In a northern Alberta town with a population of nearly 4,000, it didn’t take long for the news to spread about one of their own.
On April 16, 20-year-old Fairview native Kenton Helgesen signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks – the standard signing term for a rookie – in Fairview.
“It’s pretty surreal. It’s kind of a weird feeling to describe. When I got the opportunity to do it, I was with my Dad (Tom) and signed it. I don’t know, it’s tough to explain… it’s a dream come true I guess you could say,” said Helgesen from his home in Fairview.
“It was a pretty cool experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
After the deal was processed and approved by the NHL, the Ducks formally made the announcement on April 19, a day after the team took a 2-0 best-of-seven series lead with a 3-2 victory against the Dallas Stars in round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“Once they announced it, it was kind of tough not to tell everyone. I told all my family and a couple of my good friends. Once they announced it, my phone has kind of been non-stop the last day here and it’s been pretty unreal,” said Helgesen.
Helgesen was the first Grande Peace Athletic Club alumnus to be drafted into the NHL (2012, seventh round, 187th overall). In 2008-2009, he played for GPAC’s bantam AAA Storm, then the midget AAA Storm, before making the jump to the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Grande Prairie Storm in 2010-2011.
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