HELENIUS, WAHLBERG BRINGING CONFIDENCE BACK FROM WORLD JUNIORS
Amerks forwards return from representing their respective countries
Jan 16, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
It is January. A new year, but not a new season as the AHL and its 32 member teams inch closer to the official midway point of the 2024-25 campaign.
The Rochester Americans will hit that mark this weekend when they host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Friday night at Blue Cross Arena. After that game, they’ll have played 36 games and have 36 more to go.
At this point in the year, it’s hard to simulate playoff hockey and what it means to compete for a championship. That is, unless you’re one of the 20-year-olds or younger who get the chance to represent their countries from late December into early January. The Amerks had two of those players: Anton Wahlberg and Konsta Helenius.
“It was a dream come true,” said Wahlberg, a Malmö, Sweden native.
“It was really nice to see some friends and play for the national team,” uttered Helenius, an 18-year-old who grew up in Ylöjärvi, Finland.
The pair of Amerks teenagers returned to the red, white, and blue last weekend after wearing the colors of their fellow countrymen the previous two weeks. In that time, both Wahlberg and Helenius played seven games over 11 days, with each forward displaying signs of why the Buffalo Sabres have coveted them as top prospects in the organization.
Wahlberg scored four goals and posted eight points for Team Sweden.
Helenius led Team Finland with six assists on his way to a silver medal in the finals of the tournament.
Both players were among their team’s top three point producers.
“They both gained a lot of confidence,” said Amerks head coach Michael Leone.” Going over there, they both had really good tournaments. They had the puck more than they probably do in our league. It's different. They're playing different systems and different styles of hockey. You want to play in the big moments and see them on the biggest stages when the lights are the brightest. They both played well.”
Both Wahlberg and Helenius competed in their second World Junior Championship with both players seeing increased roles with their country this time around.
“I could play my game with more players around me,” said Wahlberg. “That was kind of one of the goals that I had this year. I just wanted to be better. My point production was really good, and I think I played good without the puck. I think, overall, my game was good and I want to bring that back to Rochester.”
Mission accomplished in game one of Wahlberg’s return, as the power forward drove the net for a power-play goal last Friday in the team’s win over Utica.
“You have more touches with the puck,” said Helenius when talking about his time at World Juniors. “You can do more and have a little more time to make plays.”
Helenius, who’s the youngest player in the American Hockey League this season, leads all Rochester rookies in scoring with 17 points (6+11).
The two squared off against one another in the semifinal round, with Helenius and Finland taking out Wahlberg and Sweden in a dramatic overtime finish. During the game, Wahlberg accidentally clipped Helenius with a high stick.
“He didn't even get a penalty and I don't know why,” Helenius laughed. “But he said that he didn’t mean to do it, so it’s okay.”
World Juniors wasn’t just a tournament. It was a reunion of sorts. Helenius and Wahlberg grew up playing back home. Their time with Rochester marks the first time either player has been in North America. Both players reminisced of their time on home soil and reuniting with several players at the tournament in Ottawa whom they grew up calling teammates.
The nostalgia was in full effect, bringing back the days of youth hockey where you’d go to a city and play a lot of games in a short period of time. Eat, sleep, play hockey, repeat.
Wahlberg and Helenius are back in Rochester with the World Junior Championship behind them. While the tournament is in the rearview mirror, the experiences are ones both prospects look to carry moving forward.
Competing for the opportunity to pursue a championship in January has fueled both rookies to help the Amerks in their quest to compete for a cup in June.