Sabres first-round pick Konsta Helenius shines at camp tournament

More than 1,200 fans packed into LECOM Harborcenter Thursday morning for the team’s annual 3-on-3 tournament, and much of the attention was on Finnish center Konsta Helenius. There was plenty to see.

After three days of practice where his pure hockey skills were clearly evident, the 14th overall pick last week in Las Vegas stood out in game conditions Thursday. Helenius led Team Perreault to a three-game sweep and the championship, scoring a shootout goal to secure a 3-2 victory over Team Martin, adding two goals and an assist in a 5-3 win over Team Robert, then winning the French Connection Cup from general manager Kevyn Adams after a 5-0 victory over Team Martin in the final.

“It was a fun week, a lot of good players,” Helenius said with a smile. “It was fun to be on the ice.”

Helenius spent last season playing with men back home in Finland and is returning there to work with his personal trainer. The Sabres would like to sign him and play in Rochester this season.

“The first thing that stands out is his hockey sense,” said Amerks assistant coach and former longtime NHL forward Vinny Prospal. “When you watch him, especially in tight-space practices, you can really see that he has above-average hockey sense compared to some of these guys we have on the ice right now. And that’s a credit to him. That’s probably why he was drafted where he was drafted.”

Helenius drew oohs and aahs from the crowd with his shootout-winning goal against Scott Ratzlaff, a 2023 draft pick of Seattle of the Western Hockey League. Helenius used quick skating and quick hands to get Ratzlaff out of position and quickly put the puck into the vacant net.

“I thought about playing forehand-backhand, but he was in a very good situation,” Helenius said. “So I thought I could play forehand again and it was a goal, a nice goal.”

In the win over Team Robert, Helenius converted a Stiven Sardarian tap-in and a Jake Richard one-timer, and earned an assist with a long stretch pass to send Sardarian on a breakaway.

“He’s got a low center of gravity, he makes a lot of plays,” Rochester’s new coach Michael Leone said. “He had a really good day. He’s nice to be around, I had dinner with him last night with our group. He’s a really good player, I’m really happy to have him in our organization.”

The Sabres list Helenius at 5-foot-11 and 189 pounds. Assistant general manager and director of scouting Jerry Forton said in Las Vegas that the team expects Helenius to grow and reach the NHL as a 6-foot, 200-plus-pounder.

“I think he’s very fluid … just his ability to escape pressure. He’s got really good hands. He’s got the vision to make plays,” said Adam Mair, the Sabres’ director of player development. “Talking to our scouts, they think he’s like a natural pivot, and I think that’s a big thing for a player like that.”

For the record, here’s how each of the 10-minute, 3-on-3 matches played out en route to the championship final:

Team Perreault 3, Team Martin 2:Helenius’ shootout-winning goal gave his team the win in a game that was tight from start to finish. The score was 1-1 when Sardarian scored on a breakaway with 2:04 left to give Perreault a 2-1 lead, but Max Strbak tied it for Martin with 15 seconds left.

Team Martin 3, Team Robert 1: Goals from Norwin Panocha, Brodie Ziemer and Ethan Miedema, the latter a superb high-level goal, tied the Martin team record.

Team Perreault 5, Team Robert 3: The Perreaults improved to 2-0 and reached the tournament final thanks to the solid play of Helenius. Sardarian and Richard each had a goal and an assist.

Semi-final: Team Robert 3, Team Martin 2: Miedema’s goal in the penalty shootout, a feint to beat Ratzlaff, was the only goal in four attempts in the shootout and gave his team the victory. Miedema, who led all players on the day with five goals, also scored on a breakaway during the regulation 10 minutes.

• Leone, who was hired last month to replace Seth Appert in Rochester, attended the last two days of camp after the birth of his daughter.

“It was probably the best month of my life. It was unbelievable, I was really blessed to be a part of this organization and have this opportunity,” Leone said. “With a newborn, I was hoping to make it to camp at the end, and I’m glad I was able to come and meet everyone. You never know when you’re going to get an opportunity and it was surreal to put on the Sabres logo and look at your booth before you got on the ice.”

• The captain of the U.S. national team development program, Ziemer, selected in the third round last week, may have been the standout player at camp. He showed a powerful, quick shot and a nose for the puck in the offensive zone.
• Adams made a brief statement after the trophy presentation thanking the players and staff for their work during the week and the fans for coming out. During a brief pause in his speech, a fan drew laughter when he loudly blurted out, “Make a trade, Kevyn.” The general manager did not respond to the request.