BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres assistant general manager Jerry Forton talks a lot about compete when he’s breaking down draft-eligible prospects. That’s been a theme of the Sabres’ picks, particularly early in the draft, during Forton’s tenure. As we’ve written about with Noah Östlund, Jiri Kulich and Zach Benson, they all checked that box and made it easy for the Sabres to call their names in the first round.But compete has layers to it. Part of it is a player’s ability to win battles on the ice. Part of it is the character a player shows with his work habits away from the rink. Consistency is included in that as well. One component that matters a great deal to Forton and his staff is what happens in big games.“Part of the compete with all of these players that you saw back to the time they were 16 or 17 years old, not one of them was afraid of the big stage or big moment,” Forton said. “To the contrary, they all seemed to be able to elevate their play on the biggest stages and at the biggest times. To me, we lump that in with compete. Swagger, compete and just confidence in their abilities. That’s a big component that goes with the hockey sense and part of what I’m saying when I say compete. You don’t want guys to be shrinking in the big moments, and none of these players shrink in the big moments.”That brings us to the final subject in our series of stories exploring recent Sabres draft picks who make up the team’s intriguing young core: Konsta Helenius. The Finnish center was Buffalo’s first-round pick in 2024 and fits Forton’s description. All you had to do was watch the playoffs to see it. Helenius, who had only played nine NHL regular-season games and had just turned 20, jumped into the lineup for Game 4 of the Sabres’ second-round series against the Canadiens. Buffalo was trailing in the series 2-1. It was a pivotal game at the Bell Centre, which features one of the most raucous environments in the NHL. Helenius was smiling, thinking about the opportunity and wasn’t surprised to see his name on the lineup sheet.“I’m not surprised, because I think it was a good year for me,” Helenius said in a matter-of-fact tone before the game.He went out and got three shots on goal while playing 12:53. Lindy Ruff had him on the ice in the last five minutes protecting a late lead. The Sabres evened the series, and Helenius stuck in the lineup. He ended up scoring in Game 5 and Game 6. He played more than 16 minutes in Game 7. And during his five-on-five minutes in the series, the Sabres had 66 percent of the expected goals.“Maybe his number one quality is what I alluded to,” Forton said. “He has the swagger and confidence in absolute spades.”