BUFFALO - Konsta Helenius has already built a reputation for showing up when the stage gets loud.
That was true in the spring, when the Sabres rookie was thrown into the heat of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with almost no runway and still managed to matter. It was true again in May, when he scored the golden goal in overtime to give Finland the World Championship over host Switzerland. And it was true one more time in July, when a ride through the forest with Finnish rally star Sami Pajari turned into a wild memory Helenius still talks about with a grin.
“He did like better time than with his own passenger who’s reading the map,” Helenius recently told the Times Herald in KeyBank Center. “It was crazy.”
For a 20-year-old who is expected to play Thursday in Columbus when the Sabres open what could be their most anticipated season in 15 or 20 years, the through line is obvious: nothing seems too large for him.
That showed up in Montreal on May 12, one day after his 20th birthday, when Buffalo needed him in the Bell Centre. He had played only nine NHL games and had never dealt with the grind and pressure of the playoffs, but the Sabres put him right in the middle of their second-round series. Over the final four games before Buffalo fell to the Canadiens in seven, he scored two goals and looked like he belonged.
“Some of the players play in this league like 10 years and they haven’t played a single playoff game, so it’s nice for me that I got it done in my first year,” Helenius said.
What makes that run stand out even more is where it started. Helenius opened the postseason in the minors, was elevated to a Black Ace, and ended up skating in the Sabres’ most important games in 15 years.
“He’s a pretty confident young man that a lot of things don’t bother him,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “There’s not a lot of things he fears.
He wants the puck in the big moment. He wants to be on the ice.
… He’s up for anything, and I think that’s the part you like about the player.”
Confidence has followed Helenius everywhere he’s played, and the numbers back it up. He had 21 goals and a team-high 63 points in 63 games for the Rochester Americans last season, the most points ever by a teenager in the AHL club’s history.
Before Buffalo drafted him 14th overall in 2024, he spent two seasons with Jukurit in Finland and produced 47 points, the second-highest total by a Liiga player before his 18th birthday. Only Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has done better.
That sort of production from someone this young is unusual. So is the way Helenius carries himself.
“When Helly goes to the rink, he thinks he’s the best player on the ice, no matter what his age is, and I think that’s … special,” said Rochester coach Mike Leone, who added that confidence is part of Helenius’ “DNA.”
Luukkonen said that trait is what sets the rookie apart.
“He’s not afraid to play, he’s not afraid to make plays,” he said. “He trusts himself, he trusts he can play at this level and make these plays, and he has done it.”
The 5-foot-11, 182-pound forward doesn’t advertise any of it. Teammates describe him as quiet, with his confidence showing more in how he plays than in what he says.
“It’s easy to talk about it and talk about things and playing the right way and … being confident,” Luukkonen said. “But I think he’s not about the talk. For him, I think it’s more about (how) he kind of shows it, too.”
Buffalo clearly thinks the same way. Helenius’ postseason surge was one reason the Sabres could move winger Alex Tuch, one of the NHL’s best two-way forwards, to the Washington Capitals in a sign-and-trade deal before free agency.
Still, the load won’t fall on Helenius alone. Jiri Kulich, who missed most of last season while recovering from a blood clot, and Noah Ostlund are expected to take on more responsibility up front, along with other young forwards ready for bigger jobs.
Helenius, a natural center, is likely to start Thursday on the wing against the Blue Jackets. Even after earning a roster spot, he had not been given a stall as of Wednesday because of the injury situation; he had a table and chair in the dressing room instead.
And even after all he accomplished last season, he wasn’t ready to assume anything.
“Last year was great, but it’s a new season and everything’s new, so you got to earn the spot here,” he said. “I think I had a great summer and great last season, so it gives me confidence. But everyone in this locker room wants to play.”
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