Sami Helenius facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sami Helenius |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
| Born | January 22, 1974 Helsinki, Finland |
||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) | ||
| Weight | 230 lb (104 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 was born on January 22, 1974. He is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He mostly played as a defenceman, which is a player who helps protect their team's goal. Sami played in two major hockey leagues: the SM-liiga in Finland and the National Hockey League (NHL) in North America. After he stopped playing, he became a coach. His most recent coaching job was with a team called Haukat in the Suomi-sarja league.
Playing Ice Hockey
Sami Helenius was chosen by the Calgary Flames team in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. This is like a special event where professional teams pick young players to join them. He was the 102nd player picked overall in that year.
Sami started his professional hockey journey in 1992 with a team called Jokerit in the Finnish SM-liiga. This is the top hockey league in Finland. In 1994, he moved to North America to play. For about five years, he mostly played in smaller leagues, which are called "minor leagues." These leagues help players get ready for the big leagues like the NHL.
Eventually, Sami became a regular defenceman in the NHL. He played for several different teams there. Sami became well-known as "the Fighting Finn." This was because he was one of the few players from Europe who played as an enforcer. An enforcer is a player whose main job is to protect their teammates and sometimes get into fights to stand up for them.
In 2003, Sami decided to return to Finland and play in the SM-liiga again. He played for Jokerit once more and was even the team captain for a year. After that, he played for two other Finnish teams, Ilves and Pelicans. He then returned to Jokerit after the 2006–07 season.
After playing three more seasons with Jokerit, Sami rejoined the Pelicans team on November 13, 2009, during the 2009–10 season. He finished that season with the Pelicans. On August 4, 2010, Sami agreed to join HC Keski-Uusimaa in the Suomi-sarja league. He was supposed to be a player-coach, meaning he would both play and coach. However, when the season started, he chose to focus only on coaching.
Coaching Ice Hockey
In the summer of 2022, Sami Helenius signed a contract to coach for the Kouvola KooKoo team. This contract was for one year, with an option for another year.
Sami shared his excitement about this new role. He said, "I look forward to new challenges at KooKoo!" He also mentioned that he had been watching the Liiga (which is another name for the top Finnish hockey league) closely for a couple of years. He understood what modern hockey needed, but he also wanted to bring some good "old school" ways of playing to the team.
