A future NHL star is hidden in the Lions – Ville Nieminen declared: “30 goals and 70 points”
Finland’s young ice hockey prospect Konsta Helenius was featured in Viaplay’s World Championship studio before the Lions’ match against Great Britain.
Experts Jussi Jokinen and Ville Nieminen shared their views on Helenius’s potential NHL future.
Jokinen saw traits in Helenius reminiscent of Carolina Hurricanes star player Sebastian Aho.
– I see a lot of similarities to what Aho was like at that age. An extremely fast player on his skates and able to adapt to different situations. Whenever he has been promoted, he has been able to adjust. I believe that once he gets going, he will make his breakthrough in these national team circles.
Nieminen, on the other hand, assessed that Helenius’s potential could extend to becoming a significant goal scorer at the NHL level.
– Definitely a Finnish player who could score 30 goals. A right winger, perhaps not quite at the level of (Teemu) Selänne or (Jari) Kurri, but a versatile center or winger. Finland has surprisingly many top centers, so he could be that top winger who scores 30 goals and 40 assists, 70 points in a season.
Nieminen also highlighted the importance of the organization for the young player’s development and saw the Buffalo Sabres environment as potentially a favorable breeding ground.
– Buffalo plays offensively and is on the rise to becoming a winning team. That will also help Helenius.
Helenius heads into the World Championship in an interesting role, as he will start the tournament on the Lions’ top line alongside Aleksander Barkov and Mikael Granlund as the right winger.
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