Helliwell is an unrefined two-way defender who skates well for his size in a straight line, but noticeably lacks consistent aspects to his skating ability. Most of the time, he changes direction with efficiency and smoothness, however, sometimes his transitions are clunky, awkward and with a complete loss of momentum. His legs generate power, but he can put his feet in awkward positions. He shows a confidence in his ability to skate with any opposition player though, and he closes assertively on the defensive end and is always willing to probe up ice to create another layer of attack. Defensively, he shows a keen ability to step up and deter plays in the neutral zone, using his physicality and an active stick to knock away pucks. He plays with intensity and can throw the occasional punishing body check; however, he is not an elite thinker as far as defensive coverage is concerned as he sometimes gets caught watching the play. Offensively, his ability with the puck isn’t explosive but he is crafty and strong at protecting his intentions. His shot is defined by his ability to accurately and quickly get pucks to the net in hopes of catching a sliding goaltender or an organically created screen rather than pure velocity. His presence and puck movement from the offensive blueline is strong. Overall, his confidence is sky high and there’s a lot of opportunity for him to explore his abilities if he can be more consistent.

– FCHockey’s 2020 NHL Draft Guide