Instant Reaction: Sabres Draft Konsta Helenius | Buffalo Sabres

Instant Reaction: Sabres Draft Konsta Helenius | Buffalo Sabres

with the 14th pick overall the Buffalo Sabers would like to select from The Finnish men’s league cona helenius I like this guy man he’s exciting to watch he is a nice player the pick is in from the Buffalo sabes at sphere in Vegas and that’s where we are and welcome into our live coverage reaction to the Sabers pick which did land at 14th overall after having made the move earlier in the week to slide down from 11 to 14 they clearly got one of the players Marty Baron that was in that group that Reign that when you go through every single draft prognosticator draft expert draft Guru anyone who’s a prospect evaluator had seemingly in different positions but the same names here through the top 15 and buffalo ends up getting what maybe they need more of and that is the Finish style of hockey player and constant helenius will ultimately eventually fit that bill for this team well it’s interesting that uh you know the first finish Captain to have lifted his Stanley Cup is Alexander barov with the Florida Panthers this year and conto elenius is the youngest well the only player bind barkov to have had most points in the Liga Finland League before the age of 18 right so you got barov and you got elenas so I think that that’s definitely a feather in his cap Duffer as we’d like to say but um no more importantly you you didn’t mention Chris Peters was on Sabers live with us yesterday from the wi the hotel and he uh he had his mock draft right the top 12 that he had in his mock draft were picked in the first 12 position so he was 12 for 12 the Flyers at 13th go off the board with jet luchenko who is ranked 18th on Chris Peters Mock Draft so then the Sabers got what was Peter listed as 13 so the next best according to Chris Peters so I think that’s what the Sabers went on to do and I’m sure there was a lot of chatter on the draft floor when it comes to the Sabers and the 14th pick because at some point Z buam was still available Minnesota moved up a pick Dickson was still available Sam Dickson was available until San Jose 11 so there was a lot of you know those type of players that could have been top 10 that were still there but uh eventually it probably didn’t didn’t materialize into anything trades or assets that disablers want to get and then they go with cona elenius who is uh 5’11 190 lbs but from what I’m reading on him is extremely agile and strong on his skates which is uh great for his position and the way that he plays well so every year obviously um amidst the Stanley Cup finals so sometimes this can get or Stanley Cup playoffs pardon me um you know depending on your perspective and what you want to be focused on you know the the the the final rankings come out through Central scouting and it’s North American skaters and international skaters of which helenius ranked third among International skaters according to Central scouting and you mentioned the point totals which were pretty impressive trailing only uh barkoff grandland and Capal cako when you’re talking about a young player at the highest level and the points impact that he had and just you know even hearing moments before we hit the air from Craig Button who was on Sabers live this morning and just the ongoing dialogue through this first round between he and Bob McKenzie as they compile their annual lists and build out their mock drops and all the rest of it you know they they they’ve been really fascinated to to see just the different placement of these players just for example like Bob McKenzie had helenius at 9th Cy prman had him at 14 Scott wheeler who we had on the show from the athletic has him had him at 10 and Chris Peters as you mentioned had him at 13 so Craig but him at six and that is kind of cool about what we’ve witnessed so far in this first round and it started with Anaheim at number three right like that that was a surprise that gave we only know that because the reaction of the player well Becka Sena got drafted by the anim ducks at three and when he was picked his mouth like jaw dropped wide open looked over to his family said holy you know what and then was in complete disbelief that it was happening but I think that when that happened at 3 you knew that there was going to be some uh unexpected things to happen in the draft some picks that were going to move right like Ivan demidov dropping to five with the Montreal Canadians but after 10 11 12 it seems to have settled everything so the Sabers haven’t moved from 11 to 14th in that trade by with San Jose yesterday getting a an extra second rounder now they were sitting at at a guy that they say hey you know what he is really strong he’s still only just 18 years old just turned in may just turned in May and has shown so much uh potential at the center position and I think the Finnish hockey player are some of the smartest hockey players in the world every time I played with a fin there’s a hockey sense that comes with those guys so I know that with constant elenius there’s definitely some hocky sense there that the Sabres really fell in love with what do you think of who do you think of like when you when you watch and we can show the Highlight Reel again here basically of his body of work you know as we just saw what he put in at the combine but whether it’s visually when you see a head shot or when you start looking in the mechanics of some of these moves who and what do you think of well when I see him skating and playing I think of Matt zcell I know he’s not a fin but he looks like a right-handed shot that has a long stick zukar is Left-Handed shot but still in the same like Realm of you were going to say sphere same sphere yes we are here at sphere but no it it has the same look uh but from the other side right a player that plays with this the puck away from the body a lot so it’s and like kind of leading players to go to the puck but then is able to escape that pressure by moving it to a different location loves to attack the middle of the ice as we just saw on this clip here going on a rush chance but going to the middle of the ice does not shy away from contact so um I you know what he looks like Rasmus daline like if you do a side by side like you know head shot you say that could be Rasmus dalen’s youngest brother but he is a Finn not a Swede but still they’re pretty close there in Scandinavia don’t say they’re that close they may be close geographically Geographic yeah but you’re right and that’s part of the reason why I asked the question because I knew you would just you’d gravitate towards a familiar name a familiar face if if you will and and I love the highlight real I love the fact that this draft had so many high-end defensemen talked about and as it worked its way ever closer to the sabes at 14 through the first 12 picks six forward 6D yes and it was again it was it was names coming off the board just in front of well just in front of where they were originally slotted at 11 and then in that window of time and then obviously now it ends up being a forward and when you think of how the roster has been constructed already the present roster of the Sabers and the number of first round picks that are still vying to get in and so many of them at the forward position like on the surface when you see the resume of helenius and the recognition of Benson joining the squad last year cousins Quinn civil Bo rosan um KCK osland you know like what do you think stands out with helenus that is different because I think there was probably a concern if if and that might be overstating it but there might have been a concern among saber fans based on what some of the draft insiders were saying as far as the type of player that Buffalo might kind of have fall to their lap if you will at at 14 and that might be a smaller forward High skill right do you sense that helenius is a little different than some of the North American prospects that that were kind of gathering the attention like the the Cole Eiserman or the Berkeley cens of the world you know well I I think a lot of the forwards at the top of the draft were smaller forwards and when you get to the second round you may be drafting a 6′ three 210 pounds 18-year-old Ford that is going to develop even in a bigger frame and be able to have more that physical uh play on the ice but uh when you look at con helenus for me it it’s not about well he’s 5’11 yeah but how does he play the game he doesn’t get beat off the pck oneon-one he does take a lot of hits and loves to get the you know body contact to create um so yeah there is some smaller players that were definitely um selected and we talked about Cole Eisman I talked about him a lot some experts even said look if Co Wiman with 62 it’d probably be a top five draft pick I get it but that’s not the reality here and you know you you’ve got to obviously build with what you able to pick at 14th like the Sabers were picking but the one thing that forward is you know we’ve had that conversation with Dylan cousins and with yri Kulik and with others is he can play center but it could also be moved to the ring the wing right wing most like most you know mostly because of the right hand shot but can definitely play center and move to the wing if you have to so now you’re filling in from a position of strength in the middle which the Sabers do have a lot of strength down the middle in their Prospect pool and then you hope that some of them will fill in on the wing as well yeah I you say that but at the same time it’s still an unknown right especially after the departure of middlest stad and I think that’s what we’re staring at here is the short-term solution to that roster construction third and fourth lines but then pushing it down the road as far as the prospects that like a Yuri Kulik is he a center is he a Winger is he making the NHL in the upcoming months right where is he going to slot in awam same thing right but there’s so much to still gain for him in terms of size and experience on the North American rinks and I just I look at helenus and I see it differently than I do with some of the names that are already in the system and I think that’s I’m I’m really curious to hear what Kevin Adams and the entire department saw and some of the intangibles like the beauty of of this night and this whole event the the the funneling down the to to get to your list and then to hear what people actually say about these players in their projections at the next level I mean I kind of chuckle because you you and I try to avoid repetition when it comes to how people describe the game right you’re you’re always trying to be fresh like just as an example go to Elite prospects and under player type like I’m gushing right now cerebral tactician like oh my gosh like that’s give me that I I may need a dictionary to understand what that means but I like that every single day because it’s a different way of saying High hockey IQ right smart player intelligent all ends of the ice you know like 200 foot player and there cannot be enough of these types of players in your stable I think I think that’s uh well said but also you know mo more well many experts and most experts have also said the Sabers are deep in their stable when you look at prospects and picks so you’re going to look at cona elenius and you’re going to say well he is probably like this player this player why because the Sabers have a lot of a lot of their their boxes are checked like we have this so obviously yes I I look at it and saying the Sabers like many we were saying oh this is probably a pick that you can trade and try to add some strength right now but the Flyers moved back one spot and got a third round pick next year for that the sabes moved back three spots and got a second round pick this year yes and a good one but also flip that coin as to the other two teams involved in the transactions San Jose wanted to move up and went to 11 Minnesota moved up by only giving up a third round pick to move up the one spot to get Z buam who everybody or a lot of people had been talking about high my way of saying it is that didn’t take a whole lot to move down one the Sabers got a much better deal getting a second round pick this year to move down three because it was done yesterday um obviously I think that look trades are great right the Montreal Canadians swapped first round pick with the LA Kings and gave up a you know couple of picks way later in the draft so I’m looking at it the Sabers were looking to acquire assets be able to put something together for a trade didn’t materialize before this first round pick so now you turn around you say let’s Embrace this pick Let’s see what elenius can do in his development and help the Sabers on the road but this was the best player available this was a player that has a lot of the qualities that she would want into a prospect that is just turned 18 years old that played with men in Finland did not play in Junior and anywhere else he played in the Finish Elite leag and that’s is that that’s tough to do and he was able to put a ton of points and you know when you don’t want to base it too much uh or you know at all on on geography um especially this year when we were talking about a couple of Norwegians um which is still rare in the overall history of the league yes but I I I can’t not sit here and express the excit their finished player in in the stable here um you just look at the backgrounds um and but the historical success just in the last 10 years but if you want to go beyond like this incredibly small country population wise has produced so many good teams and the only way you have those results is these individuals who are willing to embrace the team concept right and so you know you we’ve seen Henry yaru on the blue line and now when you look at the forward ranks I would say you know there’s been a little push um organizationally and it it’s by happen stance obviously um that you’ve had more sweds entering the the organization in in recent years but my goodness like this this is well first of all we should have uko bealin I was gonna sayalan and is going to say hey you know what thank you very much I love my uh my uh my compatriots and uh another player from Finland coming in yeah but I again look that that Norwegian you’re talking about nard got picked right after that was also somebody that the Sabers had been you know showing some interest in but when elenius is available at 13 at 14th and he was ranked by most between 10 and 14th and they they were able to get him at 14th I think that’s uh that’s the the player to select and and will fit in well in development with uh what the cers already have uh as prospects right now what do you want to see at development Camp I want to see a shootout goal I want to see the moves I want to be you know why because I talk about shootouts is that it shows the Poise and the confidence to a lot of these prospects to come in and want to impress and want to show their skill level and so you know I know they’re going to play three on three on Thursday and they’re going to have you know their practices and going through but at even after practice put the Pucks in the middle and say let’s do a little uh Jew boy for you know whatever Breakaway competition and let’s see how much confidence he has in wowing the people that are there right and obviously as we continue our live reaction from sphere in Vegas on night one of the NHL draft we are expecting to hear from cona helenius very shortly so stay with us for that as you continue to indulge in the highlight reels that he has amassed to this point in his career here at the age of 18 he’s had International uh opportunity and obviously success relatively speaking but just the fact that you’re on the world stage and he’s played um again at the highest level of competition as an 18-year-old it’s always so hard to judge Marty um I would say more often than not when you’re trying to evaluate the kids that are in the KHL or in the MHL over in in Russia cuz sometimes the stats are so incredibly low and you know that the ice time is incredibly low but this is this is someone who was able to carve out opportunity and then production as a very young player in a top league and that is what you know to me kind of stands out at almost a point of game like almost a point of game in the Finish Elite League I mean that’s important we actually have the opportunity now to hear from Buffalo’s first round pick consta helenius uh yes I know but it was uh good good pick uh very similar than other teams uh just uh about my season long season and about everything my family and uh yeah how would you describe your season playing in three tournaments playing Liga what did you gain from entire experience uh yeah it was a long season I think over 90 games uh yeah I think I I played really well and uh against men’s it’s uh it’s hard what what’s Experience like of playing against the men when you’re I guess you start when you’re 16 or 17 16 16 I mean what was that like for you to play against growing men when you’re that young uh I think it was uh good for me to play against men cuz I like to battle hard and uh I’m not the biggest guy but I think I’m a very strong guy and it was good for me did you it looked like last I mean you had trip season last year did you really feel like you belong last year I guess so to speak belong the r like like did you feel like like you weren’t just a kid anymore you were like their you know what I mean that type of thing uh I don’t know it feels feels uh it felt a big thing to play uh in leag but uh I think I did a great job uh on the first season in Le so yeah you said you like to battle hard has that always been part of your personality uh yeah I think so I said that I have older brothers so uh we fight when I was uh kid so that that was the one one reason why I like the battle hard what you and your older brothers battle in was it like in hockey or other things uh in hockey and uh every other things who usually won the fights what who usually won the fights brother uh big brother his that would be good and your your father played Pro too uh no jior what do you know about Savers uh players teams you watch them at all uh yeah I know something it’s uh it’s uh hard in Finland to watch games because time difference but yeah I know that players and coach and something your defensive game is one of the areas that you’re you’re really strong in how did it become such a strength for you uh I think it’s biggest reason was uh my Coach O he said uh before every game that uh you need the defense first and then then you got the puck and you can do what whatever you want uh so uh that was the I think biggest reason was that challenging at first yeah it was uh hard for me cuz I like to do a lot of things with the buck and uh attack and everything it was hard to me but uh it it was uh good for me too how was that how many GES played NL H uh all he’s uh he’s so good coach you know he’s so active and he he gave you like tips all the time you you did something bad at the C he came you and told that do something differently and uh yeah it was uh good go for me what was it like for a finished kid to see bar it was uh very nice because it’s a big thing for finish hockey and uh there was uh three other finnished players one go so it was a big thing for Finland what’s this experience been like like what do you have with you and and what is the whole day been like leading up to this this pict here do I like family with you and stuff like that yeah I have a whole family and uh agents and everything was uh yeah how how was the trip for everybody just like seeing Vegas and just soaking all this in uh it’s uh it was a long long flight and uh but nice city but I think it’s too hot for me what what’s the plan for next season are you going back to uh I don’t know yet uh we haven’t talked about that but uh I have deal with that but uh I think uh everything is open you you think about as a goalie he’s a great goalie I think uh yeah he’s good good call have you ever met him uh no what you were in Balo a few weeks ago right what was that like just a combine of stuff you get to see the city uh no uh but uh I want to but uh we we didn’t me to to see it but yeah it was uh nice hold and nice Arena so much conr well done by cona helenius it is so overwhelming I start to like sweat a little bit because it reminded me of 95 having to face the media not speaking enough English but not very comfortable in it yet and these guys the fins the swedes are much better than we were from Quebec but still like feeling like am I answering this right um I I it’s an out-of- body experience I just got drafted in the NHL I not sure what’s going on right um 14th overall by the way was J mcke who was also a 14th overall pick when he was drafted I was a 16th overall so I was not even we definitely highlighted that this morning on S Hey listen earlier today 14th overall was J mck and 16th overall was me and at the time it was like they traded Alexander mcil and it’s like oh what’s happening and uh Jay and I combined for a lot of NHL games and uh made it work so that that’s pretty good more than a thousand between the two of you I have a thousand with all the ones I sat on the bench so what I was impressed with other than the incredibly wide smile yes of helenius was the comprehension of the questions yes it’s hard to articulate the answer in a language but it’s also very hard to in ingest the question right he very rarely had to kind of follow up and prod for a you know a secondary explanation again so th this is a microcosm obviously of what the person is but when you talk about a player’s ability to understand the game and play it I’m fascinated and and you heard the line of questioning about the entirety of the Season that he just went through yes Marty how often are we talking about you know someone who played in the under 18 the under 20 World Junior and the worlds in the same year along with basically playing up at the top level you know as an under 18 like this this is so impressive to me what what this young man has accomplished so far and on top of it all Vegas too hot for me yeah no that did too hot for a lot of people in in June and July I know for sure a couple of things I wrote down right he says I’m not the biggest guy but I play hard now I know like size is for a lot of people matters they say oh well another 511 guy what Zack Benson do to you to think that smaller players can’t compete and play what you forget about Michael Pekka oh Michael Pekka and many others like St Barn St Barnes competed like anybody else out there was not a big guy but in a in a era where players were even more prevalent than now pretty sure Brad marshan is still looking up to the six feet Benchmark uh yes and we all know what that means with Brad marshan but yes um I say last year the sabes picked Zack Benson and as soon as he showed up at development Camp you and I looked and were like whoa this guy battles um hey you know 5’11 he’s cona elenius is 190 lbs most 17 18y old kids it doesn’t matter what they eat they can’t get past 170 175 they don’t get to 190 by being thick and strong and and already possessing that body type that’s going to make them successful at D NHL level rasma stene has put on close to 40 lbs since he was drafted helenius is like kind of halfway there already based on what you’re talking you know what I mean like as far as what his ultimate size is going to be weightwise that with that height like it’s it’s impressive and again you don’t you don’t you don’t allow Roan and those guys like in the last two years how much muscle how much mass how much strength they’ve added and yenus is already 190 I’m not saying he’s going to play at 210 and 215 he’s 5’11 but even if he plays at 200 and he’s 511 200 and he completely puts in that strength that he already possesses because he is at that level and to play against men again in in Finland you never survive against guys that are bigger stronger being able to play as a 17-year-old in the uh the league of the top finish League okay first round obviously continuing from here in Vegas tomorrow it’s rounds 2 through seven barring any transactions the Sabers have 42 and 43 on the docket out of the blocks on Saturday morning uh and it should still be Saturday morning in the Eastern Time Zone when the Sabres make those picks it might just Crest p noon at that point in time but uh it tends to go pretty quick after that they have picks at 76 108 and 109 161 172 and 204 we’ve seen transactions this week involving like you mentioned with Philadelphia and Minnesota right in front of the Sabers and obviously with Buffalo and San Jose and how it ended up with the Sabres at 14 we’re still lacking for bigname movement on current NHL rosters correct I Haven it it hasn’t materialized I’m just refreshing my for another week cap friendly because they are doing really good job of falling along uh no there was wasn’t any trades um happening right now uh that I’m trying to listen to Gary bman and he’s say it now he’s not announcing a trade no because you would hear the train horn which is which is what is here tonight the trade horn did I say train horn train horn uh but no so there’s not been a lot but there is rumors flying all over to Poli and we say it often that NHL trades often happen on the second day where you know they got often out of desperation when it doesn’t happen on the first yeah but they you get the first run over you get your meetings you show up the next day and then you just walk right up to a general manager and said okay let’s make it happen let’s make it work there’s still a ton of chatter out there when it comes to Marty hes and many others uh that have not been traded not just have not been traded to the Sabers have not been traded at all and we know that NES is most likely to be going somewhere if you missed any of cona helenius and his introductory media presser you can obviously find it on Sabers social and ultimately at sabes.com you will also get reaction from the general manager Kevin Adams when this night is all said and done and it’ll set you up for tomorrow which is rounds 2 through 7 but there’s still work to be done amidst all the NHL teams here as round one continues so a final word before we sign off from our live reaction here at sphere well uh there’s still a lot of uh things that are unexpected I always say my first training camp in Buffalo mcord came to me and says Marty in the NHL always expect the unexpected and where a draft like last year in Nashville went one through 32 everybody picked this year we got Philly moving one picked but I think there’s still a lot to be unexpectedly expected as the draft continue tonight and into tomorrow thanks for being with us tonight for the immediate reaction to Buffalo’s first round selection this year they picked 14th overall and went with forward cona helenius a real bright spot uh as you look at just his reaction to the moment and how he indulged with the media moments ago thanks for being with us and uh obviously as always stay tuned to Sabers social and sabes.com for more we’ll see you soon

Brian Duff and Martin Biron shared their instant reaction after center Konsta Helenius was selected by the Sabres 14th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas.

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