Can Konsta Helenius use the World Championship to catapult his NHL Draft stock?

Credit: Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff

Only four players have ever skated in the U-18, U-20 and senior men’s World Championship in the same year.

USA’s Jack Hughes did it in 2018-19; Kevin Fiala was everywhere for Switzerland in 2013-14; and both Andrei Kostitsyn and Vadim Karaga did the triple of Belarus in 2002-03.

Now, Finland’s Konsta Helenius is about to join the club.

It’s been a whirlwind season for Helenius, who, back in August, was turning heads by just being part of Finland’s World Junior Summer Showcase team instead of playing at the more age-appropriate Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Considered a top prospect even back then, it was impressive to see away from his peers and trying to impress the upper brass in a smaller, three-nation exhibition tourney in Plymouth, Michigan.

But little did anyone know that was just the start of something bigger, something more impressive.

Helenius has dipped his toes in a little bit of everything this season. And it all started with making Jukurit’s Liiga team again, allowing him to play his second full season of high-level men’s pro hockey at just 17 years old. The coaching staff, led by former NHLer Olli Jokinen, clearly trusted him after watching him put up 11 points in 33 games, and there was nothing left for him to prove against teenagers. In 2022-23, he split the year between Jukurit and Tappara’s U-20 squad, but also played in the U-17 World Challenge and the U-18 World Championship in Switzerland – and was a top player in both events for the Finns.

But this year was even more impressive. Not only did he make Finland’s World Junior team as one of the youngest players in the tournament, but he even started by centering the top line. He finished with just two assists, but he proved he could hang with the best of them.

Helenius finished the year with 14 goals and 36 points in 51 Liiga games, 25 clear of the next highest-scoring U-18 player in Emil Hemming. It was the fourth-highest production of a U-18 player in league history, trailing behind Aleksander Barkov (48 in 2012-13), Mikael Granlund (40 in 2009-10) and Kaapo Kakko (38 in 2018-19).

“I had a good summer, so I expected that I would have a good season,” Helenius said. “Olli (Jokinen) helped me a lot, so it was good.”

So there were high hopes for Helenius at the U-18 World Championship on home ice earlier this month. After looking great with the men’s team in the days leading up to it, he knew he was heading to the World Championship right after it. But entering with the momentum of winning on home ice should have been enough to see a monster performance from one of the most experienced pro hockey players in the field.

Instead, it was a disappointment. Sweden eliminated Finland in the quarterfinal, with Helenius finishing with seven assists in five games. On the surface, that’s solid – but six of those points came against Latvia, Norway and Slovakia, all of whom were battling to just make the quarterfinal at that point. With just one point total against USA and Sweden, Helenius didn’t show up when the Finns needed him.

Maybe he was more focused on getting back with the men’s team, because he immediately had a two-point effort in the final Euro Hockey Tour game before the World Championship on Sunday. He’s up to six points in six games against men on the international stage this year, which might be his most impressive collection of international games all season long.

With Helenius challenging for a top-10 spot in the 2024 NHL Draft, all eyes will be on him to step up at the World Championship. He’ll be the top participating prospect, which comes at a time when most of his peers are done for the season. Some scouts think Helenius could be ready for the NHL as soon as next year, given how well he’s played against pros over the past two years.

Could the World Championship help make that happen?

“It’s definitely a possibility,” a scout said at the U-18s. “He’s mentally mature, physically mature, makes good decisions with the puck. If he doesn’t make it in October, he’ll be a fixture the next year, for sure.”

Helenius will be in more of a support role for the Finns, featuring Granlund, Jesse Puljujarvi and Olli Maatta, among only a handful of NHL players. The Finns have proven in the past they can win without them – 2019, in particular – due to a good team commitment from the whole roster. But bringing Helenius opened up some eyes because even if he ends up skating on the fourth line, you’re asking a lot from a 17-year-old who has already done so much this year.

For a 5-foot-11 center, his lack of size hasn’t prevented Helenius from shining. He’s a battler who never gives up on a puck and plays with muscle. His hockey sense is among the leaders in this draft class, and he’s just so physically in tune with his own strengths. Helenius has a skill set, knows how to play to it, and knows how to use it to overpower opponents, no matter their experience.

“He’s an amazing hockey player, a great guy,” fellow draft prospect Aron Kiviharju said. “He’s able to make great things happen on the ice, with and without the puck.”

Playing in the Euro Hockey Tour is one thing, but doing it at the World Championship with all the pressure associated is a whole other beast. The talent pool is bigger than usual, too, with an abundance of NHLers participating across the 16-team pool in hopes of improving their odds of making their respective Olympic teams in 2026. There’s a realistic chance Helenius could be one of those guys in two years as he continues to show promise at such a young age.

But there’s still significant pressure here. Some scouts think he’s going early, and others aren’t so convinced. One concern seems to be that his ceiling isn’t as high and that he won’t be a big-time producer in the NHL. Others think he has enough quality attributes to be totally fine. Either way, quite a few fanbases will be keeping a close eye on what he does to close out the season.

It’s always an honor to represent your country, and Helenius said so himself. But with the NHL Draft just a month away, the stakes mean just a bit more for the youngest player in the tournament.

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Can Konsta Helenius use the World Championship to catapult his NHL Draft stock?

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