Sami "Helge" Helenius (born January 22, 1974) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who played predominantly in the

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

and

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. He most recently was in a coaching role with

Haukat The Jääurheiluseura Hawks, commonly known as the Haukat ('Hawks'), is a men's ice hockey team in the Suomi-sarja, the third-tier professional ice hockey league in Finland. The team is based in Järvenpää, in the Uusimaa region of southern ...

of the

Suomi-sarja The Suomi-sarja is Finland's third-highest ice hockey league. Suomi-sarja has 14 teams. Suomi-sarja has been played since the 1999–2000 season. Prior to this, Finland's third league had been Division II since 1975 and before that the Provinci ...

Playing career

Helenius was drafted by the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

as their fifth-round pick, 102nd overall, in the

1992 NHL Entry Draft The 1992 NHL Entry Draft was the 30th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 20 at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. A total of 264 players were drafted. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Sergei Gonchar, who retire ...

. He started his professional career in

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters) are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga (1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002). Jokerit plays its ...

in the Finnish

in 1992, and made his way to North America for the 1994–95 season, and after spending five years mostly in the minor leagues, Helenius took his place as an

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, playing for several teams. Helenius became known as the "Fighting Finn," as he was one of the few Europeans to play in an

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

role in North-American hockey leagues. In 2003, he returned to Finland to play in the

again. After a year with

where he served as team captain, Helenius represented both

Ilves Ilves (; Finnish for " Lynx") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Tampere Deck Arena. The colors of Ilves, green, yellow, and black, were taken from what was then the coat of arms of the city ...

and Pelicans before returning to Jokerit after the 2006–07 season. After three seasons with Jokerit and during the 2009–10 season, Helenius rejoined previous club Pelicans on November 13, 2009. After finishing the season out with Pelicans, Helenius agreed to join HC Keski-Uusimaa of the

as a player-coach for the 2010–11 season on August 4, 2010, however only opted to coach upon the resumption of the season.

Coaching career

In the summer of 2022, Helenius signed a 1+1 year contract with the Kouvola KooKoo. - I look forward to new challenges at KooKoo! I’ve been watching the

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

for a couple of years up close and I'm aware of the demands and currents of modern hockey, but I want to bring those good “old school” elements to the game as well, Helenius says.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Helenius, Sami 1974 births Calgary Flames draft picks Calgary Flames players Chicago Blackhawks players Chicago Wolves (IHL) players Colorado Avalanche players Dallas Stars players Finnish ice hockey defencemen Hershey Bears players Ilves players Jokerit players Las Vegas Thunder players Living people Lahti Pelicans players Ice hockey people from Helsinki Saint John Flames players Tampa Bay Lightning players Utah Grizzlies (AHL) players