. Helenius also showed a knack for being a good back-checker. He wound up recording three entry disruptions—situations when a forward disrupts an entry attempt by the opposition. All in all, Helenius is a very positive defensive zone presence. The small warts in his game should not hold him back much at all moving forward. With added time and more coaching, he’ll learn to limit those tendencies anyway.
Projection: Where will he go and what role will he play?
When it comes to the draft, Helenius has borderline top-five talent. However, there’s a vibe that he could fall just outside the top 10. Some players ultimately play a more preferable offensive style. Other players, like Cayden Lindstrom, have the size and skill combo that teams absolutely covet. Then, there’s the plethora of top defenders. With the value of defenders and the sheer amount of potential future number ones, several defenders could land ahead of Helenius. That being said, he should still be a top-15 pick when all is said and done. The team that gets him will likely be very satisfied with their selection.
As for his projection, there’s a ton of play-driving potential with Helenius due to his outstanding transitional skills and IQ. He likely sticks to the wing early on in his career. Of course, he still has the potential to shift back to center after some developmental years. He definitely projects as a top-six forward with special teams upside. That upside comes as a power play scoring threat and solid penalty killing ability. Additionally, he’s already having translatable success in Europe.
His contract in Finland ends at the end of next season, meaning he will stay another year overseas. After that, the team that drafts him should look to get him over to North America. It’s important to work him into AHL games with the hope he can translate well to smaller rinks. The hope is that he can maintain his efficiency on smaller ice surfaces, especially transitionally. If he can, he has a pretty safe floor as a middle-six forward. He has good odds of becoming an NHLer at some point in the next three years.
What others are saying:
“Helenius is a highly-intelligent, dynamic two-way center who plays an impressively mature game for his age. In my eyes, he is one of the most complete players in this class, which is an asset that’s gonna help him be extremely important player for his future NHL team. He is very responsible defensively and very intelligent on offense, where he makes smart decisions to elevate his wingers — often making those smaller plays that lead to extended offensive zone possession and future chances.” — FCHockey crossover scout Samuel Tirpak
“Helenius is a skilled and dynamic center who gains a great advantage over others thanks to his exceptional skating. He has very explosive first strides, and with his crossovers he is able to constantly create more speed with long, steady strides. He has a balanced skating position, which makes him difficult to destabilize whether he is on the inside or outside edge. He also has excellent puckhandling skills. The puck doesn’t bounce on his stick and even if he momentarily lose control of it he can quickly handle it again even without looking. The smaller and tighter the space, the more likely he is to get through it with the puck.” — FCHockey regional scout Arttu Myllymaki
Helenius’s tracked games: Sept. 21st, 2023 vs. Assat, Jan. 20th, 2024 vs. Sport, Mar. 30th, 2024 vs. Karpat
All stats used were tracked at five-on-five