Blömqvist

I see a bit of Alex Edler in Olli Juolevi. With Edler, when he's on his game, in the defensive zone he'll make these short subtle passes to open teammates to avoid the forecheck and then jump into the play hoping to create an odd-man rush opportunity. I've seen Juolevi start the breakout like that and I believe that will be a key factor to his game. Juolevi also has the ability to carry the puck up ice and make quick decisions to move the puck effectively to the open man. In today's NHL that ability isn't just an asset that teams would like to have on their blueline, it's required to be successful. I know Juolevi isn't racking up the points or playing top-pairing minutes in Finland at the moment, but IMO he'll need to work on those two skills (defensive zone breakout + carrying the puck up ice) as well as his rhythm and pacing (he looked bored in the OHL last season, and in training camp and preseason the speed of the NHL game looked too fast for him) to be an effective puck moving defenseman.

According to 5 scouting services (TSN Bob McKenzie, The Draft Analyst, McKeen's Hockey, HockeyProspect.com, and Craig Button), in their final June draft rankings Olli Juolevi was rated as the top defenseman 3 out 5 times. According to Bob McKenzie in his *consensus* rankings, Juolevi was the best defenseman available at the draft. He was rated as the 6th best prospect according to TSN Bob McKenzie in his *consensus* rankings and was 3 spots ahead of Sergachev in those same rankings. McKeen's Hockey had Juolevi as their 5th best prospect (and highest rated defenseman). HockeyProspect.com had Juolevi as their 6th best prospect and highest rated defenseman, two spots over Sergachev. Further to your point, both Jesse Puljujarvi and Pierre-Luc Dubois did not make the NHL in their D+1 season and needed that year to develop. Puljujarvi is still developing in the AHL, while Dubois may get sent down to the QMJHL. Dylan Strome (the 3rd overall pick from 2015) is in the AHL in his D+3 season. I understand that the NHL is a young man's game, and that there is the need/want for instant gratification among our fanbase, but prospects take time. Rebuilds take time. Had we won the 3rd overall selection in the 2016 draft and had the chance to pick Puljujarvi or Dubois instead of Juolevi our fanbase would be stoked and excited with who many considered to be sure-fire top line players who are NHL ready but even they still needed and need time to develop. Heck, looking back at 2014 we can say in hindsight Benning should have taken Nylander or Ehlers but at the same time the Flames and the Islanders could say that too instead of Bennett and Dal Colle, who they themselves looked like sure-fire NHLers. Olli Juolevi's skillset will translate into today's NHL. He just needs to further develop physically (he's gotten bigger, now he has to turn that extra weight into muscle to provide power and explosiveness in his skating), his defensive game on the ice, and his professionalism and he'll come out of whipping boy status in no time.

Juolevi was going to take a few years to make the NHL considering his size and how he needed to add on ~20lbs of muscle. Other defenseman, like Sergachev or Chychrun who are already playing in the NHL, were deemed by scouts at the time of the draft to have "NHL ready size." That's why Chychrun played in the NHL in his D+1 season, and Sergachev followed a year after that.

So his skating ability is good... I heard contrary reports from the Pittsburgh beat-writer that follows the Pens after the trade. He said Pouliot's skating ability isn't what was advertised. Then on the radio during this Ottawa game Corey Hirsch said that Pouliot's skating ability is top notch and he moves with ease out on the ice. I'll have to watch closely when I get the chance, but if he can build upon his play and keep his defensive end clean then we'll have a keeper for sure.

Prior to Tryamkin leaving for the KHL, I was hoping for a defense core of: Edler - Stecher Tryamkin - Tanev Hutton - Gudbranson With all three pairs being rolled pretty equally 5v5 and the only difference being top defensive matchups and special teams. Sucks that Tryamkin left; he would've been given a new start with head coach Travis Green. That said, I don't blame the guy for wanting to go back... hopefully he made a mature decision instead of an irrational one. He at least left the door open for a possible return a few years down the line.

I digress, but Utica is going to be stacked next year, especially if Juolevi, Pettersson, and Dahlen leave their Euro leagues. One could even add Gaudette to that mix of prospects if he doesn't go straight to the NHL.

Anyone think he'll score 50 goals this year? Small sample size but currently 7 goals in 6 games.

Our centre and defensive depth will be key to beating out the Oilers and Flames in the coming years. We may never have a Crosby or McDavid as we finish bottoming out but guys like Pettersson, Horvat, Gaudette, Sutter, Juolevi, Stecher, Gudbranson and hopefully a Dahlin would allow us to compete with favourable matchups. I'm hoping Gaudette can be Kesler 2.0; a player who can matchup against top opposition forwards and play above water 5v5, but also able to contribute on the powerplay.

Who scores more points this year, Granlund or Baertschi? Last season: Granlund 69GP // 19G + 13A // 32P Baertschi 68GP // 18G + 17A // 35P

Virtanen's fast, physical, and versatile game and the fact that he has been putting up consistent effort in all zones of the ice are what's keeping him up. The Canucks need someone other than Dorsett to provide physicality. Not only can Jake bring that, but he can provide depth scoring and even play on the second unit powerplay at times. Prior to training camp and preseason, I would've wanted Goldobin up with the club and Virtanen in Utica, but boy oh boy has Jake turned his game around and has outplayed most players on a consistent basis. Virtanen should stay in Vancouver. With the way the roster is shaping up, there's a decent chance he plays with a skill player.

Eriksson - Granlund - Boeser Granlund was arguably our second best passer behind Henrik last season. He's also defensively responsible (along with Eriksson) and could cover up any defensive mistakes that Brock has as a rookie.

The kid does need to play though and having him play top minutes in Utica for a second consecutive season is far better than him sitting in the press box and getting playing time if injuries happen. Besides, didn't he start off poorly last season and then things started to come together about halfway through, where he became the Comets' top defenseman according to Green? Another season down there won't hurt, but again hopefully he doesn't get claimed. Personally, I don't think he's done enough at the professional level to be claimed, but he does have that puck moving skillset, size, and is young.

CHL in Europe stands for Champions Hockey League. A tournament between the top teams in several premier European leagues such as the SHL, Liiga, NLA and a few others. It pretty much means he's playing against the best of the best Europe's mens pro hockey has to offer.

In 3 SHL games Pettersson has 3 points (0G + 3A) In 4 Champions League games Pettersson has 4 points (2G + 2A) Small sample size, but in 7 games in top-tier men's professional leagues Pettersson is scoring at a point-per-game pace wth 2 goals and 5 assists.

Another primary assist?

I just saw the highlight on the Brock Boeser goal against Calgary tonight. https://www.nhl.com/video/boesers-quick-five-hole-wrister/t-277350912/c-52794603 Juolevi picked up his first point of the preseason with a primary assist on the goal. At minute mark 0:00 Juolevi drew two Flames players to him and absorbed an elbow to the helmet along the boards from Calgary #64 as he moved the puck up to Boeser (ouch!). Chatfield made a nice read knowing that he could jump up into the play and drive hard towards the net, creating a 4-on-3 opportunity and creating a little bit of space for Boeser. Boeser then made the highlight-reel cut, shot, and goal. Good on Juolevi for moving the puck up ice quickly and absorbing the hit. Good on Chatfield for making a nice read. Good on Boeser for his highlight-reel goal. Real good all around.

By all accounts Virtanen had a good developmental year under Green in Utica last season, he worked specifically on what management wanted him to work on this summer, improving his hands/stick work and cutting weight, he showed up to camp looking to take one of the very few open spots available, has worked hard all of camp saying and doing the right things both on and off the ice, and is finally seeing the fruits of his labour in these two preseason games. Virtanen has been trending upwards since his demotion to the AHL last year. None of us are planning the parade; we're merely celebrating his consistent rise and maturation as both a person and player and how that translates into on-ice success. We're still saying he needs more time to develop and we're still saying he needs to play consistent throughout the preseason if he is indeed to earn a spot on the main roster.

I haven't seen the game yet but I did see Juolevi in the scrimmage last Thursday. IMO he looks like Ben Hutton did for most of last year. All that weight gain slowed Hutton down and it took a little while for him to get back up to speed. Juolevi looks like that... a bit slow and not really playing the game like he knows he can... getting used to playing with extra weight. Plus, he needs to play at a quicker pace than Junior. He needs to be in a pro league and play at that place with more urgency, and if it isn't the NHL he should be in Europe. One preseason game and the sky is falling. Imagine if he had 3 assists he would be the next Lidstrom lmao

Virtanen looked really good today. I was driving to the rink this morning and the guys on Sportsnet 650 were saying that, based off a recent interview, Virtanen has matured as a hockey player (in comparison to last year) and they mentioned that he is looking to earn and take a spot on the starting lineup rather than be given one. As Ryan Biech said, Virtanen and Demko were the first guys out into the ice after it was zambonied, but the ice crew yelled at them to get off hahaha! Quite the moment, but it's the little things that show how far he has come. During the scrimmmage he was fast and skating hard. Yes, it was just a scrimmage but he was throwing his weight around and letting everyone in the arena know that he's back in Vancouver. He put the body on a couple of guys he lined up on the forecheck, but his most noticeable hit was on Juolevi. It was a hard hit with a little extra something to put Juolevi onto the ice. Chirping ensued. This is the Jake Virtanen that fans wanted. Offensively, things were very scrambly and there wasn't much of anything for anyone, but he did use his feet to get open in the high slot, receive a pass, and let go of a wrister for a good scoring opportunity. He was skating alongside Baertschi and Granlund (I personally would like to see Baertschi with Horvat, but that prolly goes into a different thread altogether). It's only day 2 of training camp, but I think Jake is earning and taking one of the very few winger spots. His fitness is up, he's skating fast and hard, he looks like he's in good position in the defensive zone, and he's playing physical. He does have that shot and offensive pedigree as well, but whichever role the coach gives him he'll make the most of it. Besides, other than the Sedins since when does Vancouver ever have set lines for full seasons? If he makes the team, great!! He'll get an opportunity to be put in a scoring role sometime as long as he continues to work hard and play his game.

As much as it is important being Director of Amateur Scouting (or even Assistant GM) for an NHL team, the GM will always have final say at the draft table. That might explain why Buffalo and Boston's track record for drafting isn't stellar despite Benning holding high positions within each organization, and also why Vancouver's drafting since Benning became the GM has gotten better despite Ron Delorme being the Director of Amateur scouting up until this season. Benning has drafted several good players already, such as Boeser later on in the first round, Demko, Lind, and Gadjovich in the second round, Tryamkin, Brisebois, and DiPietro in the third round, and a gem in Gaudette in the later rounds. His most recent draft where Judd Brackett had more influence is arguably the most promising since 2014. Prioritizing intelligence and character and, more recently, speed and skill on the draft table will hopefully continue to fill the prospect pipeline for us. Bringing it back to Lind, I feel like he will be a very good player for us. More known as a goal-scorer up to the draft he definitely showed his playmaking and offensive versatility during the Youngstars Tournament. It'll be good to see him bulk up and further develop in Kelowna's top-notch system. They'll have some very good players on that team so they should make another deep run in the playoffs.

My thoughts exactly. There is finally some offensive depth on the roster and our entire top-9 will consist of players who, on any given night, can put up points on the scoreboard. I would argue that Boeser shouldn't play in the team's top-6 just yet but instead play on a tertiary scoring line on the top-9. He wouldn't have the pressure of being the go-to guy for offense night in and night out and would play somewhat sheltered minutes. That could help him develop more vs playing in the AHL; up here he could play on the third line alongside offensive players like Eriksson, Gagne, or Granlund and get NHL-level coaching, mentoring, and training. Especially with the Sedin's future with the club after this season up in the air. For example... Daniel - Henrik - Granlund Baertschi - Horvat - Vanek Eriksson - Gagne - Boeser Burmistrov - Sutter - Dorsett Gaunce/Rodin

I think Goldobin has top-6 upside as a scoring winger. His speed and and creativity are top-notch and he's produced at every level he's been at, including the top Finnish men's league and inthe AHL. I personally think the offense should be spread out so that gives guys like Goldobin and Boeser a shot at making the opening lineup. Have Henrik, Horvat, Granlund, and Sutter centre their own lines. Let Sutter have the responsibility of heavy d-zone starts so we can afford to shelter guys like Goldobin and Boeser. That way they can show and develop their offensive talent without having to worry too much about the defensive side of things (not saying they don't need to develop further defensively).

I agree. Even if he's here for just a month and plays in 9 games then he gets NHL level coaching and training and get mentored from guys like Edler or Tanev while he's here. A small stint in the NHL is good for Juolevi as he gets an idea of what it takes to be a true professional in the NHL.