| Sami Helenius | |
| |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Fin. 3 Team F. Teams |
HC Keski-Uusimaa Jokerit Ilves Pelicans NHL Calgary Flames Tampa Bay Lightning Colorado Avalanche Dallas Stars Chicago Blackhawks |
| Born | January 22, 1974, Helsinki, FIN |
| NHL Draft | 102nd overall, 1992 Calgary Flames |
| Pro Career | 1992 – present |
Sami "Helge" Helenius (born January 22, 1974) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman currently in a dual player and coaching role with HC Keski Uusimaa of the Suomi-sarja.
Playing career[]
Helenius was drafted by the Calgary Flames as their fifth-round pick, 102nd overall, in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He started his professional career in Jokerit in the Finnish SM-liiga 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 defenceman, playing for several teams. Helenius is one of the few Europeans to play in an enforcer role in North-American hockey leagues.
In 2003 he returned to Finland to play in the SM-liiga again. After a year with Jokerit where he served as team captain, Helenius represented both Ilves 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.[1] After finishing the season out with Pelicans, Helenius agreed to join HC Keski-Uusimaa as a player-coach for the 2010–11 season on August 4, 2010.[2]
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1992–93 | Jokerit | SM-l | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Reipas Lahti | SM-l | 37 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 69 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 217 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 68 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 231 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 1996–97 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 72 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 218 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Las Vegas Thunder | IHL | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | ||
| 1997–98 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 63 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 185 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Las Vegas Thunder | IHL | 42 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 193 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Chicago Wolves | IHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | ||
| 1999–00 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | ||
| 1999–00 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 57 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Utah Grizzlies | AHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Jokerit | SM-l | 55 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Ilves | SM-l | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Pelicans | SM-l | 53 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 151 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Pelicans | SM-l | 53 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 126 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2007–08 | Jokerit | SM-l | 49 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 198 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | ||
| 2008–09 | Jokerit | SM-l | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Jokerit | SM-l | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Pelicans | SM-l | 34 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 170 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 155 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 260 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| SM-l totals | 394 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 1052 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 37 | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Finland | EJC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| 1993 | Finland | WJC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 2003 | Finland | WC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Junior int'l totals | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | ||
| Senior int'l totals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
References[]
- ↑ Helenius Pelicans, Brooks Jokerit (Finnish). Jokerit (2009-11-13). Retrieved on 2010-06-01.
- ↑ Helenuis, Sammit join HCK crew! (Finnish). hckjt.fe (2010-08-04). Retrieved on 2011-02-22.