Dwight Helminen

Class:
Junior
Position:
F
Height:
5-10
Weight:
193
Hometown:
Brighton, Mich.
S/C:
L
NHL:
NYR

Junior (2003-04)... Voted Best Defensive Forward in the CCHA by the conference coaches ... Ranked second on the team with career-high tying 17 goals ... Posted 17-11-28 totals in 41 games ... Led the Wolverines with two shorthanded goals ... Also added two power-play strikes and had two game-winners ... Exploded for 20 points and 14 of his goals in the second half of the season ... Two-time CCHA Offensive Player of the Week (Feb. 16, Nov. 17) ... Posted 3-1-4 in U-M's sweep of league-leading Miami (Ohio) on Feb. 13-14, including two goals and the game-winner on Feb. 14 ... Had 2-1-3 in split with Ohio State (Nov. 14-15) en route to Player of the Week honors ... Earned second-career hat trick with four goals against Ohio State (Jan. 10) ... Both of his hat tricks have come against the Buckeyes ... During that game, he scored at even strength, on the power play and while shorthanded. The last Wolverine to accomplish such a feat was Jason Botterill (Feb. 1, 1997) ... His four goals came on just four shots ... Had three two-goal games, including in U-M's game-three win over Nebraska-Omaha in the first round of the CCHA playoffs (March 14) ... Has 3-0-3 and was rated plus-4 in the series ... Posted four-game goal-scoring streak (6-1-7) from Feb. 13-Feb. 21 to match the longest goals run of his career ... Had two assists against Western Michigan (Jan. 23), marking his first-career multi-assist game despite 31 previous helpers ... Had a goal and an assist in tie with Michigan State (March 5) ... Scored Michigan's first goal of the season in the first period against Mercyhurst (Oct. 4) ... Was called for two penalties in 41 appearances, both of which occurred in the same game vs. Notre Dame (Feb. 27) ... Had NHL rights traded to the New York Rangers from Edmonton at the trading deadline in return for Petr Nedved ... Appeared in his 100th game in the Maize and Blue against WMU (Jan. 23) ... Mortenson Family Scholarship.

Sophomore (2002-03)... Jack Roth Scholarship for Ice Hockey ... One of two players, joining John Shouneyia, awarded the Howard Colby Award as the player who exhibited the best sportsmanship ... Tied for the team lead in points recorded during the 2002-03 postseason with 6-1-7 totals in seven games. He recorded a point in five of his seven postseason outings ... Named to the CCHA Super Six All-Tournament team ... Tied for third on the team in points (17-15-32) ... Scored a career-high 17 goals, surpassing his total from 40 games from 2001-02 (10) ... Tallied a career-high 16 assists, doubling his total from 40 games in 2001-02 (8) ... Surpassed his point total from a year ago (10-8-18) with 17-16-33 ... Ranked third on the team for the biggest point differential from last season, recording 15 points more than he did in 2001-02 ... Tied for second nationally with a career- and team-high four shorthanded goals ... Factored in on three consecutive shorthanded goals in three straight games from Nov. 23-Dec. 1, scoring twice and assisting on another ... Led the team in points on the penalty kill with 3-1-4 ... Surpassed his assist total from 40 games in 2001-02 (8) after only 15 appearances ... Posted a career-high seven multi-point games, including his first career multi-goal effort with two markers against Northern Michigan (Feb. 7) ... Posted a career-high four-game goal-scoring streak, tallying 6-0-6 from March 14-22 ... Notched his first career hat trick, scoring the game's only goals in a 3-0 victory over Ohio State (March 21) in the semifinals of the CCHA Super Six ... Recorded a career-high three points with two goals and an assist at Nebraska-Omaha (Feb. 21) ... Enjoyed a career high six-game point scoring streak with 4-5-9 from Oct. 12-Nov. 8. The string tied the longest point streak by a Wolverine in 2002-03 ... Notched a five-game point string with 2-4-6 from Nov. 22-Dec. 6 ... Registered two points in three consecutive appearances from Oct. 25-Nov. 8, recording a goal and an assist in each contest.

Freshman (2001-02)... Appeared in 40 of Michigan's 44 games, missing four while playing for the United States Junior National Team at the 2002 World Junior Championship ... Recorded first career shorthanded goal against Nebraska-Omaha (Feb. 8) ... Named CCHA Rookie of the Week after registering three points (2-1–3) in a home-and-home series sweep of Ferris State (Nov. 30-Dec. 1) ... Notched a season-high three-game goal and point streak with 3-1–4 from Nov. 24-Dec. 1, including second career multi-point effort with a goal and an assist vs. Ferris State (Dec. 1) ... Recorded first career multi-point game with first career goal, scoring the eventual game-winner and adding an assist in 6-3 win over No. 6 Providence in the semifinals of the Maverick Stampede (Oct. 12). Finished the season with three multi-point efforts, including 1-1–2 against St. Cloud State (March 22) in the NCAA West Regional ... Recipient of a penalty shot against Lake Superior State (March 10). His shot beat LSSU goaltender Matt Violin, but rang off the left post and the crossbar before caroming away from the goal mouth.

Club/Junior Team... Skated with the United States National Team Development Program from 1999-2001 ... Led the Under-18 squad in scoring with 21-43–64 in 67 games ... Ranks first in the NTDP's record book for career games played (81) and third in career assists (44) ... Skated with the Under-17 Team in 1999-2000, registering 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points in 81 games ... Played AAA hockey for Compuware from 1997-99, leading the Ambassadors to the Bantam major AAA national championship in 1998 ... Attended 2001 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y.

National/International... Skated with the United States National Junior Team at the 2002 IIHF World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic as one of three Wolverines on the squad. Helped the team to a fifth-place finish, including two wins over the host and defending champion, the Czech Republic. Tallied 1-0–1 in seven games played. Received top center award at 2001 World Under-18 Championships in Finland ... Helped the United States National Junior Team to a fourth-place finish at the 2003 IIHF World Junior Championship and tallied 1-3-4 totals to earn one of three stars for Team USA. He was one of two Wolverines on the squad, joining sophomore forward Eric Nystrom.

Personal... Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, majoring in general studies ... Graduated from Brighton High School (2001)... Selected by Edmonton in the eighth round (244th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Rights traded to the New York Rangers in 2004.