Helm slowly -- and quickly -- gets into the mix for Red Wings

DETROIT -- He's been nicknamed the Usain Bolt of hockey in the Red Wings locker room, which is another way of saying Darren Helm moves rather fast.

That's pretty much a requirement to be compared to the Olympic 100- and 200-meter champion, not to mention to get your name inscribed on a Stanley Cup before claiming a full time NHL job.

It's not that Helm, 22, lacks the skill set to be a regular right now at the game's highest level. He has shown plenty of poise during limited action in his second playoffs for Detroit, along with a scoring touch and the kind of vision on the ice that creates space for himself and others. Besides, there are few if any players with more pure breakaway speed and acceleration ability, and even fewer who combine those elements with the kind of edge he brings to the game. "He has a tremendous combination because he likes to get involved physically and he can protect the puck," said Detroit GM Ken Holland. "Not many guys with his kind of speed can or want to do that, which makes him much more effective."

• Game 5: Detroit 2, Chicago 1 (OT)

All in all it sounds like someone who should have a gig in the show by now, doesn't it? Well yes, except that Helm happens to be part of an organization that is extremely deep and talented. So young players have to learn to be patient because Detroit can afford and prefers to keep the kids it drafts developing down on the farm a lot longer than most.

In other words, Helm really has to accept his role with a team that is a perennial contender and to excel in order to keep it. So far he has.

The Red Wings selected him in the fourth round of the 2005 draft and had him turn pro before last season with their Grand Rapids affiliate, bringing him up for seven regular-season games with the big club before recalling him when the rosters expanded for the playoffs. Helm got into action for 18 games postseason games, scoring a pair of goals to help Detroit win its fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years.

Darren Helm has scored big goals against Chicago as well as Anaheim in these playoffs. (AP)

That didn't keep him around much this season, though. Helm appeared in 16 games during three different call-ups -- he has still not scored a regular-season goal in his career -- but was brought back for the playoffs again, and with injuries to forwards Pavel Datysuk, Kris Draper and Tomas Kopecky, he has taken on a more prominent role with each passing game.

For the most part, Helm has been on the fourth line as an energy-type grinder because he likes to throw his body around with reckless abandon and is disciplined enough to avoid the kind of trouble some young players get into after the whistle. But coach Mike Babcock hasn't been afraid to let him loose at times either, and Helm has come up with some big goals in these playoffs, including a critical one in the Game 7 semifinals win over Anaheim and the overtime winner that ended Chicago's season in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.

"Obviously with the people we've had out, he's gotten more opportunity and he's gotten better with each game," Babcock said. "He's a blue-collar guy who goes out there, works hard and gives an honest day's work, and I think he's the kind of player that the people in Michigan can really relate to."

That was apparent long before Helm scored the goal that beat Chicago and sent the Red Wings to a Stanley Cup Finals rematch with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Helm had the crowd on its feet with a remarkable shift that largely killed off a penalty at crucial juncture late in the second period as the Blackhawks were starting to gain momentum in what was still a scoreless tie. Rather than trying to dump the puck in, Helm skated hard with it into Chicago's zone, darting past defenseman Brian Campbell on the right side. He charged around the net to the other side, where he ducked a couple of checks with stops and starts, and then played keep away from two other Blackhawks for nearly 30 seconds before garnering a scoring chance of his own. Then he got the puck back and killed a few more valuable seconds.

"It was one of the best shifts I've seen in the playoffs, it was unbelievable," said Detroit defenseman Brett Lebda. "I was sitting in the [penalty] box and my jaw was dropped."

By the time it was over, Helm has played nearly 17 minutes on 26 shifts and delivered 12 hits. The big-game effort opened a lot of eyes, but it doesn't guarantee Helms will get his real shot to stick around any sooner than he might otherwise.

Still, for a guy with his kind of speed, Helm understands that he can't be in a rush.

"Being in Grand Rapids gave me a pretty big opportunity to develop and coming up here and getting a chance to play has been a great experience," Helm said. "I try to pride myself on being a big player in the playoffs. That's what I tried to do in last year's run, and in this year's as well."