One of the top center prospects in the draft, the well-rounded Finnish prospect Konsta Helenius is next on our Community Draft Board as we enter the double digits.
Pre-draft rankings
No. 12 by Elite Prospects
No. 8 by TSN (Bob McKenzie)
No. 9 by The Athletic (Scott Wheeler)
No. 12 by Daily Faceoff
Statistics
What’s there to like?
Helenius does a lot of things well, though nothing stands out as elite: he competes hard, makes skillful plays as a playmaker, defends well, and can drive his line–he’s even decent at face-offs. What’s most impressive is that he’s been doing all this against men in Finland’s Liiga as an underager; he had a solid showing in this year’s playoffs with Jukurit, too, posting six points in six games. Helenius also made the men’s team for Worlds this year.
Don’t let the playmaking fool you, though: Helenius (wearing #91) has a good shot, too, on display in the video above. He gains the zone, hides the drop pass to his speeding teammate, receives the pass back and snipes one past the goaltender–that’s a great play.
Helenius isn’t the best skater in the draft, but he’s no slouch either:
In the clip, you can see that Helenius is good enough to get the puck, skate it down the ice and get around a defender who’s much larger than him–you can already envision him pulling a move like that on the Flyers penalty kill. If Helenius can find another gear for his skating, he’ll be quite a threat on breakaways–and that separation would make him a natural on the Flyers power kill.
There aren’t really any red flags to his game, and he projects to keep the center position as a pro in the NHL, but…
What’s not to like?
Helenius is under six feet tall–though just barely at 5-foot-11. Would that be an issue as a center in the NHL? Only one way to find out, but Helenius has been producing against men in the Finnish leagues for years, so one would assume it’s not going to be a significant hurdle to clear. Still, NHL GMs have their hang-ups about “small” players, particularly in a position like center. For the Flyers, that might not be an issue–Briere’s shown a willingness to draft smaller players with skill (Denver Barkey, e.g.)–but their roster is starting to get a bit crowded by smallish players. The well-roundedness to Helenius’s game is there, but he could fall down the draft board because GMs like their centers big (see: Cayden Lindstrom) or because no single element of his game stands out.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
Given his top-six upside and premium position, Helenius would immediately become the second best prospect in the Flyers’ system–or third, if you’re particularly high on Oliver Bonk. Center is the weakest position in the Flyers’ organization, and Helenius looks like a natural C; if he turned pro next year, he’d likely find himself in at least the middle-six of the big club.
However, because he’s “undersized,” and the Flyers are being patient with prospects instead of rushing them to the NHL, Helenius probably spends another year or two in Finland or starts with the Phantoms; this gives him additional time to put on weight and strength to prepare for the NHL. It’d be exciting to see him at the pro level though, setting up Owen Tippett or Tyson Foerster on the power play, feeding Travis Konecny on shorthanded breakaways…Helenius is a fun prospect to dream on, if his well-roundedness elevates in the pros or a key aspect of his game becomes elite.
Could the Flyers actually get him?
There’s a chance the Flyers will be able to draft Helenius. Unless there’s a run on centers by all the teams ahead of the Flyers (unlikely, considering the defensive talent on the board), one of Helenius, Berkly Catton or Cayden Lindstrom could be available at 12 for the Flyers. Which one of the three will fall is the more intriguing question but, given how mushy picks 2-14 are in rankings, there’s no way to predict how draft day will play out.
What scouts are saying
Helenius is a joy to watch navigate, manipulate and pass the puck with his smarts and intuition. He’s got an ability to find his teammates in space and then get pucks to them with the perfect weight and timing, even while he’s well covered. He also stirs the drink through his effort level, regularly coming up with pucks when you don’t expect him to while quietly and efficiently impacting play at both ends of the rink and coming up with a ton of steals and lifts. He’s both a driver and a playmaker.
Scott Wheeler – The Athletic
His defensive tracking in transition is very solid, always identifying his man and staying in stride with them, tying up their stick if and when the puck came to them. Helenius defaulted to the front of the net when defenders went into the corners, ensuring he was there to thwart center lane passes. Along the boards, Helenius understood how to leverage body position and tie up sticks. He isn’t the biggest or strongest player, which was noticeable at times, but his motor was consistently running, which helped offset the strength deficiency.
Tony Ferrari – The Hockey News
He is an excellent playmaker who can make a lot of difficult passes consistently. He shows the vision to run a pro powerplay effectively. He skates well and creates a lot of offense with pace for himself and others. Helenius isn’t a big center, but he gives strong efforts off the puck, doesn’t shy from going to the net and has an edge to his game. Is he the most dynamic 5-11 center I’ve ever seen? No, but there are a lot of major positives in his game and he could be a legit major minute center in the NHL.
Corey Pronman – The Athletic
Welcome to the poll…
Cole Eiserman was once regarded as a top five pick–and he may still be!–but he’s been cascading down draft boards for months and could be an option when the Flyers draft at 12th overall. The electric goal scorer is the next player to join the BSH Community Draft Poll.
A dynamic goal scorer in the truest sense, Eiserman possesses an exhilarating ability to cleanly pick his spots in the net and also regularly beat defenders and goalies one-on-one when the shot isn’t there. He can score in every way: long-range, midrange, jam plays, rush plays, quick hands in tight, the one-timer, a lethal catch and release (there isn’t a pass he can’t take and get off). Last year, he showed one of the better shots and sets of hands I’ve seen in a player that age. This year, he’s on track to break or challenge Cole Caufield’s NTDP goal-scoring record. He’s one of the younger players in the draft with his late-August birthday as well.
Scott Wheeler – The Athletic
