Vinny in Vancouver Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Was at the game last night and spent a lot of time watching Juolevi. Here are the good points: Did not panic with the puck. Good decisions on when to help out his fellow D-man without sacrificing his side of the ice. Quick at making the first pass. Good skater. Looked bigger than I expected. Didn't shy away from the hits. While there wasn't anything necessarily bad about his game, he didn't look like the player I saw when he was playing at the World Juniors. That player was a lot more decisive on the offensive end (like Stecher was last night; based purely on last night's game, I'd pay to watch Stecher; he was that fun to watch, but I digress). One of the main reasons why we drafted Juolevi was based on his supposedly other-worldly hockey IQ. There's nothing that said that it won't come, but he needs to work on that first. Imho, based on the pretty good stable of D-men we have, we keep Juolevi for a few games and send him back to juniors. Next year, I expect he'll play most of the year at Utica as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanisleryan Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 I think if a young D can come in and play his first NHL game (preseason or other) and he doesnt get noticed....thats not necessarily a bad thing. He was never touted as an Erik Karlson type D...he is a calm D with high IQ. He will just always be in the right place and for that reason he wont stand out as say a Stetcher or other offensive Dman. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogersTowell Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Coming straight from Junior, he probably needs a few more games to adjust to the speed and physicality of the game at the NHL level. What he's doing now is playing it safe and not hurting his team by taking too many chances, which is good to see in a d-man. He's gonna be a beauty, just give it time. Might be another year of Junior is the game plan, but you'll see next year a more comfortable pre-season for him, possibly a stint in the AHL and then he'll start busting out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHockeyNerds Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 (edited) I like the tanev comparison a lot TBH. Hopefully he can pot around 40 points during his prime as his offensive instincts are better than tanev Edited October 2, 2016 by TheHockeyNerds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messier's_elbow Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 From watching the first game Juolevis main weakness is his strength. He reminds me of when the Sedins first came to the Canucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phat Fingers Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 4 hours ago, messier's_elbow said: From watching the first game Juolevis main weakness is his strength. He reminds me of when the Sedins first came to the Canucks. That would be right in line with everything I have managed to see in bits a pieces. Unlike the Sedins, skating is not his issue. He he is doing the right thing, and exactly what WD wants. Defence first, don't hurt the team. Subban did not get that memo. He needs to gain strength and size. His offence will come, but this preseason he has to show the coaching staff he can be relied upon in his own end. Not flashy, but he looks like he could play the game with a 'cigarette' in his mouth. KB3 would approve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messier's_elbow Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 3 hours ago, Eastcoast meets Westcoast said: That would be right in line with everything I have managed to see in bits a pieces. Unlike the Sedins, skating is not his issue. He he is doing the right thing, and exactly what WD wants. Defence first, don't hurt the team. Subban did not get that memo. He needs to gain strength and size. His offence will come, but this preseason he has to show the coaching staff he can be relied upon in his own end. Not flashy, but he looks like he could play the game with a 'cigarette' in his mouth. KB3 would approve. I'm pretty much Juolevis biggest fan, but I think he would probably get manhandled if he played an NHL season right now. He needs to put on 15 pounds and add strength. In junior, in the best program in the CHL. He says he doesn't bench press? He should start... Get on it JB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phat Fingers Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 1 hour ago, messier's_elbow said: I'm pretty much Juolevis biggest fan, but I think he would probably get manhandled if he played an NHL season right now. He needs to put on 15 pounds and add strength. In junior, in the best program in the CHL. He says he doesn't bench press? He should start... Get on it JB. Absolutely His biggest weakness is size and strength. Skating, character and IQ are all very positive. He has the height and can easily add to his frame properly over the next few years. This is is the difference between defence and forward. I would not want to see Juolevi get hit you someone like Virtannen for example against the boards. He has shown that he was worth the pick and thinks the game well. We have time with him due to JB's 'retooling' of our d core. The future looks bright on the back end. EW. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 5 hours ago, Eastcoast meets Westcoast said: He has shown that he was worth the pick and thinks the game well. We have time with him due to JB's 'retooling' of our d core. The future looks bright on the back end. EW. In still a bit in awe of how much Benning has transformed our D in a couple short years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phat Fingers Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 ^^^^. Agree, We literally had the worst defence in the league last year. Bart and Webber were regulars and at times Sbisa was our defacto number one d. (Edler, Tanev and Hammer were all injured). Hutton came out of nowhere (Credit GMMG). This year, we have a legit top 4, abet without a true number one d. But when have we ever had one? Sbisa may not even make the starting lineup. Not likely, but we have guys legitmately fighting for spots. Stetcher could easily make it, and problably should if he keeps up his play. We could have a top ten d core by the season's end. No true number one, but really good depth from top to bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numb3r 16 Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 Nice to see juolevi playing with tanev today 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messier's_elbow Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 I'm excited for this pre season game. Gonna keep a close eye on Juolevi and Tanev and Edler and Stecher. Juolevi played quite well after a nervous/weak first period against Edmonton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicky Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 I've been impressed this first period, the first time that I've really seen what he could be in this league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saucypass Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 I think there's more to his game then we're seeing. So far a lot of high percentage and very intelligent plays. Once he adapts and gets comfortable, I'm sure we'll all start seeing the flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stawns Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 2 hours ago, suitup said: I think there's more to his game then we're seeing. So far a lot of high percentage and very intelligent plays. Once he adapts and gets comfortable, I'm sure we'll all start seeing the flash. we saw a cpl flashes of that last night. two plays that come to mind was the move on the rodin goal and the blind backhand pass across the blue line. I was on board with tkachuk because dman take longer, but I was happy with oj, and thrilled after watching him in pre-season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 4 hours ago, suitup said: I think there's more to his game then we're seeing. So far a lot of high percentage and very intelligent plays. Once he adapts and gets comfortable, I'm sure we'll all start seeing the flash. A couple years of development and the kid's going to be good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73 Percent Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 5 minutes ago, J.R. said: A couple years of development and the kid's going to be good. Good or real good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Just now, Gooseberries said: Good or real good? riel guud 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo0921 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Admitedly, I've missed a lot of the preseason, but from what I've seen of Olli, I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. I expect him to be a top four defenseman and we're getting early gimpses of it. He's smart in the d zone, making high percentage plays and, for the most part, keeping mistakes to a minimum. He's already showing generous amounts of maturity. He's got a great future ahead of him in Vancouver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldoescobar Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 No need to rush OJ he will be a cornerstone piece (if not traded for one) in the future.. I could see this year and next in junior followed by 3-4 years in the AHL honing his game against adults before the Canucks bring him up full time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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