The Kings loaned center Samuel Helenius to AHL Ontario on Tuesday, per a team announcement. They now have an open roster spot, allowing them to activate star defender Drew Doughty from long-term injured reserve whenever he’s ready to return.
Helenius, 22, has been a scratch in Los Angeles’ last four games. He last played on New Year’s Day against the Devils.
Selected out of Finland’s JYP in the second round of the 2021 draft, the 6’6″, 201-lb Helenius follows in the very large shoes of his father, former Stars defenseman Sami Helenius. The hulking pivot is in his fourth season stateside and has gotten his first cup of coffee in the NHL over the past few months.
Appearing in 21 of 41 games for the Kings, Helenius has a pair of assists and a minus-three rating, although he’s still looking for his first NHL goal. He’s averaged 8:33 of ice time per game, won 45.3% of his draws, and leads the team with 23.4 hits per 60 minutes.
While sound physically and decent defensively, Helenius unsurprisingly grades out as the Kings’ worst offensive player. The team averages just one goal per 60 minutes with Helenius on the ice at even strength.
Considering the Kings haven’t been using Helenius, it’s unlikely his demotion is a paper transaction. He’s still young with some development track ahead of him, so the reassignment comes to give him more playing time in Ontario.
In eight games with the Reign earlier this season, Helenius had a pair of goals and an assist with a whopping 22 PIMs and a minus-three rating. He has 37 points in 150 games with Ontario dating back to the 2021-22 season.
Doughty, 35, has yet to play in the regular season after sustaining a fractured ankle in exhibition play in September. He resumed skating two weeks ago and shouldn’t be out of the lineup for too much longer.
While the Kings have the roster space to activate Doughty, they don’t have the cap space. They’re $38K above the limit when Doughty comes off LTIR as things stand, so they’ll need to send another player on a cheap contract down to the minors to make things work.