With 30 teams and 700 players in the league, you'll have to forgive me if I don't know the names of every single player on every single roster.That said, I ought to know something about who is on the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. Besides being awesome teams, the players that fill out the lower reaches of each roster tend to be much better than the chaff that popular such bottom-feeders as the Tampa Bay Lightning.
To my own shame, I had never heard of Red Wings forward Darren Helm until late into these Stanley Cup playoffs, and now this so-called "no-name" has made quite an impact in these finals.
Just who is this guy? Let The Windsor Star help fill us in.
Two months ago, Darren Helm was still a project in the eyes of the Detroit Red Wings. Now, he's a player.You'd figure Helm would be a journeyman type, wouldn't you? He looks gruff, plays a physical game, and looks like he's been through more than a few battles.
Helm had his finest game as an NHLer Monday in the Wings' 4-3 triple overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins ... Helm scored a goal, led all players with six hits, was a plus-one and a noticeable presence in each of his 21 shifts centering Detroit's fourth line.
"I definitely realize how hard it is for a lot of players to get this chance," said Helm, who earned a late season callup after a fine rookie campaign for the Wings' AHL farm team in Grand Rapids.
Well, it turns out that this Helm fellow is just 21 years of age, and is still in his first year of pro hockey. Yoikes!
Darren Helm facts:
What impresses me most about Helm is that the fact that his penalty totals are so low for the type of game he plays. Thus far, Helm has just two penalty minutes in his 17 playoff games, and has a career average of just about .5 PIM's per game. For a player to deliver that much physical presence and stay out of the penalty box is an asset to any team.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-05-2008 @ 12:33AM
la said...
Your right Helm is a player.
Very fast!!
stuck his nose in where ever he could.
what a poor performance by the referees tonight.
I hope it doesn't degrade the Red Wings Vic with such a shoddy performance on their part. I hope that does not tarnish the Cup! they were obviously the better team and they did not need any of those poor decisions to help them win.
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6-05-2008 @ 9:02AM
TAB said...
helm was a big part of the redwings sucess ,winging face offs and scoring key goals.the wings are deep in talent with franzen emerging as a world class player .the two best players in the world so great together pavel and henrick.the best captain and by far d.man nick .the netminders ozzy and dom were great with ozzy really steping up to be statisticly and truely the best in hocky throughout this season.yea im a wings fan of manny years started in late seventys .this is their best team i have seen of the 4 cup winners they have a great chance of repeating next season!
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6-05-2008 @ 9:02AM
Mark Jastrzembski said...
One of the greatest professional sports series ever broadcast...and to the smallest ever television viewing audience. Were it not for Michigan and Pennsylvannia sports fanatics, no one would have tuned in. Too bad because the action was breathtaking and the drama unbelievable. The best play-by-play announcer in all of sports and NBC team made all the football, basketball and baseball talking heads look like amateurs.
Tip of hat to both teams. No more talk please about the old guys on the Red Wings against the fresh legged kids on the Penguins. Red Wing veterans skated with far more energy. Young kids like Helm, Huddler and new kid out of MSU, Abdelkadder will be more than adequate replacements for the likes of Chelios and McCarty next season. Go Pens and go Wings! Great series and thanks for a wonderful show guys!
Mad Mark of Twin Lake, Michigan
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