Olli Juolevi | #48 | D

[Ray_Cathode]

On 8/9/2019 at 11:05 PM, janisahockeynut said:

So, as part of a friendly discussion, I read your link

 

Lots of perceived bad news about Juolevi

 

But again, Offensively, he was almost at 3 shots a game, which is pretty good for an partially injured rookie defenseman...……..better than any other Dman

 

I just look at him as a glass half full prospect...…….but in saying that...……...I am fully aware that not all prospects, regardless of standing, make it

 

But getting pucks to the net is a good sign

Oh, he has great hockey sense moving forward - the problem is that his demonstrated defensive skills in the AHL were far from strong - adjusting to a new level? Injury? Don’t know. I hope it is something fixable. Two extremely strong left side D could be great.

[Nurnge]

OJ is still young really and I am hoping he takes the next steps and can become top 4 . I expect the Canucks will start him in Utica unless he has an unbelievable training camp . He needs minutes so I hope he plays top 4 with pp and pk time on the farm . if they only expect a 5-6 dman I think he will be called up sooner than if they are grooming him to be a top 4 in Vancouver . I certainly  wouldn't be surprised if he stays on the farm most of the year  unless of course injuries .

Edited August 11, 2019 by Nurnge

[aGENT]

8 hours ago, Ray_Cathode said:

Oh, he has great hockey sense moving forward - the problem is that his demonstrated defensive skills in the AHL were far from strong - adjusting to a new level? Injury? Don’t know. I hope it is something fixable. Two extremely strong left side D could be great.

Combination of things. Adjustment to new level of hockey/still developing, small sample size and injured knee are all part of the picture.

 

People just need to stop assuming that particularly says much about his eventual ceiling.

Edited August 12, 2019 by aGENT

[Stormriders]

8 hours ago, Nurnge said:

OJ is still young really and I am hoping he takes the next steps and can become top 4 . I expect the Canucks will start him in Utica unless he has an unbelievable training camp . He needs minutes so I hope he plays top 4 with pp and pk time on the farm . if they only expect a 5-6 dman I think he will be called up sooner than if they are grooming him to be a top 4 in Vancouver . I certainly  wouldn't be surprised if he stays on the farm most of the year  unless of course injuries .

And what's the chance of that, on the Vancouver Canucks?  He will play for the Canucks this year for sure, unless he himself gets re-injured.  

[GoldenAlien]

The encouraging thing about Juolevi is that he has done well every time he stepped up a league.

 

2014-15: First season in Jr. A SM-liiga (U20)

44GP - 6G - 26A - 32pt

Juolevi was 4th in points on his team and 1st among Ds -- despite being 16 years old in an U20 league.  League wide, Juolevi was tied for 7th in D scoring.  The 6 guys ahead of him: Veeti Vainio (1997 born), Olli Vainio (1994), Oliwer Kaski (1995), Taneli Siikaluoma (1994), Roni Sevänen (1995), Sameli Ventelä (1994).  Juolevi has a May 1998 birth date.

 

2015-16: First season in the OHL.

57GP - 9G - 33A - 42pt

Leaving home at 17 and playing in NHL sized rinks for the first time, Juolevi was the top scoring D in London (2nd was Victor Mete with 38pts in 68GP).  Major force in the playoffs and WJC, raised his draft stock enough to be considered the best all-around D.  Fourth in points among first time draft eligible defensemen from the OHL.

 

2017-18: First season in the Liiga.

38GP - 7G - 12A - 19pt

Juolevi was one of 11 defensemen who played more than 15 games in the Liiga as an U20 that year.  He was 2nd in points (Heiskanen was 1st) and got better as the year went along.  Per Salo:

“When the playoffs started, he was our best defenceman,” Salo said. “We lost (Henrik) Tallinder and it was good to see Olli carry the weight of Tallinder. He really picked up the Tallinder weight and was clearly our best defenceman."

 

2018-19: First season in the AHL.

18GP - 1G - 12A - 13pt

His 0.72 PPG was 8th among all AHL rookies and 1st among Ds.  From Cull:

"I think Olli has done a really good job,” Comets coach Trent Cull said. “For a young guy, he’s played a lot of minutes for us, and he’s done some really good things. To show that he can be very much a good player for us at this level — this quickly — it is really boding well for his confidence.”

 

This is while coming back from offseason back surgery and dealing with nagging knee issues.  When Juolevi flew to Vancouver for his knee, Cull said: "He had some (complaints) with it. It wasn’t getting better. He followed up and double-checked with doctors. They found something and that’s what they’re following through with."

 

That sounds like something he had tried to play through for a while.  We'll never know what a full, healthy season would've looked like for Juolevi, but here are a few young defensemen who played in the AHL as 20 year olds:

Sanheim: 76GP - 10G - 37pt - 0.49ppg

Theodore: 50GP - 9G -37pt - 0.74ppg

Morrissey: 57GP - 3G - 22pt - 0.39ppg

Pulock: 54GP - 17G - 29pt - 0.54ppg

 

All these guys had a ways to go defensively as rookies.  Juolevi has improved his defense everywhere he played -- his second year in London, he was their defensive workhorse.  A couple months into his first season in the Liiga, Salo said "Olli has a lot of puck skills and sees the ice well but still needs to improve his defensive awareness but over-all we are happy with his play."  By the end of the season, he was filling in for Tallinder, who played nearly 700 games in the NHL as a shutdown D.  Of course he still has work to do, but his ability to rise to the challenge every time the competition increases speaks to his skills and hockey IQ.  Tons of promising prospects never made it because they couldn't adjust to higher levels of play.  Juolevi has proven in every instance that he has the ability to grow and adapt no matter where he is.

[Rush17]

^ this deserves to be a post of its own. It's a shame it will get lost in this thread loll

[Rollieo Del Fuego]

Personally I wouldn't argue with people calling him a bust...the fact that he is not in the NHL yet proves it...

 

As soon as April arrives and we are in the playoffs ...all because our 2 best D. have become Quinn and Oli...THEN ...all of us can act surprised or (more likely) claim to have really believed in the kids all along...

 

Quinn and Oli will be our best D. in the playoffs.

 

Just watch....

[Gurn]

1 hour ago, Rollieo Del Fuego said:

Personally I wouldn't argue with people calling him a bust...the fact that he is not in the NHL yet proves it...

Nope, the fact that he hasn't played in the NHL only proves that he hasn't plated in the NHL.

 Two more years, and less than 30 games played in the NHL would prove him a bad pick and a bust.

IMO injuries to not make them a bust, inability to play makes them a bust.

[NexusRift]

OJ has been hampered with injury. But injury or not, didn't Mat Ohlund take a few years to finally play in the NHL....

[Lancaster]

3 hours ago, NexusRift said:

OJ has been hampered with injury. But injury or not, didn't Mat Ohlund take a few years to finally play in the NHL....

I believe there was a contract issue.  The Canucks for whatever reason, never signed him after the draft.

IIRC, the TML gave Ohlund an offersheet for $10 million over 5 seasons, with $7.5 million in signing bonus.  

 

The Canucks finally matched and thus Ohlund started playing for Vancouver.  

[Googlie]

Yes indeed - I remember that

 

Here is a link to the AP news item that day .......

 

https://apnews.com/ed9ce477cd8447b204f541613b5b0836

[luckylager]

On 8/11/2019 at 10:51 PM, GoldenAlien said:

The encouraging thing about Juolevi is that he has done well every time he stepped up a league.

 

2014-15: First season in Jr. A SM-liiga (U20)

44GP - 6G - 26A - 32pt

Juolevi was 4th in points on his team and 1st among Ds -- despite being 16 years old in an U20 league.  League wide, Juolevi was tied for 7th in D scoring.  The 6 guys ahead of him: Veeti Vainio (1997 born), Olli Vainio (1994), Oliwer Kaski (1995), Taneli Siikaluoma (1994), Roni Sevänen (1995), Sameli Ventelä (1994).  Juolevi has a May 1998 birth date.

 

2015-16: First season in the OHL.

57GP - 9G - 33A - 42pt

Leaving home at 17 and playing in NHL sized rinks for the first time, Juolevi was the top scoring D in London (2nd was Victor Mete with 38pts in 68GP).  Major force in the playoffs and WJC, raised his draft stock enough to be considered the best all-around D.  Fourth in points among first time draft eligible defensemen from the OHL.

 

2017-18: First season in the Liiga.

38GP - 7G - 12A - 19pt

Juolevi was one of 11 defensemen who played more than 15 games in the Liiga as an U20 that year.  He was 2nd in points (Heiskanen was 1st) and got better as the year went along.  Per Salo:

“When the playoffs started, he was our best defenceman,” Salo said. “We lost (Henrik) Tallinder and it was good to see Olli carry the weight of Tallinder. He really picked up the Tallinder weight and was clearly our best defenceman."

 

2018-19: First season in the AHL.

18GP - 1G - 12A - 13pt

His 0.72 PPG was 8th among all AHL rookies and 1st among Ds.  From Cull:

"I think Olli has done a really good job,” Comets coach Trent Cull said. “For a young guy, he’s played a lot of minutes for us, and he’s done some really good things. To show that he can be very much a good player for us at this level — this quickly — it is really boding well for his confidence.”

 

This is while coming back from offseason back surgery and dealing with nagging knee issues.  When Juolevi flew to Vancouver for his knee, Cull said: "He had some (complaints) with it. It wasn’t getting better. He followed up and double-checked with doctors. They found something and that’s what they’re following through with."

 

That sounds like something he had tried to play through for a while.  We'll never know what a full, healthy season would've looked like for Juolevi, but here are a few young defensemen who played in the AHL as 20 year olds:

Sanheim: 76GP - 10G - 37pt - 0.49ppg

Theodore: 50GP - 9G -37pt - 0.74ppg

Morrissey: 57GP - 3G - 22pt - 0.39ppg

Pulock: 54GP - 17G - 29pt - 0.54ppg

 

All these guys had a ways to go defensively as rookies.  Juolevi has improved his defense everywhere he played -- his second year in London, he was their defensive workhorse.  A couple months into his first season in the Liiga, Salo said "Olli has a lot of puck skills and sees the ice well but still needs to improve his defensive awareness but over-all we are happy with his play."  By the end of the season, he was filling in for Tallinder, who played nearly 700 games in the NHL as a shutdown D.  Of course he still has work to do, but his ability to rise to the challenge every time the competition increases speaks to his skills and hockey IQ.  Tons of promising prospects never made it because they couldn't adjust to higher levels of play.  Juolevi has proven in every instance that he has the ability to grow and adapt no matter where he is.

QFT

 

Beauty post GA

[Dazzle]

On 8/12/2019 at 12:18 PM, Rollieo Del Fuego said:

Personally I wouldn't argue with people calling him a bust...the fact that he is not in the NHL yet proves it...

 

As soon as April arrives and we are in the playoffs ...all because our 2 best D. have become Quinn and Oli...THEN ...all of us can act surprised or (more likely) claim to have really believed in the kids all along...

 

Quinn and Oli will be our best D. in the playoffs.

 

Just watch....

It doesn't "prove" anything. He's a bust if he doesn't ever make the NHL. Juolevi's going to make the NHL. He'll go on crutches if he has to, but he'll make the NHL...

[Hectic]

19 hours ago, Googlie said:

Yes indeed - I remember that

 

Here is a link to the AP news item that day .......

 

https://apnews.com/ed9ce477cd8447b204f541613b5b0836

Interesting, I never knew that! 

[wildcam]

I also believe Juolevi will be a top for D man very soon..If not for knee injury last year he would of played 30-40 NHL games..I can see him starting season in Utica and getting called up by Xmas. He will then show his skill at NHL level and Vancouver fans will be excited.......

Exciting times for Canuck fans..

I believe we will make playoffs this season as long as we don't have injuries to 3 or 4 key guys...

This will be a very very competitive gritty team and young players will be that much better..

Go Canucks Go!

[Kanukfanatic]

9 hours ago, wildcam said:

I also believe Juolevi will be a top for D man very soon..If not for knee injury last year he would of played 30-40 NHL games..I can see him starting season in Utica and getting called up by Xmas. He will then show his skill at NHL level and Vancouver fans will be excited.......

Exciting times for Canuck fans..

I believe we will make playoffs this season as long as we don't have injuries to 3 or 4 key guys...

This will be a very very competitive gritty team and young players will be that much better..

Go Canucks Go!

I sure hope you are right.

 

This has been another LONNNGGGG off season.  Sheesh!

[dpn1]

I have to admit, I am tossed about seeing OJ in Vancouver this year. In a way I would like to see him in Utica all season.  Better for him in the long run.

[Warhippy]

On 8/11/2019 at 10:51 PM, GoldenAlien said:

The encouraging thing about Juolevi is that he has done well every time he stepped up a league.

 

2014-15: First season in Jr. A SM-liiga (U20)

44GP - 6G - 26A - 32pt

Juolevi was 4th in points on his team and 1st among Ds -- despite being 16 years old in an U20 league.  League wide, Juolevi was tied for 7th in D scoring.  The 6 guys ahead of him: Veeti Vainio (1997 born), Olli Vainio (1994), Oliwer Kaski (1995), Taneli Siikaluoma (1994), Roni Sevänen (1995), Sameli Ventelä (1994).  Juolevi has a May 1998 birth date.

 

2015-16: First season in the OHL.

57GP - 9G - 33A - 42pt

Leaving home at 17 and playing in NHL sized rinks for the first time, Juolevi was the top scoring D in London (2nd was Victor Mete with 38pts in 68GP).  Major force in the playoffs and WJC, raised his draft stock enough to be considered the best all-around D.  Fourth in points among first time draft eligible defensemen from the OHL.

 

2017-18: First season in the Liiga.

38GP - 7G - 12A - 19pt

Juolevi was one of 11 defensemen who played more than 15 games in the Liiga as an U20 that year.  He was 2nd in points (Heiskanen was 1st) and got better as the year went along.  Per Salo:

“When the playoffs started, he was our best defenceman,” Salo said. “We lost (Henrik) Tallinder and it was good to see Olli carry the weight of Tallinder. He really picked up the Tallinder weight and was clearly our best defenceman."

 

2018-19: First season in the AHL.

18GP - 1G - 12A - 13pt

His 0.72 PPG was 8th among all AHL rookies and 1st among Ds.  From Cull:

"I think Olli has done a really good job,” Comets coach Trent Cull said. “For a young guy, he’s played a lot of minutes for us, and he’s done some really good things. To show that he can be very much a good player for us at this level — this quickly — it is really boding well for his confidence.”

 

This is while coming back from offseason back surgery and dealing with nagging knee issues.  When Juolevi flew to Vancouver for his knee, Cull said: "He had some (complaints) with it. It wasn’t getting better. He followed up and double-checked with doctors. They found something and that’s what they’re following through with."

 

That sounds like something he had tried to play through for a while.  We'll never know what a full, healthy season would've looked like for Juolevi, but here are a few young defensemen who played in the AHL as 20 year olds:

Sanheim: 76GP - 10G - 37pt - 0.49ppg

Theodore: 50GP - 9G -37pt - 0.74ppg

Morrissey: 57GP - 3G - 22pt - 0.39ppg

Pulock: 54GP - 17G - 29pt - 0.54ppg

 

All these guys had a ways to go defensively as rookies.  Juolevi has improved his defense everywhere he played -- his second year in London, he was their defensive workhorse.  A couple months into his first season in the Liiga, Salo said "Olli has a lot of puck skills and sees the ice well but still needs to improve his defensive awareness but over-all we are happy with his play."  By the end of the season, he was filling in for Tallinder, who played nearly 700 games in the NHL as a shutdown D.  Of course he still has work to do, but his ability to rise to the challenge every time the competition increases speaks to his skills and hockey IQ.  Tons of promising prospects never made it because they couldn't adjust to higher levels of play.  Juolevi has proven in every instance that he has the ability to grow and adapt no matter where he is.

Bump

 

[IBatch]

On 8/12/2019 at 5:16 PM, gurn said:

Nope, the fact that he hasn't played in the NHL only proves that he hasn't plated in the NHL.

 Two more years, and less than 30 games played in the NHL would prove him a bad pick and a bust.

IMO injuries to not make them a bust, inability to play makes them a bust.

Ohlund was good off the hop, unfortunately he got hit in the eye, it almost cost him his career before it begun and his play faltered after for a bit in that he didn’t progress like you’d expect.... always wondered if he would have become a true number one if that game never happened...think it affected both his immediate play and his development given the sight loss. 

Edited August 15, 2019 by IBatch

[IBatch]

On 8/12/2019 at 1:51 AM, GoldenAlien said:

The encouraging thing about Juolevi is that he has done well every time he stepped up a league.

 

2014-15: First season in Jr. A SM-liiga (U20)

44GP - 6G - 26A - 32pt

Juolevi was 4th in points on his team and 1st among Ds -- despite being 16 years old in an U20 league.  League wide, Juolevi was tied for 7th in D scoring.  The 6 guys ahead of him: Veeti Vainio (1997 born), Olli Vainio (1994), Oliwer Kaski (1995), Taneli Siikaluoma (1994), Roni Sevänen (1995), Sameli Ventelä (1994).  Juolevi has a May 1998 birth date.

 

2015-16: First season in the OHL.

57GP - 9G - 33A - 42pt

Leaving home at 17 and playing in NHL sized rinks for the first time, Juolevi was the top scoring D in London (2nd was Victor Mete with 38pts in 68GP).  Major force in the playoffs and WJC, raised his draft stock enough to be considered the best all-around D.  Fourth in points among first time draft eligible defensemen from the OHL.

 

2017-18: First season in the Liiga.

38GP - 7G - 12A - 19pt

Juolevi was one of 11 defensemen who played more than 15 games in the Liiga as an U20 that year.  He was 2nd in points (Heiskanen was 1st) and got better as the year went along.  Per Salo:

“When the playoffs started, he was our best defenceman,” Salo said. “We lost (Henrik) Tallinder and it was good to see Olli carry the weight of Tallinder. He really picked up the Tallinder weight and was clearly our best defenceman."

 

2018-19: First season in the AHL.

18GP - 1G - 12A - 13pt

His 0.72 PPG was 8th among all AHL rookies and 1st among Ds.  From Cull:

"I think Olli has done a really good job,” Comets coach Trent Cull said. “For a young guy, he’s played a lot of minutes for us, and he’s done some really good things. To show that he can be very much a good player for us at this level — this quickly — it is really boding well for his confidence.”

 

This is while coming back from offseason back surgery and dealing with nagging knee issues.  When Juolevi flew to Vancouver for his knee, Cull said: "He had some (complaints) with it. It wasn’t getting better. He followed up and double-checked with doctors. They found something and that’s what they’re following through with."

 

That sounds like something he had tried to play through for a while.  We'll never know what a full, healthy season would've looked like for Juolevi, but here are a few young defensemen who played in the AHL as 20 year olds:

Sanheim: 76GP - 10G - 37pt - 0.49ppg

Theodore: 50GP - 9G -37pt - 0.74ppg

Morrissey: 57GP - 3G - 22pt - 0.39ppg

Pulock: 54GP - 17G - 29pt - 0.54ppg

 

All these guys had a ways to go defensively as rookies.  Juolevi has improved his defense everywhere he played -- his second year in London, he was their defensive workhorse.  A couple months into his first season in the Liiga, Salo said "Olli has a lot of puck skills and sees the ice well but still needs to improve his defensive awareness but over-all we are happy with his play."  By the end of the season, he was filling in for Tallinder, who played nearly 700 games in the NHL as a shutdown D.  Of course he still has work to do, but his ability to rise to the challenge every time the competition increases speaks to his skills and hockey IQ.  Tons of promising prospects never made it because they couldn't adjust to higher levels of play.  Juolevi has proven in every instance that he has the ability to grow and adapt no matter where he is.

Agree that he’s shown the ability to adjust to each development level.   That’s his best attribute and hope it continues at the NHL level.   At this point he hasn’t played a full season since coming to North America (maybe before too but I haven’t checked that out).  To me that’s a huge red flag - I don’t know if I have stomach for another top pairing missing dozens of games every year.   Why I was and am high on Bouchard.  Having a PMD is great...and OJ could have the chops to be a Vlasic like player...and some of the best ever started with battling with injuries too (Rocket Richard) so it is possible it’s a trend that’s run its course.

 

Im cautiously optimistic about OJs chances ... but it  is definitely not a foregone conclusion that he will make it or be a difference maker either.  

 

Meanwhile MT scored 77pts playing mostly on the second line and is going to be richer then Boeser.  Wouldn’t that be nice .. that said maybe we wouldn’t have EP or Hughes so Benning could come out of this looking like an absolute genius - or the bust label that’s been floating around could stick.   A lot pivots on how this works out for us, we really need him to replace Edler long term....go OJ go...could be he makes the team and Benn moves to the right side...or OJ good enough to play the opposite side and bumps Stetcher...you never know.