After a press convention the place Philadelphia Flyers basic supervisor (GM) Danny Briere didn’t actually quit an excessive amount of data, there was one factor he made abundantly clear—nothing is off the desk for him main as much as the 2024 NHL Draft. Another issues he additionally talked about? Drafting a middle, and taking the very best participant on the draft board.
Konsta Helenius, a 5-foot-11, 181-pound centerman who performed his 2023-24 marketing campaign professionally in Liiga, checks that first field. With the fourth-highest level whole within the historical past of his league amongst age-17 gamers (36), he appears to have the second checked, too. However what makes him so particular? Why is he such a really perfect match for the Orange and Black? Let’s study.
Helenius Can Complement Michkov Offensively
The factor to love about Helenius is that he and dynamic Russian ahead prospect Matvei Michkov may very well be critically dominant collectively in Philadelphia. The Finnish middle is certainly not essentially the most electrifying prospect within the class, however how he performs is projectable to the NHL and may very well be actually helpful for a workforce that seemingly already has their celebrity.
Let’s first get into why Helenius is so good. For starters, he actually doesn’t have any weaknesses apart from the truth that he isn’t dynamic. He’s seemingly all the time in the precise place on the proper time as a wonderful supporter on the forecheck. He doesn’t actively hunt it out, however he’s greater than keen to have interaction involved alongside the partitions—he gained these puck battles in opposition to grown males in Finland’s prime league, oftentimes. An ideal puck protector, that may permit Michkov to showcase his in-zone dominance. The extra space he has, the higher—Helenius can both create it by his effectiveness as a forechecker or just by forcing the opposition to gravitate towards him, which he did fairly ceaselessly.
Helenius shouldn’t be a superstar-level playmaker, however he’s nonetheless very robust in that facet when area is freed—that is among the large issues that the Flyers lack. Michkov can’t do actually all the pieces offensively, even when he’s a celebrity in each sense of the phrase. He wants some assist, and that’s what Helenius can present. One of the crucial cerebral gamers within the 2024 class, one factor Helenius doesn’t lack is creativity—that creativity would, in principle, permit Michkov to do his factor and take consideration off of him. That is precisely what the Flyers ought to need.
Helenius didn’t all the time have his teammates end on the alternatives he created, and Michkov needed to do lots of issues himself with a lower-end membership within the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)—he nonetheless put up ludicrous offensive totals (41 factors in 48 video games) regardless of that and a battle with pneumonia. Helenius doesn’t have the dynamic expertise to dangle defensemen out of their skates, however Michkov does. With a linemate who can truly create for himself and is powerful with and with out the puck, that’s the place the Russian dynamo can excel. He could have extra alternatives to showcase his expertise with out having to do basically all the pieces himself.
Helenius Has a Authentic Two-Means Upside
Within the NHL, we oftentimes name bottom-six forwards who play successfully defensively solely in opposition to bottom-six forwards “two-way gamers,” which isn’t totally correct. The actual two-way forwards within the NHL are those that are nice to elite at each ends of the ice while concurrently enjoying in opposition to the very best of the very best. In both center-form or typically, the Flyers don’t have a participant like this.
Associated: Flyers Want an Elite Two-Means Middle for Their Rebuild
Particularly for his age, Helenius could be very accountable defensively. He seldom allowed objectives on the ice even with a reasonably sizable workload for a 17-year-old enjoying in an expert league, which is inspiring already. He was elite with zone exits and was additionally superb with retrievals. The truth that he’s so comfy placing himself on the market initiatives properly for his future. He isn’t afraid to get his nostril soiled, which is basically all of the Flyers can ask for.
Since Helenius is so concerned defensively and even helps breakouts when he helps get the puck out, that might actually bode effectively for the Flyers. One in all Michkov’s flaws is that he’s not an efficient defensive participant, nor does he attempt to be—it will restrict his offensive upside and be type of counterintuitive. Helenius could be a well-rounded first-line middle who may help masks this, in a way.
As effectively, we see lots of championship groups have elite defensive facilities, particularly within the fashionable period. Pavel Datsyuk, Patrice Bergeron, Jonathan Toews, Anze Kopitar, and Ryan O’Reilly have all gained not less than one Selke Trophy, had some extent per recreation season, gained a Stanley Cup, and performed a distinguished function on mentioned championship workforce. Helenius, though a giant “if,” may very well be that if he reaches his ceiling. Really, it’s not that troublesome to check it.
As a real two-way middle, Helenius will get that gap patched for the Orange and Black. The truth that Morgan Frost, whereas fairly good, is Philadelphia’s greatest middle and so they don’t have the rest there within the pipeline says rather a lot about the place they’re at. They want a first-line centerman and may get one right here.
Helenius Helps the Flyers’ Transitional Philosophy
Whether or not or not the Flyers follow the identical basic schemes when Michkov is on the workforce is a thriller, however they may most likely nonetheless lean on their play in transition—that’s one in every of Michkov’s strengths, too. Fortuitously, that is one other space the place Helenius is fairly nice.
Helenius doesn’t have loopy pace or something, however he is excellent at each supporting rushes and really creating them himself. The Flyers’ whole offense basically got here from their play within the impartial zone, so it’s evident that they’d take pleasure in this out of a prospect.
The extent of deceptiveness in Helenius’ recreation additionally makes eventualities in transition efficient for him. The Flyers weren’t superb at getting into the offensive zone—particularly on the facility play—in 2023-24. Helenius has the intelligence to have the ability to do that with normality and in addition preserve the puck on his stick the complete time so a scoring likelihood can come from it. That is one other profit for Michkov.
The place Will Helenius Land?
It’s considerably troublesome to challenge the place Helenius will land, as he may critically go wherever. There may be lots of nice expertise within the 2024 NHL Draft, and that’s very true on protection—that might result in him slipping, but additionally going excessive for a forward-needy workforce.
Logan Horn of The Hockey Writers had Helenius going sixteenth general in his newest mock draft, however that appears a bit late in my eyes. Even with a comparatively weak U18 event and U20 World Junior Championship, he had seven assists in 5 video games within the former event and showcased the entire qualities talked about above in each of them. The scoring wasn’t dominant general with 9 factors throughout 12 video games mixed, however he was nonetheless the identical participant. On the newest, I feel we see him going within the early teenagers.
After concerning the seventh decide, that’s when it begins to change into considerably seemingly that Helenius will get snagged. Apparently sufficient, that seventh decide belongs to the Ottawa Senators, and we noticed a bit little bit of hypothesis on that entrance on Twitter/X. Nothing has come from it, nevertheless it’s one thing to remember.
Only for a second, let’s humor the concept that the Flyers and Senators have been inquiring a couple of commerce. Let’s additionally humor the concept the Flyers have been transferring up for the seventh general decide, which just a few different posts advised. It looks like Briere is keen to do just about something to safe his prime participant, and is likely to be keen to accumulate a second early first-round decide to land two high-end prospects.
If the Flyers are critically contemplating the latter, then Helenius must be their precedence. Pure offensive ability is ample within the class, however one factor that isn’t is somebody who performs like Helenius. There’s a path to getting him, it’s only a matter of how a lot Briere desires this to occur.
On draft day, there can be speak that Helenius lacks offensive upside and that he’s a two-way participant with a low ceiling however a excessive ground. By itself, that’s probably not what the Flyers want—expertise is what they want. However make no mistake: Helenius is what they want. He looks like the proper decide, so the Orange and Black ought to do no matter it takes to get him.
