The 20-year-old former first-rounder scored the golden goal for Finland at the IIHF World Championships on Sunday.
The Buffalo Sabres were already excited about 2024 first-rounder Konsta Helenius and his growth in his second pro season in North America. The 20-year-old forward scored nearly a point per game with AHL Rochester, and stepped into the club’s playoff lineup and seemed unfazed in a pressure-filled situation against Montreal.
Helenius went on to play for Finland at the IIHF World Championships in Switzerland and, like teammate Tage Thompson, scored the golden goal against the Swiss to win the tournament for the Finns.
Helenius earned the praise of Florida’s Aleksander Barkov as a star in the making, which may have Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen thanking his lucky stars, since Helenius’s name was rumored to be in the mix for trades with the St. Louis Blues prior to the trade deadline. With it extremely likely that winger Alex Tuch is leaving via unrestricted free agency next month, it is probable that Helenius, along with other first rounders Noah Ostlund, and Jiri Kulich will get the first chance to fill the hole left by Tuch’s departure.
Here is a quick update of some of the other players selected by the Sabres in 2023:
Scott Ratzlaff – G – 141st overall
Ratzlaff graduated from the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds and in his first pro season, the 21-year-old split time between the AHL Amerks and the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen. With Rochester, he went 4-6-1, with a 3.44 GAA and .878 save %, and with the Icemen, he went 5-7-2, with a 3.10 GAA and .913 save %. With the high probability that Devon Levi will not be in Rochester next season, it will mean that Ratzlaff and Topias Leinonen will get more work in the AHL.
Sean Keohane – D – 173rd overall
A physical specimen at 6’4”, 205 lb., Keohane came out of Dexter Southfield Prep in Massachusetts and was slated to play a full season in the USHL with Tri-City before heading to Harvard, but after 16 games, the 20-year-old shifted to West Kelowna in the BCHL to get more playing time. Last season, he played 11 games for the Crimson and finished with two assists; this season, he finished with three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in 34 games.
Norwin Panocha – D – 205th overall
Drafted out of Berlin in the DEL, the 6’2”, 190 lb. defenseman opted to come to North America and play for Chicoutimi in the QMJHL. In 52 QMJHL games, Panocha had 15 assists. The 20-year-old also played for Germany at the WJC as an 18 and 19-year-old.. After being dropped by the Sagueneens, he was selected by Prince Albert in the CHL Import Draft but played only 3 games for the Raiders before he was dropped again.
After a brief stop playing in the USHL, Panocha returned home to play for Berlin, where he finished with two assists in 16 games for the Polar Bears, who won the DEL title. This season, he had three assists in 36 games with Berlin and played 20 games in the second-division pro league in Germany. .
Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo
THN.com/Free