- Pro Hockey Rumors named Konsta Helenius a sleeper pick for the 2026-27 Calder Trophy
- The Sabres prospect racked up 63 points in 63 AHL games and scored Finland’s Worlds gold-medal winner
- Read below for why an Alex Tuch-sized hole could open a top-six door in Buffalo
Konsta Helenius keeps getting overlooked, and Pro Hockey Rumors thinks that is a mistake.
The site tabbed the 20-year-old Sabres forward as a sleeper pick for the 2026-27 Calder Trophy. The current favorites are Porter Martone, Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Cole Hutson and Anton Frondell, but Helenius has the track record to crash that list.
Buffalo took him 14th overall in 2024, and he has done nothing but score since. Last season with AHL Rochester, Helenius piled up 21 goals and 63 points in 63 games, tied for ninth in the entire league.
That run made him an All-Star and the highest-scoring teenager in Amerks history, passing a franchise mark that had stood since 1992-93.
He earned a nine-game look in Buffalo in January and grabbed three points in his second NHL game. When the playoffs arrived, Helenius scored twice in four games against Montreal in the second round.
Then he saved his biggest moment for the summer. Helenius scored the overtime golden goal to win Finland the 2026 IIHF World Championship over Switzerland.
Watch the goal that ended it:
What’s missing has been NHL runway. The Sabres are loaded up front, so there was no reason to force him into the lineup last season. That math could change now.
Buffalo has an Alex Tuch-sized hole to fill, and Helenius fits at either center or wing. A strong camp lands him in the top six, and a top-six role is all a scorer like this needs to make a real Calder push.
He has torched every level on the way up. The NHL is the last box left to check.
