Sami Helenius
| Sami Helenius | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
January 22, 1974 Helsinki, FIN | ||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) | ||
| Weight | 230 lb (100 kg; 16 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Jokerit Pelicans Calgary Flames Tampa Bay Lightning Colorado Avalanche Dallas Stars Chicago Blackhawks Ilves | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL Draft |
102nd overall, 1992 Calgary Flames | ||
| Playing career | 1992–2010 | ||
Sami "Helge" Helenius (born January 22, 1974) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played predominately in the SM-liiga and National Hockey League. He most recently was in a 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 became known as the "Fighting Finn," as he was 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 of the Suomi-sarja as a player-coach for the 2010–11 season on August 4, 2010, however only opted to coach upon the resumption of the season.[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 | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Finland | EJC | 4th | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | |
| 1993 | Finland | WJC | 5th | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 2003 | Finland | WC | 5th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | ||||
| Senior totals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
References
- ↑ "Helenius Pelicans, Brooks Jokerit" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
- ↑ "Helenuis, Sammit join HCK crew!" (in Finnish). hckjt.fe. 2010-08-04. Retrieved 2011-02-22.