The Newest Ducklings: D Kenton Helgesen
By Sean
This is the second part of my “The Newest Ducklings” series on the 2012 draftees by the Anaheim Ducks. I started off with D Jaycob Megna, who was the very last pick made by the Ducks. The Ducks second to last pick was used on defenseman Kenton Helgesen.
Helgesen is an 18-year-old from Fairview, Alberta. He was born on March 19, 1994 and shoots left-handed. Helgesen is listed at 6’3″-18g lbs. He is one of many big defenseman that the Ducks drafted, along with Jaycob Megna. The Ducks selected Helgesen in the seventh round, 187th overall.
He first appeared in the junior scene in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) with the Grande Prairie Storm in 2010-2011. The next year, he joined the Calgary Hitmen in the Western Hockey League (WHL). In his one season with the Storm, Helgesen tallied 1 goal and 5 assists for 6 points with 39 PIM in 42 games played. Last year with the Hitmen, Helgesen recorded 3 goals and 11 assists for 14 points with 63 PIM in 58 games played.
Helgesen, much like the Ducks 1st pick, Hampus Lindholm, has shown his best hockey late in the season. That is when he started to get more attention. Early in the season with the Hitmen, he struggled to adapt to the WHL from the small AJHL. As the season progressed, Helgesen got his bearings and started to improve. By the end of the season, he had shown he could play a shutdown defensive role. He showed some flashes of some offensive upside, but he has always been more known to be a defensive defenseman. Helgesen shows the size that the Ducks are looking for now in their new defenseman. He showed good decision-making skills in the Calgary Hitmen’s playoff series with the Brandon Wheat Kings, before his team were eliminated. It’s difficult to try to project Helgesen, but at most he can be a second-pairing shut down defenseman. It will probably be a few years before he moves to professional hockey, he will most likely play out his four years with the Hitmen.
Regular Season:
2010-2011: Grand Prairie (AJHL) = 42 GP, 1 G, 5 A, 6 P, 39 PIM
2011-2012: Calgary (WHL) = 58 GP, 3 G, 11 A, 14 P, 63 PIM
Playoffs:
2010-2011: Grand Prairie (AJHL) = 2 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 0 PIM
2011-2012: Calgary (WHL) = 5 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 2 PIM
Next up will be defenseman Brian Cooper.
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