Buffalo Sabres draft Konsta Helenius at #14; Prospect Preview | PHLY Sports

Buffalo Sabres draft Konsta Helenius at #14; Prospect Preview | PHLY Sports

in constant helenus you’re getting one of the smartest forwards in the draft a player who’s already thriving against men in the top pro league in Finland and a player who seems like a solid bet to stick at Center so why might he drop to the teens instead of being a lock for the top 10 in the 2024 NHL [Music] draft pretty much all Scouts agree that conell helenius is going to be a quality NHL there’s just too many good things about his game which he showed in his draft year when he scored 36 points in 51 regular season games for his Club in Liga top pro league in Finland that’s not easy but are there enough great things about his game to give him true top-of-the-line of potential that’s the big debate around cona helenius and that’s the question that Scouts picking four teams in the top 10 are asking right now so if we’re talking about the strengths of helenius his game let’s start with the biggest one his intelligence he just thinks the game at an extremely high level he anticipates what opponents are going to do before they do it and then he beats them to a punch now that pops up everywhere with the puck in terms of manipulating defenses in the defensive Zone without the puck in terms of anticipating what the offense is going to do and it really pops up in his for checking his anticipation and his recognition it just really makes him a great for Checker and you add in the fact that he has an extremely high motor and he’s Relentless he just knows where to go on the for check and what it leads to is his team having the puck a lot more than they would otherwise helenius is also a pretty strong skater he’s not necessarily explosive but he has a good top speed and he’s rarely behind the play at the pro level which speaks to the fact that at the NHL he probably wouldn’t look out of place either and that Pro level experience in Finland and his success there it’s also really important to understanding why helenius is such a highly touted Prospect he’s shown that despite less than ideal size he can fight through contact against Pros he can be in effective Center against Pros there’s a certainty he brings that guys who have only succeeded in junior hockey or even just College hockey they just don’t bring to the table so what about helenius his weaknesses well the main one to my eyes is just the lack of an obvious Dynamic element to his game now look maybe he’s hurt by the fact that he’s playing against Pro level competition and some of his peers are playing in junior hockey or playing in college maybe if he was still in juniors in Finland he’d be tearing it up every night and he’d look more explosive and skilled but to my eyes and to most Scouts eyes he’s a little bit more of a jack of all trades type than a guy who really pops out when you watch him play there’s also some Scouts that worry about his size he’s a shade under six foot Scouts tend to prefer centers who are over six foot who are bigger and while he’s strong and that will lead likely to him making the NHL quicker than most of the other guys at the top of this draft class he’s never going to be physically dominant he’s a strong for Checker yeah but will he get the most out of that skill at the NHL level given his lack of size and lack of Ideal strength it’s unclear the big question though really is with regards to his ultimate upside there are few that doubt helenus is going to be a really good middle six center at the NHL level he might even be a great 2C but can he be a onec does he have franchise changing upside in comparison to peers like Kaden ledstrom or Berkeley katton or Ivan deid off his ceiling it just seems lower that said K helenius is floor is really really high teams need great second line centers too especially ones that look like they’re going to be able to drive play and score at a pretty high level at the NHL level Kaa helenus at least in my mind he strikes me as the kind of guy that every team in the NHL would want he’s a guy that coaches are going to love and he’s going to have a pretty good role at the NHL level to my eyes there’s certainty with him in terms of projection that a lot of the other prospects at the top of the draft just don’t have he just probably won’t be a star we allting like the mayor

In Prospect Preview, Charlie O’Connor gives a detailed description of 2024 NHL Draft prospect Konsta Helenius including a look at his strengths, weaknesses, and where he could land in the draft.

Learn more about this year’s NHL Draft prospects with Charlie O’Connor’s Prospect Preview series, airing daily at 12 PM EST on our YouTube. New prospects featured every day leading up to the draft! Head to the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL41s9y86dRgyn9vOg-oo_GCHv425_aTk3

#nhl #hockey #flyers #letsgoflyers #flyershockey

An ALLCITY Network Production

SUBSCRIBE: www.youtube.com/@PHLY_Sports

ALL THINGS PHLY:

WEBSITE:
http://allPHLY.com/

BUY MERCH:
http://PHLYLocker.com

EVENTS:
https://allPHLY.com/events

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL:
Twitter: @PHLY_Sports
Instagram: @PHLY_Sports

Join us LIVE weekdays at 1 PM EST for our PHLY Flyers Podcast offseason shows! Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don’t miss a show.

Want to be featured on Mailbag Question of the Day? DM your questions to @PHLY_Flyers on Twitter/X – make sure you’re following the account!

Learn more about this year’s NHL Draft prospects with Charlie O’Connor’s Prospect Preview series, airing daily at 12 PM EST on our YouTube. New prospects featured every day leading up to the draft! Head to the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL41s9y86dRgyn9vOg-oo_GCHv425_aTk3

Become a PHLY Diehard and get access to premium content, our Discord channel, discounts on merch, and a free shirt! Sign up here: https://allphly.com/join-diehard/