Konsta Helenius: To what level will the Hell Moose be unleashed in 26/27?

[DarthEbriate]

40 points in Rochester; 15 points in Buffalo.

[Hoss]

13 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

40 points in Rochester; 15 points in Buffalo.

You think a guy who had 65 points in Rochester next year would take a massive step back? This place would implode.

(Or do you mean you think he started in Rochester and then only gets 15 points in Buffalo during whatever stint he has here?)

Edited July 28 by Hoss

[SabreFinn]

25 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

We went to Vaxholm, if that is the area you were talking about?

If you have been to Vaxholm you have experienced it, especially if the weather was nice. 

[Big Guava]

16 minutes ago, SabreFinn said:

If you have been to Vaxholm you have experienced it, especially if the weather was nice. 

Yes, it was gorgeous that day! Warm and in the upper 70s and sunny.

Also went to some wetlands preserve about 15 minutes away from there as well and walked around.

Edited July 28 by Big Guava

[Pimlach]

I picked he will be a solid middle six player, but it could be a notch less as a solid depth player.  

There is quite a bit riding on him to step right into the middle 6.

Edited July 29 by Pimlach

[PerreaultForever]

26/27 I have no idea but in 3 years he's our 1C - feel free to note this down and call me on it if I'm wrong but I am serious. He will be a good 1C at that. 

[Huckleberry]

41 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

26/27 I have no idea but in 3 years he's our 1C - feel free to note this down and call me on it if I'm wrong but I am serious. He will be a good 1C at that. 

Helenius 1C Östlund 2C  

[#freejame]

I’ve said it elsewhere but for posterity—by the end of his career you won’t be able to tell the difference between him and Sebastian Aho in a Pepsi Challenge 

[inkman]

6 minutes ago, #freejame said:

I’ve said it elsewhere but for posterity—by the end of his career you won’t be able to tell the difference between him and Sebastian Aho in a Pepsi Challenge 

This sounds disgustingly sexual and I like it.  

[JoeSchmoe]

14 minutes ago, inkman said:

This sounds disgustingly sexual and I like it.  

Inky's gone Colasexual.

[#freejame]

22 minutes ago, inkman said:

This sounds disgustingly sexual and I like it.  

You get me 

[ska-T Chitown]

It was a sad day trolling Ebay looking for some Konsta cards ... no good official rookie cards, just gimmicky late season release debut stuff. I am betting he gets a "young guns" card in the first series from upper deck this year - count me in.

Similar to Ostie, when Konsta explodes, I sell high and we gettin' Sizzler!

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, Huckleberry said:

Helenius 1C Östlund 2C  

I'm less sure on Östlund but it's possible. He's the guy I feel might take the sophomore step backwards this year. No real reason for that just a feeling. 

[Jävə Keith]

On 7/27/2026 at 9:57 PM, Doohickie said:

 

 

[thewookie1]

Helenius definitely feels like the type of player that just seizes the 1C role over the next two years and becomes a mainstay in hockey circles as that Honorable mention in every “Top 10 Centers” articles. A guy who just wins and gives us somewhere between Aho and Barkov style play. (Hopefully he gets to their level)

How he handled the AHL playoffs and the NHL playoffs in Montreal of all places strikes me a player who just has “it” The World Championship golden goal only further reinforced it.

[French Collection]

8 hours ago, ska-T Chitown said:

It was a sad day trolling Ebay looking for some Konsta cards ... no good official rookie cards, just gimmicky late season release debut stuff. I am betting he gets a "young guns" card in the first series from upper deck this year - count me in.

Similar to Ostie, when Konsta explodes, I sell high and we gettin' Sizzler!

Cards can be a lot of fun, I still look at mine from the 60’s and 70’s every once in a while. 

Of course they were not a financial consideration then, just a kid drawing stitches on Dave Keon’s face, pinning Ken Dryden’s rookie card to the wall and flipping cards against the wall to soften up the corners, lol.

They are definitely not mint or worthy of getting them graded, but the memories of completing a set by trading with friends was a lot of fun. I traded another Dryden rookie, without the pin hole, to a buddy for a Rogie Vachon. My transaction seemed fair at the time but has cost me hundreds of dollars in today’s money.

I am getting my Gretzky rookie graded this year. I was older then and actually looked after cards by that time. It’s not bad and hopefully grades well. It could pay for a great golf bucket list trip.

Enjoy and good luck!

[ska-T Chitown]

29 minutes ago, French Collection said:

Cards can be a lot of fun, I still look at mine from the 60’s and 70’s every once in a while. 

Of course they were not a financial consideration then, just a kid drawing stitches on Dave Keon’s face, pinning Ken Dryden’s rookie card to the wall and flipping cards against the wall to soften up the corners, lol.

They are definitely not mint or worthy of getting them graded, but the memories of completing a set by trading with friends was a lot of fun. I traded another Dryden rookie, without the pin hole, to a buddy for a Rogie Vachon. My transaction seemed fair at the time but has cost me hundreds of dollars in today’s money.

I am getting my Gretzky rookie graded this year. I was older then and actually looked after cards by that time. It’s not bad and hopefully grades well. It could pay for a great golf bucket list trip.

Enjoy and good luck!

My original "early" stuff is from the late 80's / early 90's - mostly baseball and barely worth the card board it was over mass produced on. Still great to look at and remember how much fun it was tearing open packs looking for a Griffey Jr or Frank Thomas.

Hockey became much more my obsession in the early 2000's until now. Still so much junk - that is why I don't buy packs anymore. I tried it for about a year and ended up with 1000's of common cards that were hard to GIVE away, lol.

I am slowly trying to acquire high-end (ish) - PSA 8 or higher - rookie cards of the greats. I have some pretty decent graded rookie cards like Gretzky, Lemieux, Roy, Dryden, Perrault, and a few others. I've got the big three from right now - Sid, Ovie, and McJesus. It is a really expensive hobby and I should probably find something else to do - but at least with the HOF guys, the cards retain their value ... dropping $300 on an assortment of Östlund, Kulich, and Benson rookies? Either genius or foolish, lol.

Cheers!

[DarthEbriate]

17 hours ago, Hoss said:

You think a guy who had 65 points in Rochester next year would take a massive step back? This place would implode.

(Or do you mean you think he started in Rochester and then only gets 15 points in Buffalo during whatever stint he has here?)

Yup, about 36 games in Rochester simply because of the logjam in Buffalo to start the season and they want him getting massive minutes at age 20. But with injuries, Helenius comes up and performs wonderfully in a bottom 6 role. And in 27-28, he's into the top 6 for good.

[Hoss]

24 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Yup, about 36 games in Rochester simply because of the logjam in Buffalo to start the season and they want him getting massive minutes at age 20. But with injuries, Helenius comes up and performs wonderfully in a bottom 6 role. And in 27-28, he's into the top 6 for good.

Fair enough, but I don't know if those point totals would even be enough for people to feel good.

He was a PPG player in Rochester last year, so I would hope in 36ish games there next year, he's closer to 50 points. And then with about 40 games in Buffalo, even in a bottom six role, I'd hope for more than 15 points.

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, Hoss said:

Fair enough, but I don't know if those point totals would even be enough for people to feel good.

He was a PPG player in Rochester last year, so I would hope in 36ish games there next year, he's closer to 50 points. And then with about 40 games in Buffalo, even in a bottom six role, I'd hope for more than 15 points.

I figured the AHL isn’t a high-scoring league and he won’t have an established scorer like Rosén to feed. (Sheary is not the 1W the Amerks are looking for.)

On the Sabres side, sophomore growing pains, less PP time because of Norris and Östlund doing fine. And I’d put 15 points as the floor, for the record… but close to it. Under 20. I figure Ruff will treat him as he did with Benson because Ruff has such high expectations for him — and he can grind in a 3/4 line role successfully. 

(I’ll be completely unsurprised if he makes the team out of camp and starts on a top-6 role and has 60 points.)

[Hoss]

17 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

I figured the AHL isn’t a high-scoring league and he won’t have an established scorer like Rosén to feed. (Sheary is not the 1W the Amerks are looking for.)

On the Sabres side, sophomore growing pains, less PP time because of Norris and Östlund doing fine. And I’d put 15 points as the floor, for the record… but close to it. Under 20. I figure Ruff will treat him as he did with Benson because Ruff has such high expectations for him — and he can grind in a 3/4 line role successfully. 

(I’ll be completely unsurprised if he makes the team out of camp and starts on a top-6 role and has 60 points.)

I think Benson's play style fit playing a lesser role from the beginning, though. He's got an offensive game, but he's not the finisher that Helenius is.

This team has tried forcing young players to start in roles that don't fit their playstyle, which has stunted growth a number of times. That's not to say Helenius can't take and thrive in that role, but I suspect if he does the work to earn a roster spot, it'll be with more opportunity.

[pi2000]

Is Kulich waivers exempt?   If so, he starts the season in Rochester.    After taking a year off it will take some time for him to get back into "full contact" shape.... there's only one way to do that, and that's by playing. 

IMO Helenius won't see Rochester again.    His performance in the playoffs and World's was just too good. 

[PerreaultForever]

15 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

Helenius definitely feels like the type of player that just seizes the 1C role over the next two years and becomes a mainstay in hockey circles as that Honorable mention in every “Top 10 Centers” articles. A guy who just wins and gives us somewhere between Aho and Barkov style play. (Hopefully he gets to their level)

How he handled the AHL playoffs and the NHL playoffs in Montreal of all places strikes me a player who just has “it” The World Championship golden goal only further reinforced it.

I did like that he was hanging around Barkov at the Worlds. That's a pretty good guy to learn from or try to be like. 

[Pimlach]

22 hours ago, #freejame said:

I’ve said it elsewhere but for posterity—by the end of his career you won’t be able to tell the difference between him and Sebastian Aho in a Pepsi Challenge 

If he plays near Aho level we are winning some hockey games. 

[tom webster]

37 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

If he plays near Aho level we are winning some hockey games. 

Yep, if he is the number one center they currently lack, in my opinion, it jumps them from solid playoff team to Cup contender.