Riku Helenius

Riku Helenius
Born (1988-03-01) March 1, 1988
Pälkäne, FIN
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb)
Position Goaltender
KHL team
Former teams
Jokerit
Ilves
Tampa Bay Lightning
Södertälje SK
JYP
NHL Draft 15th overall, 2006
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 2008present

Riku Helenius (born March 1, 1988) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently playing for Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Playing career

Helenius was selected 15th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning,[1] partly on the strength of his silver-medal-winning performance for the Finnish national men's hockey team in the 2006 under-18 World Junior Championships. He played for Ilves during the 2006–07 season but due to a shoulder injury only played four games.

The Seattle Thunderbirds selected Helenius with the 46th overall selection in the 2007 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft. Helenius joined the Thunderbirds roster at the start of the 2007–2008 season. In December 2007, Helenius was selected as goalie for the Finnish World Junior Team in the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championships.[2]

On October 17, 2008, Helenius was assigned to the Augusta Lynx of the ECHL. He played first NHL game on January 30, 2009 against the Philadelphia Flyers.[2]

In 2009 he went on to play for Södertälje SK after playing just 10 game for the Norfolk Admirals.

For the 2011–12 season he returned to Finland and signed with JYP Jyväskylä of the SM-liiga, where he won the league championship and the Urpo Ylönen trophy for best goaltender.

After a great season in Finland, Steve Yzerman, General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, expressed interest in bringing Helenius back to North America, as he was still a Lightning prospect. On June 13, 2012, Helenius signed a two-year contract with the Lightning.

In the midst of the 2013–14 season, with Helenius unable to make an impact up the Lightning's depth chart, on February 22, 2014, he was placed on $125 unconditional waivers, which would bring his contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning to an mutual end.

On April 14, 2014, Helenius agreed to a multi-year contract with Finnish club Jokerit of the KHL.

Career Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2007–08 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 41 22 12 6 2358 95 3 2.42 .915 9 4 5 534 24 0 2.70 .911
2008–09 Augusta Lynx ECHL 8 3 4 1 463 34 0 4.41 .874
2008–09 Mississippi Sea Wolves ECHL 3 1 1 1 184 7 0 2.28 .944
2008–09 Norfolk Admirals AHL 25 9 15 0 1388 63 1 2.72 .918
2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 1 0 0 0 7 0 0 0.00 1.000
2008–09 Elmira Jackals ECHL 2 0 1 87 10 0 6.90 .787
2009–10 Norfolk Admirals AHL 12 5 7 0 719 33 0 2.75 .896
2009–10 Sodertalje SK SEL 9 545 22 0 2.42 .922
2010–11 Sodertalje SK SEL 18 911 46 0 3.03 .884
2011–12 JYP SM-l 33 17 9 5 1908 52 7 1.64 .936 13 11 2 833 24 0 1.73
2012–13 Syracuse Crunch AHL 32 17 14 0 1772 76 4 2.57 .900
2013–14 Syracuse Crunch AHL 5 2 3 0 297 17 0 3.43 .875
2013–14 Florida Everblades ECHL 4 0 2 0 148 15 0 6.08 .797
2014–15 Jokerit KHL 22 14 5 2 1272 50 2 2.36 .918 1 1 0 60 1 0 1.00 .944
2015–16 Jokerit KHL 21 7 6 4 1045 42 2 2.41 .891
NHL totals 1 0 0 0 7 0 0 0.00 1.000

International

Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2006 Finland WJC18 2nd, silver medalist(s) 6 4 1 1 360 11 1 1.83 .942
2008 Finland WJC 6th 4 214 12 1 3.36 .902
Junior totals 10 574 23 2

References

  1. "All draft choices". Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey Club. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  2. 1 2 "Riku Helenius player profile". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Vladimír Mihálik
Tampa Bay Lightning first round draft pick
2006
Succeeded by
Steven Stamkos


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