Drew Helleson (born March 26, 2001) is an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

for the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). Helleson was drafted 47th overall by the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

in the 2019 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

During the 2020–21 season, Helleson recorded four goals and 11 assists in 22 games for

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

. Following the season he was named

Hockey East Best Defensive Defenseman The Hockey East Best Defensive Defenseman is an annual award given out at the conclusion of the Hockey East regular season to the best defensive defenseman in the conference as voted by the head coaches of each Hockey East team. The Best Defensiv ...

, First Team All-Hockey East and Second Team AHCA All-American. In his junior 2021–22 season with the Eagles, he posted career-best marks of 21 assists and 25 points through 32 games. Helleson was drafted by the

of the

(NHL) in the second round, 47th overall, in the 2019 NHL entry draft. Helleson's rights along with a

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

second-round draft pick were traded by the Avalanche to the

, in exchange for defenseman

Josh Manson Joshua David Manson (born October 7, 1991) is a Canadian-American professional ice hockey defenceman for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Manson was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the sixth round, 160th overall, of th ...

, on March 14, 2022. The next day Helleson ended his collegiate career by signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ducks. He was assigned to the Ducks

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team based in San Diego. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Anaheim Ducks. The team plays its home games at Pechanga Arena. History On Jan ...

for the remainder of the season. Helleson returned to the AHL for the 2022–23 season but was recalled on April 9, 2023 by the Ducks. Helleson made his NHL debut for the Ducks that night, in a game against the Colorado Avalanche. He scored his first NHL goal against

Thatcher Demko Thatcher Douglas Demko (born December 8, 1995) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Demko was selected by the Canucks in the second round (36th overall) of the 2014 NHL ...

of the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

in a 3–2 loss on April 12. Helleson was assigned to San Diego to begin the 2023–24 season. He appeared in 59 games for the Gulls, scoring 4 goals and 18 points. He was assigned to the Gulls at the beginning of the 2024–25 season. He was recalled along with

Jansen Harkins Jansen Harkins (born May 23, 1997) is an American-Canadian professional ice hockey center for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Harkins was selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the second round, 47th overall, in the 2015 NHL ...

on November 13. He made his NHL season debut on November 15, marking his first multi-point game, assisting on goals by

Cutter Gauthier William Cutter Ruel Gauthier (born January 19, 2004) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted fifth overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2022 NHL entry draft. ...

and

Ross Johnston Ross Johnston (born February 18, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the New York Islanders. Playing career Johnston played junior ice hockey s ...

in a 6–4 win over the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. As a restricted free agent, Helleson avoided arbitration after agreeing to a two-year, $2.2 million contract extension on July 19, 2025.

International play

Helleson represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

2019 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2019 IIHF U18 World Championship was the 21st such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams participated at several levels of competition. The competition also served as qualifications for the 2020 competition. One natio ...

, where he recorded three assists in seven games and won a bronze medal. He represented the

at the

2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''2021 WJHC'') was the 45th edition of the IIHF World Junior Championship, Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, held from 25 December 2020 to 5 January 2021. This marked the 16th time that Canada ...

where he recorded two goals and two assists in seven games and won a gold medal. On January 13, 2022, Helleson was named to

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

's roster to represent the United States at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Helleson, Drew 2001 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Anaheim Ducks players Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey players Colorado Avalanche draft picks Ice hockey players from Minnesota People from Farmington, Minnesota Ice hockey people from Dakota County, Minnesota Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players for the United States San Diego Gulls (AHL) players USA Hockey National Team Development Program players 21st-century American sportsmen