[Article] The Misunderstood Matter of Olli Joulevi

[Drive-By Body Pierce]

Working on posting some excerpts, but my phone isn't forgiving.

 

https://www.spectorshockey.net/2019/06/nhl-rumor-mill-june-5-2019/

 

EDIT: Yep, I suck...sorry folks,

 

https://thecanuckway.com/2019/05/27/vancouver-canucks-misunderstood-matter-olli-juolevi/amp/2/

Edited June 6, 2019 by Drive-By Body Pierce

[Drive-By Body Pierce]

Also watching the Raptors.

[coastal.view]

oj is matter ?

matter can be misunderstood ?

[luckylager]

I just read the article, and maybe it's my $&!#ty phone, but he doesn't mention Joulevi at all...?

[Baer.]

Wrong link?

[luckylager]

1 minute ago, Baer. said:

Wrong link?

Think so. Just a bunch of reiterated garbage about interest in Zucker.

[Nuxfanabroad]

The old Animals' ditty...

 

I'm just a Finn whose intentions are good, Oh Lord, please don't let me be Misunderstood!

[goalie13]

19 minutes ago, luckylager said:

I just read the article, and maybe it's my $&!#ty phone, but he doesn't mention Joulevi at all...?

Agreed.

 

Here's the article...

 

Quote

LATEST CANUCKS SPECULATION

 

VANCOUVER SUN: Ben Kuzma suggests the Canucks might have to package some players to land a top-six forward via the trade market. The Minnesota Wild reportedly offered up winger Jason Zucker but their asking price (budding star Brock Boeser) was rejected. GM Jim Benning said he intends to add support for his promising young players like Boeser. 

Outside of Boeser, Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat, and Quinn Hughes, the Canucks lack sufficient assets to make a one-for-one trade for significant help. Kuzma suggests a package deal of winger Jake Virtanen and defenseman Ben Hutton might draw some interest.

 

Kuzma’s colleague Patrick Johnston cited a report by TSN’s Pierre LeBrun indicating the Canucks had interest in Marcus Johansson at the trade deadline. The Boston Bruins subsequently acquired Johansson from the Washington Capitals. Given Johansson’s solid postseason performance, Johnston wonders if Benning will take a run at him again via free agency.

 

Johnston also noted Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman report claiming the Canucks are at an impasse with pending UFA defenseman Alex Edler. A no-movement clause could be the sticking point in negotiations. He also noted a report claiming the Canucks contacted the Toronto Maple Leafs regarding blueliner Nikita Zaitsev. Johnston doesn’t believe Zaitsev would improve Vancouver’s blueline. 

 

SPORTSNET’s Rick Dhaliwal took to Twitter citing sources from the recent NHL Draft combine claiming the Canucks will pursue Winnipeg’s Tyler Myers or Toronto’s Jake Gardiner via free agency.   

 

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canucks aren’t moving Boeser, Pettersson, Horvat or Hughes. As Kuzma points out, they’re the core Benning intends to build around. They also own the 10th overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft in Vancouver but Benning seems keen to retain it.

 

Maybe Benning can find a decent return for that suggested package of Virtanen and Hutton. I think he’ll have better luck targeting clubs looking to shed salary via trades this summer. Cap Friendly indicates the Canucks have $52.4 million invested in 20 players for 2019-20. Even by re-signing Edler and Boeser, they’ll have plenty of room to take on a significant player or two if ownership is willing to do so.

 

After being burned by the disastrous Loui Eriksson contract in 2016, Benning could be reluctant to spend big in the UFA market. Targeting cap-strapped teams could land them a good, reasonably priced players. I agree with Johnston that the Canucks should pass on Zaitsev, but how about seeing if a forward like Kasperi Kapanen or Andreas Johnsson is available? 

 

[MrCanuck94]

https://thecanuckway.com/2019/05/27/vancouver-canucks-misunderstood-matter-olli-juolevi/

 

I think this is the article OP meant to post.

Edited June 6, 2019 by MrCanuck94

[Nuxfanabroad]

It must be some misunderstanding..it must some kinda mistake

I was waiting for the link for hrs - you were late...

[xereau]

Here is the real article, from a week ago.

 

https://thecanuckway.com/2019/05/27/vancouver-canucks-misunderstood-matter-olli-juolevi/

 

Vancouver Canucks: The misunderstood matter of Olli Juolevi

by Stephen Kronstein

 

 

Almost ever since his draft, Olli Juolevi’s heroics have failed to resonate with Vancouver Canucks media and fans, his storyline caught up in superficial understandings. Very soon Juolevi is expected back on the ice to start training and prove his doubters wrong next season.

WORLD Junior U20 gold medalist, CHL all-star, Memorial Cup champion, 6’3″, 200-pound, playmaking defenceman Olli Juolevi got you down?

Since Juolevi became a Canucks prospect, countless fans and media have claimed his development stagnated during that second year with the London Knights. Injuries also set him back beyond forgiveness, considering a couple tantalizing talents drafted after him who became NHL difference makers early on in their pro careers.

 

Fellow The Canuck Way writer Jarred Chan discussed Juolevi and these other prospects in a great article a couple of months ago, pointing out that it takes time to develop some players, yet media and thereafter fan bases are often quick to dismiss young athletes these days.

Well, Canucks fans, in my very first article as a contributor at The Canuck Way, after being plucked from the readers’ comments by site editor David Quadrelli, I’m here to raise your spirits about this curiously under-hyped prospect and shed some much-needed light on the 21-year-old’s impressive development curve. Damn, this kid deserves the hype.

 

Let’s go back to OJ’s draft year, 2016, after he’d just won the Memorial Cupwith his Knights teammates. What people don’t seem to consider is that, while this team was stacked with an amazing set of forward talents Christian Dvorak, Mitch Marner, and Matthew Tkachuk – as I detailed further in my own fan blog back in August 2018 – the very next season all three of these CHL all-stars moved onto bigger and better things, leaving their teammates to fend for themselves the following season.

 

To have one such player is more than most CHL teams, but to have three 100-point players all in the same lineup, it’s no wonder they won the Cup. The 2015-16 Knights roster was a dream team.

 

That season the 17-year-old Juolevi scored 0.74 points-per-game in his 57-game OHL rookie campaign for the Knights, and was tied for second in playoff scoring among all defencemen.

 

This was the same year OJ and his Finnish mates won WJC-20 gold on a team stacked with forwards like Jesse Puljujärvi, Sebastian Aho, and Patrik Laine. Juolevi led that under-20 tourney tied for most points by a defenceman.

 

Yet somehow in his next season – 2016-17, his draft +1 season – everyone was declaring him a bust, because after playing another 58 games on the Knights, Juolevi again scored the very similar 0.72 ppg, what on the surface would appear to mean no progress at all.

 

To make matters worse in the court of public opinion, even while Juolevi was bestowed the captaincy of his 2016-17 Finnish squad, their early exit from the tourney that year tarnished the honour. But again, have a look at that roster and you’ll find it loaded with null-stars. Once more that year, OJ had no big talent to play with and slid even further out of Canucks’ communal consciousness.

 

The stagnation concept misinformed the whole vibe around Juolevi ever since, depressing an asset and fan base, leaving its stink on a fine young prospect.

 

The season after his draft, Juolevi remained with the Knights and null-stars, where the top-three-scoring forwards were Cliff Pu, J.J. Piccinich, and Robert Thomas. Yup, that’s right – Picci, Pu and Bobby Tom – under achievers accounting for 120-fewer points than the all-star trio from the year before.

 

Surprisingly, Juolevi showed consistency by maintaining his scoring rate, which was proof of continued improvement and more primary involvement with the play.

 

Following his two years in the OHL, with nothing left to learn at the junior level, the young Finnish star returned home to play pro hockey with his TPS squad in Liiga, for the first time against men, and now under the tutelage of wizened Canucks alumni and offensive-defender Sami Salo.

 

It didn’t sound good for Juolevi after a slow start to the season, a time when the defencekid had to acclimatize to full-grown hockey. Coach Salo certainly didn’t sugar coat anything when interviewed about his young protege’s development, playing into the fears of Stagnation Nation.

But young Olli was – and still is – a prospect, and patience… is… the… process. So give him a second… And by the time the Liiga playoffs had rolled around, OJ was the highest scoring defenceman on his team, as well as team leader in plus/minus. Against men. Nice work, kid.

 

Juolevi’s shown outstanding progress every single year since he was drafted. His quick release, accurate point shot, hi-IQ passes, and smooth skating have consistently translated to each new level he’s played.

 

Flashing back to the draft table, it was apparent that Jim Benning had seen enough and found his guy. However, not every Canuck national felt the same way, which was heard when Benning announced Juolevi’s name at the podium and the crowd let out a collective gasp.

 

As far as defencemen go, there aren’t many significant names on the all-time No 5 draft picks list. Having a look back since 1985, gasp or no gasp, OJ could still turn out to be the most prolific of them all.

 

Fans and media in Vancouver were stunned as news hit home that Juolevi was theirs at No. 5 overall, especially as he was drafted ahead of his Knights linemate Tkachuk, whose power game was believed to be better suited to the soft Canucks lineup.

 

To further confuse the fandom, some like Sportsnet analyst Jeff Marek, expected stud defenceman Mikhail Sergachyov to be the first defenceman off the board, and with his combination of size, speed, skill and grit, he was a package that few fans could argue with.

 

But of course, Benning went home with neither of these tenacious teens.

[Drive-By Body Pierce]

Sorry everyone, major fail on my part. MrCanuck and Xereau nailed it.

Edited June 6, 2019 by Drive-By Body Pierce

[Noble 6]

I remember people saying that Juolevi quickness was fine after that Dhaliwal tweet where Salo said Juolevi needs to work on his quickness

 

But I still think Juolevi could be a good top 4 guy and one that locks down the 2nd pair similar to Lindholm in Anaheim.  

[Rush17]

I can't read an article that calls him OJ. I stopped after the second reference.

[apollo]

1 hour ago, Horvat is a Boss said:

I remember people saying that Juolevi quickness was fine after that Dhaliwal tweet where Salo said Juolevi needs to work on his quickness

 

But I still think Juolevi could be a good top 4 guy and one that locks down the 2nd pair similar to Lindholm in Anaheim.  

Yea I'm with ya man. There's still time for him to become a top 4 guy. 

 

 

[Drive-By Body Pierce]

1 hour ago, Rush17 said:

I can't read an article that calls him OJ. I stopped after the second reference.

So anyone named John, Jack or Jeff are immediate stops as well?

 

Do you also avoid orange juice?

Edited June 6, 2019 by Drive-By Body Pierce

[DrJockitch]

The only thing shocking here is that someone in the Vancouver sports media wrote a positive article about a Canuck.  I guess it must be because he hasn't played for the Canucks yet.

He is a really good prospect who has had some unfortunate luck.  If he can stay healthy he will be a regular on the team before the end of the year.

Having both Olli and Quinn on the blueline will really help with the puck moving and mobility problems with our D.

I still would like to see Benning completely rebuild our D this offseason.  Frankly, I wouldn't be upset if we saw Edler, Tanev and Hutton move on if returns are decent (yes I know Edler's a UFA).

[Free-Unit]

8 hours ago, Rush17 said:

I can't read an article that calls him OJ. I stopped after the second reference.

Hey man, if the glove fits....

[Drive-By Body Pierce]

2 hours ago, DrJockitch said:

The only thing shocking here is that someone in the Vancouver sports media wrote a positive article about a Canuck.  I guess it must be because he hasn't played for the Canucks yet.

He is a really good prospect who has had some unfortunate luck.  If he can stay healthy he will be a regular on the team before the end of the year.

Having both Olli and Quinn on the blueline will really help with the puck moving and mobility problems with our D.

I still would like to see Benning completely rebuild our D this offseason.  Frankly, I wouldn't be upset if we saw Edler, Tanev and Hutton move on if returns are decent (yes I know Edler's a UFA).

Mr. glass-is-half-full, right here.

[NewbieCanuckFan]

8 hours ago, Drive-By Body Pierce said:

So anyone named John, Jack or Jeff are immediate stops as well?

 

Do you also avoid orange juice?

I can only speak for myself but to this day I can’t bring myself to eat Lays potato chips (and I’m a junk food junkie) because one exCanuck (who I refuse to name but everyone knows who I’m talked about....the punk that stole the number 11) did those Lays commercials (eg., “bet you can’t just eat one....”).