Devils Should Avoid Konsta Helenius at 10th Overall

Given the available names at and around that pick, GM Tom Fitzgerald needs to either prioritize a high-ceiling prospect or trade the pick.

The New Jersey Devils’ down season has a pretty big bright spot in that they have the 10th overall selection in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. This year’s draft is loaded with quality players with immense ceilings until the middle of the first round, meaning that the Devils should be able to draft a player to complement the current top-six or top-four in a year or two if they decide to keep the selection rather than trading it. One name that they should avoid despite growing hype, though, is Konsta Helenius.

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Helenius’s Profile

Helenius isn’t a bad player by any means. In fact, he’s probably the third-most NHL-ready draftee behind Macklin Celebrini and Ivan Demidov. He’s played in Finland’s Liiga since age 16 and found success in both seasons, being defensively apt while scoring 11 points in 33 games last campaign as a 16-year-old, and putting together 14 goals and 36 total points in 51 games, a draftee total that has only been bested by NHL star and perennial Selke Trophy candidate Aleksander Barkov. Sounds pretty good, right?

Related: THW’s Konsta Helenius Draft Profile

The difference for me is clear as day, though. Watching film between the two players — Barkov and Helenius — from Liiga, and Barkov is the only one between the two who showed glimpses of elite skill and 1C potential while putting up those numbers. Yes, the production is tantalizing and yes, Helenius can probably jump right into the NHL as a third-line center, but nothing I’ve seen from him at all leads me to believe he’ll end up as anything more than a middle-six contributor. The only quality of his that I would consider “elite” is his IQ. He’s a very, very smart player and it shows in his very mature defensive game.