BUFFALO – When he hopped inside Sami Pajari’s Toyota Yaris in July, Sabres rookie Konsta Helenius figured the Finnish rally car driver would navigate a bit slower than usual through the rough terrain of the forest with a guest aboard.
Instead, Pajari, one of the world’s top-ranked racers, shocked Helenius by speeding through the course in Ylivieska, Finland.
“He did like better time than with his own passenger who’s reading the map,” Helenius recently told the Times Herald in KeyBank Center. “It was crazy.”
Still, he ranked the hair-raising experience as the most fun of a memorable offseason in which he became a national celebrity for scoring the golden goal in overtime May 31 to clinch the World Championship over host Switzerland.
“Everybody knows how big hockey is in Finland, and scoring the gold medal goal, it’s huge,” said Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a fellow Finn who has also represented his country at international tournaments. “You kind of go down in history for that.”
Throughout his young career, the confident Helenius, who’s expected to play Thursday in Columbus when the Sabres open their most highly anticipated season in perhaps 15 or 20 years, has shown an uncanny ability to meet the moment.
Nothing’s too big for him.
When the Sabres turned to him May 12, a day after his 20th birthday, on hockey’s grandest stage, the Bell Centre in Montreal, he quickly established himself as one of their best forwards. That he had played just nine NHL games and had never experienced the intensity and rigors of the Stanley Cup Playoffs hardly mattered.
The neophyte was their best option in the heated second-round series, so they thrust him into action. He stood out over the final four contests, scoring two goals before the Sabres fell to the Canadiens in seven games.
“Some of the players play in this league like 10 years and they haven’t played a single playoff game, so it’s nice for me that I got it done in my first year,” Helenius said.
A kid who began the postseason in the minors before being elevated to a Black Ace wound up playing in the Sabres’ most critical games in 15 years.
“He’s a pretty confident young man that a lot of things don’t bother him,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “There’s not a lot of things he fears. He wants the puck in the big moment. He wants to be on the ice. … He’s up for anything, and I think that’s the part you like about the player.”
Helenius has excelled at every level, showcasing a maturity that belies his limited experience.
He also scored the game-winning goal for the Finns in the semifinal against Team Canada at the World Championship.
He registered 21 goals and a team-high 63 points in 63 games for the Rochester Americans last season, the highest point total by a teenager in the AHL club’s history.
Prior to being drafted 14th overall by the Sabres in 2024, he played two seasons for Jukurit, a top-tier pro team in his native Finland, scoring 47 points, the second-highest total by a Liiga player before his 18th birthday. Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov owns the record.
Players so young are rarely drivers in pro hockey.
“When Helly goes to the rink, he thinks he’s the best player on the ice, no matter what his age is, and I think that’s … special,” said Rochester coach Mike Leone, who noted confidence is part of Helenius’ “DNA.”
Luukkonen said the confidence Helenius possesses “separates him from the rest of the pack.”
“He’s not afraid to play, he’s not afraid to make plays,” he said. “He trusts himself, he trusts he can play at this level and make these plays, and he has done it.”
The 5-foot-11, 182-pound Helenius displays his confidence through actions, not words. Teammates say he’s quiet.
“It’s easy to talk about it and talk about things and playing the right way and … being confident,” Luukkonen said. “But I think he’s not about the talk. For him, I think it’s more about (how) he kind of shows it, too.”
The Sabres, of course, have high expectations for Helenius. His emergence in the postseason was one reason they could send winger Alex Tuch, one of the NHL’s best two-way forwards, to the Washington Capitals in a sign-and-trade deal before free agency.
But all of Tuch’s duties won’t be thrown at Helenius’ feet.
Young forwards Jiri Kulich, who missed most of last season recovering from a blood clot, and Noah Ostlund, will be given more responsibility. The Sabres have others players up front ready to embrace new duties.
Helenius, a natural center, will likely skate as a winger Thursday against the Blue Jackets.
While he earned a roster spot, as of Wednesday, he still hadn’t received a stall. With so many injured players, he has a table and chair in the dressing room.
Early in camp, he refused to believe he had secured his place in Buffalo.
“Last year was great, but it’s a new season and everything’s new, so you got to earn the spot here,” he said. “I think I had a great summer and great last season, so it gives me confidence. But everyone in this locker room wants to play.”