Who the Hell is Darren Helm?

With 30 teams and 700 players in the league, you'll have to forgive me if I don't know the names of every single player on every single roster.

That said, I ought to know something about who is on the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. Besides being awesome teams, the players that fill out the lower reaches of each roster tend to be much better than the chaff that popular such bottom-feeders as the Tampa Bay Lightning.

To my own shame, I had never heard of Red Wings forward Darren Helm until late into these Stanley Cup playoffs, and now this so-called "no-name" has made quite an impact in these finals.

Just who is this guy? Let The Windsor Star help fill us in.

Two months ago, Darren Helm was still a project in the eyes of the Detroit Red Wings. Now, he's a player.

Helm had his finest game as an NHLer Monday in the Wings' 4-3 triple overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins ... Helm scored a goal, led all players with six hits, was a plus-one and a noticeable presence in each of his 21 shifts centering Detroit's fourth line.

"I definitely realize how hard it is for a lot of players to get this chance," said Helm, who earned a late season callup after a fine rookie campaign for the Wings' AHL farm team in Grand Rapids.

You'd figure Helm would be a journeyman type, wouldn't you? He looks gruff, plays a physical game, and looks like he's been through more than a few battles.

Well, it turns out that this Helm fellow is just 21 years of age, and is still in his first year of pro hockey. Yoikes!

Darren Helm facts:

Selected by Detroit Red Wings round 5 #132 overall 2005 NHL Entry Draft. The Wings know how to scour the late rounds for gems, don't they?

Put up about a point-a-game during his final two years of junior. Impressive, but not the type of numbers that exactly scream "Top Prospect!"

Played for Canada's squad at the 2007 World Junior Championships.

Played 67 games with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins, putting up a respectable, but not jaw dropping, 31 points.

Played just seven regular season games with the Wings, before playing 17 (so far) playoff games for the Wings. Talk about being thrown into the stampede.

What impresses me most about Helm is that the fact that his penalty totals are so low for the type of game he plays. Thus far, Helm has just two penalty minutes in his 17 playoff games, and has a career average of just about .5 PIM's per game. For a player to deliver that much physical presence and stay out of the penalty box is an asset to any team.