Sami Helenius

Sami "Helge" Helenius (born January 22, 1974) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played predominantly in the SM-liiga and National Hockey League. He most recently was in a coaching role with Haukat 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. 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.

Coaching career In the summer of 2022, Helenius signed a 1+1 year contract with the Kouvola KooKoo.

"I look forward to new challenges at KooKoo! I’ve been watching the Liiga for a couple of years up close and I'm aware of the demands and currents of modern hockey, but I want to bring those good 'old school' elements to the game as well," Helenius said.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1990–91 Jokerit FIN U20 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1991–92 Jokerit FIN.2 U20 13 4 4 8 24 14 3 3 6 24 1992–93 Jokerit FIN.2 U20 3 2 2 4 4 13 2 3 5 18 1992–93 Jokerit SM-l 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1992–93 Vantaa HT FIN.2 21 2 3 5 50 — — — — — 1993–94 Reipas Lahti FIN.2 U20 1 1 0 1 2 11 3 4 7 48 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 Saint John Flames AHL 63 1 2 3 185 — — — — — 1997–98 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 10 0 1 1 19 4 0 0 0 25 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 1999–2000 Hershey Bears AHL 12 0 1 1 31 9 0 0 0 40 1999–2000 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 — — — — — SM-l totals 394 5 15 20 1052 28 0 2 2 37 AHL totals 296 8 21 29 925 26 0 0 0 65 NHL totals 155 2 4 6 260 1 0 0 0 0

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