Helenius made his first appearance in a Sabres uniform at Development Camp this past week. It was there that the Sabres development staff and Rochester Americans coaches got their first look at the forward’s vision and ability to evade pressure in person.
“The first thing that stands out is the hockey sense,” Amerks assistant coach Vinny Prospal said. “When you see him, especially in the small-area games, you can really see that he’s got above average hockey sense compared to some of these players that we have on the ice right now.”
Sabres director of player development Adam Mair was also impressed by the 18-year-old’s talent.
“I think he’s very smooth,” Mair said. “I think you saw that in the last drill, just his ability to evade pressure. He’s got really good hands. He’s got vision, he can make plays.”
On the final day of camp, prospects were split between three teams for the annual 3v3 tournament. Helenius scored three goals for Team Perreault during the event, including the game-winning shootout goal in Game 1 and the game winner in Game 3 to help lead his team to the championship game. Helenius and Team Perreault won their final game 5-0 over Team Robert to earn the tournament trophy.
“It was a fun week,” Helenius said following the championship win. “A lot of good players, so it was fun to be on the ice and see the players.”
