Dwight Helminen

Dwight Edward Helminen (born June 22, 1983) is an American professional ice hockey center who most recently played with the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL. His brother Lars plays with Linz EHC of the EBEL.

Dwight Helminen
Born (1983-06-22) June 22, 1983
Hancock, Michigan, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
ECHL team
Former teams		 Kalamazoo Wings
JYP
Carolina Hurricanes
San Jose Sharks
Pelicans
NHL Draft 244th overall, 2002
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 2004–present

Playing career

Helminen was born in Hancock, Michigan, and raised in Brighton, Michigan. As a youth, he played in the 1997 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Detroit Compuware minor ice hockey team.[1]

He was drafted 244th overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. Dwight played junior hockey for the U.S. Junior National Team in the United States Hockey League (USHL) and college hockey at the University of Michigan for the Wolverines. On March 3, 2004, the New York Rangers acquired his rights from the Oilers along with a 2004 second round draft pick and Steve Valiquette in exchange for Petr Nedvěd and Jussi Markkanen.

Since turning professional, Helminen has played for the Charlotte Checkers in the ECHL and the Hartford Wolf Pack in the American Hockey League (AHL), before signing with JYP Jyväskylä in the Finnish SM-liiga in 2007.

Helminen signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 3, 2008. He was then assigned to the Hurricanes' affiliate, the Albany River Rats of the AHL. Helminen made his NHL debut in the 2008–09 season after an injury to Brandon Sutter. He played in 23 regular season games by season's end with the Hurricanes, as well as one playoff game.

On July 16, 2009, Helminen signed a one-year contract with the San Jose Sharks.[2] In the 2009–10 season, on February 11, 2010, Helminen scored his first goal with the Sharks, against the Detroit Red Wings. On April 22, 2010, he scored a goal against the Colorado Avalanche in the Sharks' first-round playoff series.

Midway through the 2011–12 season, Helminen left KLH Chomutov of the Czech first division league to return to North America, signing with the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL on February 6, 2012.[3]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02 University of Michigan CCHA 39 10 8 18 10 — — — — —
2002–03 University of Michigan CCHA 39 17 16 33 34 — — — — —
2003–04 University of Michigan CCHA 41 17 12 29 4 — — — — —
2004–05 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 41 2 7 9 10 — — — — —
2004–05 Charlotte Checkers ECHL 28 5 16 21 10 15 7 3 10 2
2005–06 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 77 32 23 55 40 13 3 5 8 10
2006–07 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 80 15 24 39 32 7 1 1 2 2
2007–08 JYP SM-l 52 20 25 45 10 6 3 3 6 0
2008–09 Albany River Rats AHL 54 15 15 30 26 — — — — —
2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 23 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0
2009–10 Worcester Sharks AHL 74 12 10 22 16 — — — — —
2009–10 San Jose Sharks NHL 4 1 0 1 0 7 1 0 1 4
2010–11 Pelicans SM-l 60 12 16 28 40 — — — — —
2011–12 Piráti Chomutov CZE.1 24 4 14 18 6 — — — — —
2011–12 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 20 7 11 18 6 14 5 7 12 2
NHL totals 27 2 1 3 0 8 1 0 1 4

Awards and honors
Award Year
CCHA All-Tournament Team 2003 [4]

References
  1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  2. "Sharks sign four players, re-sign Vesce". San Jose Sharks. 2009-07-16. Archived from the original on 2009-07-18. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  3. "Wings add NHL experience". Kalamazoo Wings. 2012-02-06. Archived from the original on 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  4. "2012-13 CCHA Media Guide". ISSUU.com. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Jed Ortmeyer		 CCHA Best Defensive Forward
2003-04		 Succeeded by
Eric Nystrom
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