The Buffalo Sabres called up center Konsta Helenius from Rochester last week, but had the 2024 first-round pick watch a couple of games to get acclimated and one practice with the NHL club. On Monday, the 19-year-old made his NHL debut in a 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that when he got into the lineup, he wanted to see what the club’s top prospect looked like, but against the first-place Canes, the youngster was carefully spotted, accumulating just 10:47 in the contest. This has been a trend for the veteran coach with young prospects like first-rounders Isak Rosen and Noah Ostlund, who, for most of their call-ups to Buffalo, have played on the fourth line.
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The young Finn is having an excellent second season with AHL Rochester thus far, with 30 points (9 goals, 21 assists) in 34 games, which is just five points short of his rookie season total with the Amerks. The 19-year-old was expected to be a main cog of Team Finland for the recent 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships in Minnesota, but Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen did not release Helenius to play in his third WJC.
With the injury to center Josh Norris, Ruff leaned heavily on Tage Thompson, playing the top center nearly 23 minutes on Monday, and gave more of a workload to Ryan McLeod and Ostlund, who have shown more offense with the Sabres this season playing higher in the lineup.
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