The San Jose Sharks selected Adam Helewka in the 2015 NHL draft. He spent all but a few days during his first two professional hockey seasons with the San Jose Barracuda, the NHL team’s top affiliate.
So, sure, Helewka’s first trip to the Bay Area earlier this season as a member of the Tucson Roadrunners had a little bit of sentimental value.
“The first time, it was good to see the guys and the staff, and have the fans kind of welcome me back,” said Helewka, who was acquired by the Arizona Coyotes — and ultimately assigned to Tucson — during an offseason trade that sent Kyle Wood to the Sharks’ organization.
That was then.
This time around, it’s all business for Helewka. The Roadrunners (15-8-2-1) and Barracuda (16-4-1-3) are playing for the top spot in the AHL’s Pacific Division. The puck drops at San Jose’s SAP Center at 8 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday.
“It was a warm welcome and that was all good stuff, but there’s a lot more to it this time. There’s more on the line,” Helewka said. “The four points there are going to be key for us.”
While San Jose enters with the highest percentage of points earned among the AHL’s 15 Western Conference teams — the Barracuda have earned 36 of 48 possible points so far this season — it’s been Tucson that’s given San Jose the most fits of late.
The Roadrunners beat the Barracuda in four games during last year’s postseason, and have earned five of six possible points so far this year.
Helewka, who combined for 25 goals and 44 assists in San Jose the last two seasons, scored once in the teams’ first meeting this year — a 3-2 shootout road loss. He scored twice in a 5-0 Tucson home triumph, while the Roadrunners won the third meeting a day later, 1-0, with goaltender Merrick Madsen recording both shutouts.
But it’s not only against San Jose that Helewka has stood out in his first season in the desert.
Adam Helewka has been one of the Roadrunners’ most consistent players since arriving from San Jose in an offseason trade for Kyle Wood.
The almost-24-year-old left wing enters this weekend as the Roadrunners’ co-leader in goals scored (eight) and points (20). He’s been a consistent presence on a roster that’s seen its fair share of offensive contributors earn NHL call-ups in recent weeks.
“We’re a pretty young team, so you always have to have guys stepping up. Whether it’s me or someone else, it doesn’t matter, but I do enjoy being that guy,” Helewka said.
“I embrace that. I want to be that guy … the guy producing and leading.”
Helewka has already become a Tucson Arena fan favorite, with fans yelling along as “Hell-ewwwww-kah” bellows over the public address system when he scores, and his rise toward the top of the Roadrunners’ scoring chart came in the midst of a recent eight-game streak where they didn’t lose in regulation.
But Tucson hit a few road bumps over the last week or so.
The Roadrunners enter the San Jose trip on a three-game losing streak after falling at home, 2-0, to the Ontario Reign and on the road, 2-1 and 5-1, at the Chicago Wolves.
It was also during much of that eight-game point streak — and the subsequent skid — that the Roadrunners were without offensive stalwarts Conor Garland (six goals; 19 points) and Michael Bunting (six goals; 18 points), who both sit just behind co-leaders Helewka and defenseman Kyle Capobianco (three goals; 20 points) on the team’s scoring chart.
Garland and Bunting both made their NHL debuts in the last two weeks, and while Bunting was reassigned to Tucson days ago and should be with the Roadrunners for the San Jose set, the added firepower doesn’t change much of what coach Jay Varady has come to expect from Helewka.
Varady said Helewka “just has the ability to make plays,” adding that he’s offered the combination of versatility and stability needed through the recent roster fluctuation.
“Whatever role we have him in, or whatever line we have him on, he goes out and plays his game,” Varady said. “He’s the same guy every day.”
