Inside Wheeler’s Shocking Summer 2025 NHL Prospect Rankings: Who’s the True Future Star?
There were some who wondered for a time if he’d be a center or winger at the NHL level, but he’s solid enough in the faceoff circle and aware enough defensively — it was a real strength of his game pre-draft because of his reads, positioning, tracking and puck-winning on the forecheck, but there have also been times post-draft where I’ve found he’s not engaged as much as he was last year — that I project him as an NHL center.
Helenius is enjoyable to watch navigate, manipulate and pass the puck with his smarts and intuition. He’s crafty in traffic and does a great job finding ways through the neutral zone and across the line on entries. He has the ability to find his teammates in space and then get pucks to them with the perfect weight and timing, even while he’s well covered. He can also stir the drink through his effort level, though again I’ve found it to be more inconsistent this year, and can come up with pucks when you don’t expect him to (he’s good on steals and lifts) while quietly and efficiently affecting play at both ends of the rink.
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