MONTREAL — One day after turning 20, Konsta Helenius found out Tuesday morning that he was going into the Buffalo Sabres’ lineup to make his NHL playoff debut in Montreal with his team trailing the Canadiens 2-1 in their second-round series.

He could see it coming.

“I’m not surprised, because I think it was a good year for me,” Helenius said.

Normally, you might wonder about a 20-year-old’s ability to handle this type of pressure-packed environment. There are loud arenas, and then there’s Bell Centre. But Helenius isn’t exactly a normal 20-year-old.

This time last year, Helenius was 18 and playing in the AHL playoffs. Rochester Americans coach Michael Leone was impressed by the way the center rose to the occasion and played with the necessary level of physicality to handle playoff hockey. The bigger the game, the better Helenius played.

“Ultimately, when you get to this time of year, you find out who you are as a player,” Leone said. “I thought (Helenius) played a lot of winning hockey for us.”

So, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the confident, fearless Finn who always seems to be smiling was ready to jump into this environment. He has some similarities to Sabres forward Zach Benson in that he doesn’t mind being at the center of a scrum and always seems ready to trash-talk with teammates off the ice. He told me before this series he’d been seeing videos all over social media from both Montreal and Buffalo and couldn’t wait to experience them for himself. It reminds him of the passion people have for hockey back home in Finland. He loves that about this time of year. The other thing he loves?

“Everyone is watching you,” Helenius said. “You want to show everyone you can play.”

He showed that in Game 4. Helenius came into the lineup in place of Sam Carrick. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said he was looking for Helenius to provide some offense, so he put him on the third line and demoted Ryan McLeod to the fourth line. It didn’t take long to see that Helenius was going to provide a spark. On one of his first shifts, he shrugged off a hit in the corner. Later in the period, he broke up a play on a backcheck. Then he drove the net, creating the scoring chance that led to the controversial overturned goal.

Helenius led the team with five shot attempts, five individual scoring chances and three individual high-danger chances at five-on-five. Helenius played 12 minutes, 25 seconds at five-on-five, and during those minutes, the Sabres had an 8-2 advantage in high-danger chances. Late in the game, he had two prime chances of his own on two-on-ones. On one of them, he didn’t lift the puck enough, and Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobeš made a great save with his right pad. Moments later, Helenius hit a post on a similar two-on-one chance.

“It’s little things, you know?” Helenius said. “You just got to get it high and score.”

After re-watching the game, Ruff told reporters in Montreal that he loved Helenius’ work in the defensive zone. Ruff normally has to remind young players about the small details, like supporting the puck. Instead, Helenius was an asset on breakouts and making the type of plays that earned him the reputation as a natural center in his draft year.

“I think that starts in the minors with all the people that are working with him,” Ruff said. “They deserve a lot of credit.”

Leone and Amerks assistant Vinny Prospal have prepared a handful of young players to make a big impact on Buffalo’s lineup. Jiri Kulich had a great rookie season in 2024-25 before a blood clot derailed his season this year. Noah Östlund spent a year in Rochester, then was an impact player in Buffalo as a rookie. And now, Helenius seems similarly prepared for his NHL opportunity.

Prospal has a reputation for being hard on players. He’s brutally honest, and Helenius took time to adapt to that coaching style. But now he loves it and thinks it helped get him ready for his moment on Tuesday night. That’s part of why Ruff was willing to put him on the ice while protecting a 3-2 lead in the last five minutes of the game — on the road at Bell Centre in his first-ever NHL playoff game.

“It’s a great feeling that the coach trusts me,” Helenius said. “I played that situation in the AHL but not the NHL yet, so it was great, straight to playoffs and play big minutes. It means a lot.”

It also says something about this team, the way it’s been built and where it could go from here. Sharp draft picks from former general manager Kevyn Adams have sparked the Sabres during these playoffs. Helenius is the latest, but Benson, drafted No. 13 in 2023, scored the Game 4 winner on his 21st birthday. He’s been one of Buffalo’s most important players in the postseason. And Östlund, drafted No. 16 in 2022, was a big driver for the Sabres in Round 1 before his injury. Throw Josh Doan, the 24-year-old winger acquired in a trade last summer, into that mix of young players making an impact on these playoffs. That’s an encouraging sign about the potential sustainability of what the Sabres have done this season.

But those players are showing the future is now in Buffalo. By playing Helenius in Game 4, the Sabres burned a year of his entry-level contract. It was worth it because he provided the jolt Ruff was looking for. The 66-year-old coach once had a reputation for being slow to trust younger players. Now, as he continues to chase his first Stanley Cup championship, Ruff is leaning on those guys.

“You only get so many of these opportunities,” Ruff said. “I’m right there with the kids. It puts a smile on my face and I’m having fun with them.”