Buffalo’s Bold Gamble: Is Konsta Helenius NHL Ready or a Risk?

[@yka430]

His play reminds me of Sebastian Aho, but he still has a long way go. Hopefully the Sabres treat him right.

[@SabresGuy87]

Which one? Lol

[@Thomas_667]

Nice analysis. Sabres fans are gonna love Helenius!

[@BlackIjs]

One year in Roch, then see where he's at.

[@mortal_gaming89]

I think Helenius will be very interesting to watch, come training camp. He could be another Benson type player, but the Sabres don't need another Benson type player just yet. They do need good players but right now they have built their roster to get into the 24/25 playoffs. With an open space for perhaps 1 prospect to make the jump. GMKA is kind of all in on this year to make or break to get to the playoffs. Myself, I would love to see Helenius grow for atleast another 1 to 2 years. I think AHL would be the best bet to do that, but having him back in his homeland for another year would be good for him also.

[@eebro65]

Liiga, NHL, and AHL are all good options for him. That just shows how good of a prospect he is.

[@DeniseInnella]

Awesome! Keep em coming

[@UtilityLemon]

Nice video. Konsta will be a stud.

[@vietarmisgaming8045]

Zach Benson is 5'9" 165lbs, he turned heads in camp and was given a shot at the NHL. He took advantage and stayed with the club all season. Helenius is 5'11" but at 190lbs he is a strong 5'11". If he does well in camp I say give him the same opportunity they gave Benson last season. Let him play with the club for a few games to start the season and see how he adjusts to it.

[@BlackIjs]

Benson did not have the option of playing in the AHL... Helenius does.

[@TJR727]

Zach Benson is also way more skilled both with the puck and away from the puck and has elite edge work and skating(just not straight line speed) has way better hands and also has an elite motor. He's a far better player than Konsta. Only comparison is that they both don't have an NHL caliber shot.

[@vietarmisgaming8045]

​@@BlackIjs So.... your point is? He had options (jr's). The Sabres skipped that last season because he played well in camp and his first 10 games. If Benson had not made the club last season he would be as they "developing" in the Juniors so whats your point? If Helenius impresses like Benson did why would the Sabres send him down to the AHL?

[@vietarmisgaming8045]

@@TJR727 I could disagree and agree with some of your comments. To disagree is pointless because you have already made up your mind.

[@BlackIjs]

@@vietarmisgaming8045 If Benson and Savoie had the option of playing in the AHL last season, that's probably where they would have played. And I believe that's where Helenius will play this season. I could be wrong :)

[@kevintheel626]

Great video. As a lifelong Sabres fan, I’d rather see him go to the AHL, and build confidence there. Rushing players to the NHL is never good and the physical aspect of the 82 game grind has to play a factor.

[@abucelato]

There isn't a spot for him on the Sabres roster right now. He will play a full season in Rochester and then we will see. Maybe a late season call up

[@ClappinBiscuits]

Nice. Dont they stink though, why not if hes such a good two way player.

[@abucelato]

@ClappinBiscuits at the end of the day he is a kid still, and I know he played agains men in Europe, but the NHL is a totally different animal. He won't get significant playing time in the NHL, so it's best for him to get significant minutes in the AHL and see how that goes

[@telepc8162]

why flyers skipped him?

[@ozzi958]

he´s gonna be great for buffalo. Basically right handed sebastin aho.

[@TJR727]

Not in the same stratosphere as Aho. Doesn't have the skill or elite shot. Not saying he can't develop those things to get stronger but not at the level of Aho.

[@ozzi958]

@@TJR727 he is smart like aho. Aho isn´t even top 50 skillwise and his shooting is pretty bad when compared to tscorers

[@SOLIDERjee]

nicely done video!

[@larslan1975]

Two years in AHL,Get used to North American ice measurements and the grind of older bitter men who can’t quite make the big league!

[@Lilbailnick]

Maybe……

[@ClappinBiscuits]

never know

[@JNJ1014]

To be clear, I'm not defending Connelly's actions. But I HATE when content creators feign concern about athlete behavior, when truth is you're only drawing attention to the worst decisions of a dumb teenager bc controversial topics = attention & ad revenue.

[@TJR727]

This shit is all creepy AI riddled with misinformation done automatically with a bot and not even proofed. You should've seen another video by the same "creator" it said mitchkov would be competing with Bedard and Fantali this season for the Calder. Smh

[@pohynnin]

Konsta might be interesting, but I feel bad for him going to Buffalo. Very poor organization.

[@BillyBuffalo354]

And yet, they are still top 10 in all-time points percentage for the history of the NHL.

[@mikeS-ow7lc]

You know nothing about the organization or the city rather than they haven’t made the playoffs

[@Orto4956]

Very poor organization? Its a professional sports team, he got drafted to the NHL, what a ridiculous statement.

[@peterfitzgerald5402]

No offense to this kid but no Sabres fan has the will to give a shit about another prospect. Improve the NHL roster and make the playoffs.

[@TJR727]

I don't think he's particularly good enough at anything other than hockey IQ. Lacks elite speed and skating, lacks elite shot and skill, hands etc, lacks elite size and strength. I feel like he's too small to be an effective third line two way forward like Lundell in Florida(who is bigger and smoother and more skilled)and will lack the offensive upside because of lack of nhl skill. I think it would be great to get him to Rochester this season and see how he adjusts to North American game and develop him slow down there to ultimately be used as a good trade piece for the Sabres when they are finally ready to complete for the playoffs. I really don't like this pick for Buffalo given the amount of forwards of similar size and stature. Buffalo would have been wiser to stay at 11 given the defensive high end depth in this years draft. Defensive prospect depth is what this team lacks considering how young their D core is in on the Sabres roster maybe they don't feel the need to have a defenseman in the pipeline but to trade back and miss out on Zeev Buium or Sam Dickinson is a pretty big loss in my opinion. Time will tell.

[@janihatakka6074]

Interesting analysis. And how many games have you seen Konsta playing? 🤔

[@TJR727]

⁠@@janihatakka6074I've watched many shift by shift footage of his games in Finland and at the world junior tournament. Liiga is also not as competitive and talented as it once was from what scouts have reported. Of the best Finnish players in the last 10 years Konsta lacks the size or elite skill that many 2 way comparables have. Laine has elite shot, Barkov has size and remarkable skill to go with his hockey IQ and two way game even Kakko has more skill and size but even he has struggled to produce offensively in the NHL. Sebastian Aho is likely the best comparable when it comes to two way game and size but Aho has an absolute laser of an elite shot and his playmaking and passing are far superior to Konsta. Konsta also is 190lbs at 5 11 how much room is their to add more weight to that frame? Like I said before time will tell. I think there will be a better gauge of where he at and how his game will translate to the NHL once we seen him the AHL and how he transitions to the North American game.

[@andrewb3941]

Alright scout

[@TJR727]

@@andrewb3941as a former division 1 college hockey player and high school hockey coach I would say my knowledge and expertise on analyzing young talent and prospects is above average but I have not been hired as a scout this far.

[@TJR727]

@@andrewb3941as a former division 1 college hockey player and High School hockey coach, I would say my analysis of young talent and NHL prospects is far above average but no, I have not received any offers as a pro scout thus far.

[@danolszewski4052]

Utah will win cup before buffalo every player they draft or trades for leaves and wins cup with other team . Like the bills keep Josh Allen for ticket sales and new stadium. Poor management and coaching

[@Bulletisred]

Utah grabbing the Coyotes your voice is non existent. Speak when you do some thing. The Sabre's have been to the big show twice and had many a good season. So tired of diarrhea of the mouth from idiots!

[@bjarczyk]

The management in Buffalo is phenomenal now. You’re talking old news. Look forward to seeing Buffalo get payback this season

[@Orto4956]

And wheres your crystal ball that tells you the future? Oh you don’t have one? Than stop pretending like you know what will happen.

[@larenski]

Konsta will never have a real nhl career

[@salmonpike11]

are you dumb

[@Orto4956]

Thanks for the elite couch coaching sports analysis big guy but thats not your decision to make.

[@BigBabaBooey]

Whatever money you wanna put on that, I’ll double it. He’s top 5 NHL ready in his class.