For the second consecutive year, Rochester Americans center Konsta Helenius, who finished the season with the Buffalo Sabres, has earned a spot on the AHL’s Top Prospects Team.
Helenius, who turned 20 on May 11, played his first nine NHL games this season before the Sabres recalled him from the Amerks and inserted him into the lineup in their second-round playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Finn scored 21 goals and a team-high 63 points, the most by a teenager in Amerks history, in 63 games for the AHL club this season.
Helenius registered one goal and four points for the Sabres during the regular season before scoring two goals in four outings in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Following the season, he won the World Championship with Team Finland, scoring the golden goal in overtime.
The Sabres drafted Helenius 14th overall in 2024.
The Top Prospects Team – three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie – is determined by the AHL’s hockey operations department in conjunction with the league’s general managers.
To be considered, skaters must have been 22 or younger on the first day of the regular season, and have played a minimum of 36 regular-season games in the AHL this year and no more than 30 in the NHL.
The rest of the team announced Wednesday is below.
• Forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Grand Rapids Griffins
• Forward Ilya Protas, Hershey Bears
• Defenseman Adam Engstrom, Laval Rocket
• Defenseman Carter Yakemchuk, Belleville Senators
• Goalie Sergei Murashov, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins