‘Little rat’ Helenius powers Amerks past Laval; Levi posts shutout

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA

There seems to be little doubt that Konsta Helenius is truly at his best when the other team hates him.

When he’s playing the body, when he’s giving a defenseman an extra shot or a little slash in the corner, when he’s driving to the goal mouth as if he’s 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds and not 5-11 and 190 pounds, more good things just seem to happen.

Which was the case on Friday night, when the second-year centerman scored two goals and assisted on the other two as the Rochester Americans and goalie Devon Levi blanked the Laval Rocket 4-0 at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.

“When he’s physically engaged in the hockey game, when he’s physical and skating, it’s just night-and-day difference; he’s attacking the game,” said Amerks coach Michael Leone, whose team improved to 4-2 with the win over the Rocket (2-4).

Helenius was a big part of it. He was attacking with a relentless desire, and the points followed. Through his first five games, Helenius had just one goal and 13 shots on goal. On Friday he fired a team-leading six shots toward Laval goalie Kaapa Kahkonen and finished with a career-high four-point game.

But before the puck was on his stick and before he was shooting it, he was skating hard, he was hunting the puck and he was being a pest.

“He’s a little rat,” Levi said affectionately. “He’s a skilled player but he loves competing. He’s not going to let anyone push him around.”

And maybe that’s why he thrived against Laval on Friday. The Rocket are big and physical and intimidate if they can. Helenius never backs down. He just smiles.

“They hate me and then they take a couple stupid penalties and we score,” Helenius said.

That all figures into the game he needs to play. Especially considering that when he’s producing, the Amerks are winning. He has eight multiple-point games in his young career. The Amerks are 7-0-1-0 in those games.

“I think there’s higher expectations for the kid (this year),” Leone said. “Tonight was a great example of if you do the right things and play the game right way, you ultimately get rewarded. Before he was chasing the game a bit, trying to cheat for offense.

“When Hele’s habits are good and he’s being physically engaged, he’s a different player. Now it’s just consistency, doing it all the time.”

After a scoreless first period, Helenius put the Amerks ahead 5:17 into the second period. He sprinted down the right of the slot, getting past defenseman Josiah Didier, before zipping a shot top shelf past Kahkonen.

Helenius then made a perfect head-man pass to send Jagger Joshua in behind defenseman Adam Engstrom to score at 8:12 and give the Amerks a 2-0 lead.

Zac Jones’ quick stretch pass from deep in the Amerks zone off transition created an instant two-on-two at the Laval blue line, from where Helenius feathered a pass ahead for Joshua. His 5-hole shot from the deep slot gave Joshua goals in consecutive games.

The quick transition is a big part of how Leone wants his team playing.

“A big part of our non-negotiables as a team since I got here is tracking and reloading,” Leone said. “When you’re on top of people and above people, when we’re playing good, at the end of the game shot clock we haven’t given 20 shots and we have over 30.

On Friday it read 38-19.

“We’re defending really well,” Leone said. “A lot of times when your offense is coming five-on-five, you have to get out of your own zone fast, you have to get through the neutral zone fast and plot your way to the O-zone.”

The overall strong effort meant the night was relatively easy for Levi, who posted his eighth career shutout. And considering the Amerks were eliminated by Laval in the North Division finals in May, the victory felt even better.

“We played unbelievable tonight,” Levi said of the team. “That’s a meaningful win, especially after last playoffs.”

Helenius scored his second of the game at 13:15 of the second period, extending the lead to 3-0 on a power play. Jones moved the puck to Helenius in the left circle and he calmly gathered in the pass before lasering a high shot past Kahkonen.

“I tried to rip it high because he’s always leaning down so they said shoot high,” said Helenius, who produced 14 goals 21 assists and 35 points in 65 regular-season games a year ago as an 18-year-old rookie.

Isak Rosen scored the final goal, also on a power play, with 67 seconds remaining in the game.

Mrtka back to junior

Defenseman Radim Mrtka, the ninth overall pick in the 2025 NHL draft by the Sabres, was sent back to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League on Friday.

The 18-year-old played in four games with the Amerks and looked at home in the AHL but the organization believes playing big-time minutes in junior will enhance his development.

“He’s probably not going to get on the special teams here,” Leone said. “His strength, being really physical and engaged, it’s hard to do in this league because there’s men that have played in the NHL a long time, so sometimes you can be overwhelmed.

“The best thing for him is to go back to juniors where he can be more physically dominant, have more puck touches and play huge minutes.”

Johnson won’t miss much time

Defenseman Ryan Johnson could have played if it was necessary but the coaching staff opted to keep him out of Friday’s game, and he’s unlikely to play in Cleveland on Saturday.

“Just being overly cautious,” Leone said. “There’s a chance he could play tomorrow but there’s a chance we just let him heal for a couple more days.”