DownUndaCanuck Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 I'm surprised and impressed by how physical he's been and good with his stick defensively. Not bringing much offence or skating the way he was advertised, but that doesn't matter because he's been brilliant all-around. Fittingly he looks a lot like a young Alex Edler, especially with his broad frame. I think the points will come but he'll be very similar to a steady, 30-40 point at best Edler. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 His high IQ is already so evident - was from day 1. Really like his game right now. He's taken a bit to adapt at every level. Going from London to the SM-Ligga, wasn't a huge player at first but was a key piece in the playoffs. Then going to Utica got better/more integral as time went on. Now in the NHL its the same thing, making good strides as the year's gone on. The signs were already there at the beginning of the year, now getting back into the lineup he's taken another step. Didn't feel like it at the time - but I think the break was good for him. Which is why the coaches are there everyday and fans aren't. His upside will be as far as skating can take him, he's got the IQ to be a top of the lineup player. It'll be about improving skating or adapting his game, and I definitely think improving skating is possible - it wasn't a big knock before the injuries. I think he's got alot more to given even currently. He's played well in his role yet is still adjusting to the NHL IMO, promising sign. Still so early in his NHL career. 1 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kootenay Gold Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 If Olli can put the injury curse behind him; he could be one of the better Canucks defensemen for many years to come. I really like the way his game is progressing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucker 67 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Olli is slowly becoming my favourite Dman. He's getting better every game, handed out another big hit mid-ice last night against the Jets. Had a scoring chance, jumps in the play - but he's smart about it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadcanucks Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 On 2/18/2021 at 12:42 PM, oldnews said: Juolevi though - has been outstanding. 44% ozone starts .937 on ice save percentage = best on the blueline (Virtanen leads the team at .953) 2.9 on ice goals for per 60 at es 2.1 on ice goals against (only a few bottom six wingers have given up less). Secondary pk duties (over a minute/game). +3 leads the team (in anything but 'sheltered' minutes - is impressive). And clearly the eye test adds up / reconfirms his outcomes. Great to see the advanced stats confirm Olli's development/performance. Olli has definitely been one of the bright spots on this abridged season. In time, I'm confident that he will prove to be deserving of being the top defenceman picked in his draft. A fair amount of doom and gloom for this season, but the future for the backend looks really good, with Hughes and Julovevi holding two of the top four roles in days to come. Hopefully Woo, Rathbone, and Jurmo can develop into solid NHL players while Schmidt, Myers and Hamonic hold down the fort over the next 2-3 years. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadcanucks Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 8 hours ago, DownUndaCanuck said: I'm surprised and impressed by how physical he's been and good with his stick defensively. Not bringing much offence or skating the way he was advertised, but that doesn't matter because he's been brilliant all-around. Fittingly he looks a lot like a young Alex Edler, especially with his broad frame. I think the points will come but he'll be very similar to a steady, 30-40 point at best Edler. I'll see your Alex Edler comparison and raise it to Niklas Lidstrom. Olli's smoothness, on-ice smarts and poise are more reminiscent of Lidstrom to me. I suppose time will reveal who Olli's play will resemble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucker 67 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 I'm thinking a future #1 pairing of Juolevi - Hughes. Olli is pretty responsible defensively, smart player, great passer. The thing that may be stopping Green from trying this is their inexperience. Could be really good down the road though (2 years?) Juolevi - Hughes Rathbone - Myers Schmidt - Woo Hughes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Nice to see Canuck fans giving this kid some respect. He is going to be integral in the canucks winning the cup. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boudrias Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 16 minutes ago, Bell said: Nice to see Canuck fans giving this kid some respect. He is going to be integral in the canucks winning the cup. I agree but last night he barely got 10 minutes of TOI while Hughes was over 25 minutes. Hughes stayed out for a full 2 minutes of PP. Either Hughes is simply doing this or Green is telling him too. Either way what message is telling your bench? I don't like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 2 minutes ago, Boudrias said: I agree but last night he barely got 10 minutes of TOI while Hughes was over 25 minutes. Hughes stayed out for a full 2 minutes of PP. Either Hughes is simply doing this or Green is telling him too. Either way what message is telling your bench? I don't like it. Vancouver has never had a player like Hughes before. He gets a very extended leash but as player's like Olli emerge that leash will be reigned in to give player's like Olli a chance to shine. The young canuck d core looks as good as any in the league. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCanuck94 Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 (edited) 6 hours ago, Boudrias said: I agree but last night he barely got 10 minutes of TOI while Hughes was over 25 minutes. Hughes stayed out for a full 2 minutes of PP. Either Hughes is simply doing this or Green is telling him too. Either way what message is telling your bench? I don't like it. From what I remember, Green said D deployment is usually all Baumer. Not a fan of Baumer's deployment or defensive structure but it is what it is. Olli has shown he's good enough to handle at least 15 mins a night against tough competition at that so the lack of consistency in deployment is a little annoying. Edited February 21, 2021 by MrCanuck94 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucker 67 Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 It'll happen in the near future: Juolevi >> Tkachuk 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadcanucks Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 (edited) 54 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said: It'll happen in the near future: Juolevi >> Tkachuk On the Juolevi / Tkachuk debate, it will be interesting to see how these two fare against head to head in the years to come. Does anyone know of the nature of their relationship while they spent a season in London together? Were they friends? Though it's only a small sample size, I haven't seen Tkachuk being the usual ass he is with Juolevi so far in the games between the Canucks and Flames. Edited February 21, 2021 by bigbadcanucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkyard Dog Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Just now, bigbadcanucks said: On the Juolevi / Tkachuk debate, it will be interesting to see how these two fare against each other in the years to come. Does anyone know of the nature of their relationship while they spent a season in London together? Were they friends? Though it's only a small sample size, I haven't seen Tkachuk being the usual ass he is with Juolevi so far in the games between the Canucks and Flames. They've battled and both had smiles after the whistle. Being teammates both probably have some sort of kinship. Hughes and Brady Tkachuk are buddies too. I think Hughes use to live at the Tkachuk household prior to Hughes going to college. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadcanucks Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 1 minute ago, Junkyard Dog said: They've battled and both had smiles after the whistle. Being teammates both probably have some sort of kinship. Hughes and Brady Tkachuk are buddies too. I think Hughes use to live at the Tkachuk household prior to Hughes going to college. If I'm not mistaken, they were on a Memorial Cup team together...so kinship probably runs even deeper. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elias Pettersson Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 4 hours ago, NUCKER67 said: It'll happen in the near future: Juolevi >> Tkachuk It's already happened... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outsiders Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Overall I've been extremely happy with Juolevi's game so far. I just hope he can learn how to not get beat when they take him to the outside. At least that aspect of his game can be fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkyard Dog Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 1 hour ago, Outsiders said: Overall I've been extremely happy with Juolevi's game so far. I just hope he can learn how to not get beat when they take him to the outside. At least that aspect of his game can be fixed Yeah his weakness is the rush. If there's a turnover in the offensive zone and he doesn't have enough time to create good enough gap he usually gets beat. Just needs to get faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Dizzle Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 9 hours ago, Junkyard Dog said: Yeah his weakness is the rush. If there's a turnover in the offensive zone and he doesn't have enough time to create good enough gap he usually gets beat. Just needs to get faster. A bit more speed would definitely be nice but I also think a big part of getting blown by has been adjusting to the speed of some of the faster NHL guys. It seems like he's already making the adjustment a little bit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownUndaCanuck Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Everyone makes the Juolevi/Tkachuk pick a competition but to be honest I think they're both even and both are winners for the teams. Both/any team in the NHL needs a top-4 if not top-2 solid all-around defenceman and any team would love a 60-80 point pace physical top line winger. For the Canucks, we needed a defenceman at the time and Juolevi will be that man. I think this all stemmed from the Virtanen pick though, we were set on him being that Tkachuk-like player. Of course that didn't pan out and we ended up picking Juolevi as a result. There weren't too many decent defencemen in the two drafts prior to Juolevi's draft anyway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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