Olli Juolevi | #48 | D

[Phat Fingers]

1 hour ago, Toews said:

This is why its hard to take you seriously. You say its too early to draw any conclusions based on Virtanen's play and here you are doing the same with a player who has an even smaller sample size. Juolevi has a long way to go before he can be called the best defenseman in his draft class.

Toews, why so serious?  

 

Can't a fan enjoy a cool moment from a player in the organization without some downer $&!#ting on the parade?  OJ showed a lot of naysayers some shut up juice with his play against the Spitfires.  Most of the chorus compared OJ vs Serge since draft day,  OJ came to play.  Serge didn't.  Other than Macvoy who else comes close to OJ so far?  Chychrun had a tough first year, and no other defender leaps to mind.  For all the hype around Macvoy, which is warranted, he didn't top OJ's WJC performance from the previous year.  So one could point out, that OJ did what Macvoy did, but was a year younger....  

 

So sure, there is room to debate 'the best' but be a fan and enjoy some aspect of the Canucks this year.  OJ is a bright light on a dark day.  

 

My kid watches a lot of 'Winnie the Poo', don't be Eeyore. Toews.  Eeyore is suffering from depression and needs to medicated.  

 

EW

[shiznak]

11 minutes ago, Eastcoast meets Westcoast said:

Toews, why so serious?  

 

Can't a fan enjoy a cool moment from a player in the organization without some downer $&!#ting on the parade?  OJ showed a lot of naysayers some shut up juice with his play against the Spitfires.  Most of the chorus compared OJ vs Serge since draft day,  OJ came to play.  Serge didn't.  Other than Macvoy who else comes close to OJ so far?  Chychrun had a tough first year, and no other defender leaps to mind.  For all the hype around Macvoy, which is warranted, he didn't top OJ's WJC performance from the previous year.  So one could point out, that OJ did what Macvoy did, but was a year younger....  

 

So sure, there is room to debate 'the best' but be a fan and enjoy some aspect of the Canucks this year.  OJ is a bright light on a dark day.  

 

My kid watches a lot of 'Winnie the Poo', don't be Eeyore. Toews.  Eeyore is suffering from depression and needs to medicated.  

 

EW

I watch a lot of Chychrun, because the Coyotes have slowly converted me into a fan of theirs with the players they picked the last few drafts, mainly Chychrun, Keller, and Perlini. 

 

It's been an inconsistent year for Chychrun, but I would say he done a pretty swell job handling himself, considering he's been thrown to the wolves in his draft year. Amongst defensemen, he leads the Yotes in corsi, who have played over 40 games. Second in goals with 7 (which would sadly lead our team), who gets little to none PP time and offensive zone start time, and third in points. 

 

It's not Calder trophy worthy numbers, but for a player who was expected to never make the team from camp and was expected to have at least another in juniors. I'd say he's done a pretty decent job.

[HomeBrew]

For those of you who missed the game 7, this video (14 minutes long including his game winning goal) has the majority of Juolevi's time on the ice:

 

 

[Warhippy]

35 minutes ago, HomeBrew said:

For those of you who missed the game 7, this video (14 minutes long including his game winning goal) has the majority of Juolevi's time on the ice:

 

 

A few things stick out to me.

 

1.  Juolevi is an absolute master at boxing out players, 3:01, 3:30, 6:07 and so on.  he simply uses his stick and body to force guys wide or boxes them towards the corner.  Non aggressive very passive direction.  There is alwso a few points in there where he interposes his body between the opposing forward and the net when they simply try to go through him

 

2.  At 3:22 there is a play along the boards in which he simply glides in steals the puck for a safe play and out it goes.  If you've watched the tire fire board battles on the Nucks the last 2 seasons you'll know how important that kind of cool patience is.  He's not another body in there, he sneaks in snaps the puck up and gone.

 

3.  At 4:21 his board play is spot on, he simply leans on his check against the boards, his arm looks draped or leaning on his shoulders but is in no way a hold and he keeps him from the play while helping protect the puck as it is battled for by his d pairing 

 

4.  At 6:41 the puck is fired towards Vilardi (#13) and watch how Juolevi handles him in the ensuing sequence up to and including the lone man in the slot he helps break up saving a solid scoring chance (it's actually really good)

 

5.  At 8:45 he makes a decent and smart move to save his partners arse after he Edlers the puck into opposing hands.  Again smart, very smart

 

6.  At 9:35 watch how he handles a genuine threat, he takes his man out the same way Rafalski used to it's kinda funny.  "Blocking the puck" and oops he went with me

 

Seriously, watching this I am shocked at how far down his ice time does appear from last year.  Whether that is from sheltered minutes or the emergence of Mete etc for a more balanced D core who knows.  But bottom line is he is so bloody smart it is like watching Hank Sedin except as a defenceman 2009-2011.  The anticipation of the play and the intelligence he shows in either breaking up a play or helping make something happens is remarkable really.

 

After the Virtanen pick we all made such a huge deal about "hockey IQ" well this is an absolute display of what true hockey IQ looks like.  He is smart, he is able to anticipate the play and as an added bonus, it appeared that every time Vilardi was on the ice he was on him like a blanket.  We got to see him shut down what is apparently a consensus or near consensus top 5 pick this year with relative ease.

 

This is not to say Vilardi was not playing well, he was obviously making things happen.  But he was absolutely put in check by OJ and even better, near the last 4 minutes of this clip you could see how chippy the game was getting and OJ never faltered a single step.  Same plays same urgency same cool demeanor.

 

The guy is going to be a solid D man for us in the future

 

 

[higgyfan]

18 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

A few things stick out to me.

 

1.  Juolevi is an absolute master at boxing out players, 3:01, 3:30, 6:07 and so on.  he simply uses his stick and body to force guys wide or boxes them towards the corner.  Non aggressive very passive direction.  There is alwso a few points in there where he interposes his body between the opposing forward and the net when they simply try to go through him

 

2.  At 3:22 there is a play along the boards in which he simply glides in steals the puck for a safe play and out it goes.  If you've watched the tire fire board battles on the Nucks the last 2 seasons you'll know how important that kind of cool patience is.  He's not another body in there, he sneaks in snaps the puck up and gone.

 

3.  At 4:21 his board play is spot on, he simply leans on his check against the boards, his arm looks draped or leaning on his shoulders but is in no way a hold and he keeps him from the play while helping protect the puck as it is battled for by his d pairing 

 

4.  At 6:41 the puck is fired towards Vilardi (#13) and watch how Juolevi handles him in the ensuing sequence up to and including the lone man in the slot he helps break up saving a solid scoring chance (it's actually really good)

 

5.  At 8:45 he makes a decent and smart move to save his partners arse after he Edlers the puck into opposing hands.  Again smart, very smart

 

6.  At 9:35 watch how he handles a genuine threat, he takes his man out the same way Rafalski used to it's kinda funny.  "Blocking the puck" and oops he went with me

 

Seriously, watching this I am shocked at how far down his ice time does appear from last year.  Whether that is from sheltered minutes or the emergence of Mete etc for a more balanced D core who knows.  But bottom line is he is so bloody smart it is like watching Hank Sedin except as a defenceman 2009-2011.  The anticipation of the play and the intelligence he shows in either breaking up a play or helping make something happens is remarkable really.

 

After the Virtanen pick we all made such a huge deal about "hockey IQ" well this is an absolute display of what true hockey IQ looks like.  He is smart, he is able to anticipate the play and as an added bonus, it appeared that every time Vilardi was on the ice he was on him like a blanket.  We got to see him shut down what is apparently a consensus or near consensus top 5 pick this year with relative ease.

 

This is not to say Vilardi was not playing well, he was obviously making things happen.  But he was absolutely put in check by OJ and even better, near the last 4 minutes of this clip you could see how chippy the game was getting and OJ never faltered a single step.  Same plays same urgency same cool demeanor.

 

The guy is going to be a solid D man for us in the future

 

 

Great summary, man.  He is soooo smart and calm that I think this is why some people see him as being 'bored or disinterested.'  All that, as such a young age is quite striking.  It's going to be so great watching him when he's playing on the Nucks D.

[Warhippy]

4 minutes ago, higgyfan said:

Great summary, man.  He is soooo smart and calm that I think this is why some people see him as being 'bored or disinterested.'  All that, as such a young age is quite striking.  It's going to be so great watching him when he's playing on the Nucks D.

My biggest concern was his guickness.  #2 (Bouchard?) who I saw alongside him numerous times was a lightning bolt by comparison.  He obviously isn't slow by any means but watching him with such a speedy d pairing makes me wonder what he'd look like with Stecher and his skating ability.  He's going to be very good.  It's just sad to know we're still a year from seeing him in the NA pro leagues due to his age

[nickels]

There is no question that the team intends to keep OJ in the NHL next season.

 

From many reputable reports, JB made every effort to move Hutton prior to this years deadline.

 

I would expect we start to hear the same rumors prior to the entry draft.

 

Hutton obviously has more trade value prior to the ED than he will after.

 

 

[Scruffy05]

1 hour ago, Warhippy said:

A few things stick out to me.

 

1.  Juolevi is an absolute master at boxing out players, 3:01, 3:30, 6:07 and so on.  he simply uses his stick and body to force guys wide or boxes them towards the corner.  Non aggressive very passive direction.  There is alwso a few points in there where he interposes his body between the opposing forward and the net when they simply try to go through him

 

2.  At 3:22 there is a play along the boards in which he simply glides in steals the puck for a safe play and out it goes.  If you've watched the tire fire board battles on the Nucks the last 2 seasons you'll know how important that kind of cool patience is.  He's not another body in there, he sneaks in snaps the puck up and gone.

 

3.  At 4:21 his board play is spot on, he simply leans on his check against the boards, his arm looks draped or leaning on his shoulders but is in no way a hold and he keeps him from the play while helping protect the puck as it is battled for by his d pairing 

 

4.  At 6:41 the puck is fired towards Vilardi (#13) and watch how Juolevi handles him in the ensuing sequence up to and including the lone man in the slot he helps break up saving a solid scoring chance (it's actually really good)

 

5.  At 8:45 he makes a decent and smart move to save his partners arse after he Edlers the puck into opposing hands.  Again smart, very smart

 

6.  At 9:35 watch how he handles a genuine threat, he takes his man out the same way Rafalski used to it's kinda funny.  "Blocking the puck" and oops he went with me

 

Seriously, watching this I am shocked at how far down his ice time does appear from last year.  Whether that is from sheltered minutes or the emergence of Mete etc for a more balanced D core who knows.  But bottom line is he is so bloody smart it is like watching Hank Sedin except as a defenceman 2009-2011.  The anticipation of the play and the intelligence he shows in either breaking up a play or helping make something happens is remarkable really.

 

After the Virtanen pick we all made such a huge deal about "hockey IQ" well this is an absolute display of what true hockey IQ looks like.  He is smart, he is able to anticipate the play and as an added bonus, it appeared that every time Vilardi was on the ice he was on him like a blanket.  We got to see him shut down what is apparently a consensus or near consensus top 5 pick this year with relative ease.

 

This is not to say Vilardi was not playing well, he was obviously making things happen.  But he was absolutely put in check by OJ and even better, near the last 4 minutes of this clip you could see how chippy the game was getting and OJ never faltered a single step.  Same plays same urgency same cool demeanor.

 

The guy is going to be a solid D man for us in the future

 

 

I like this kid. He seems to have what it takes to really succeed in the NHL. 

 

People can wine about Tkachuk all they want, but do you want the flame that burns first or brightest or longest? Tkachuk is a good player, don't get me wrong, but do is Juolevi.

[Sedintwinpowersactivate]

I am loving all this positivity about Juolevi, instead of the "Tkachuk is so great...why didn't we draft him?" Threads.  Olli does seem to be a gamer that rises to the occasion.  Could we finally have a future potential Norris candidate?  I know that's a lofty hope.  I'm just trying to keep the good Olli vibes flowing.  Pura Vida baby!

[Bobby_Lu1ngo]

I don't see him being offensive enough to win a norris. He is just so smooth of a skater and calm, almost too calm but that is okay. 

I see can see Olli picking up a lot of assists as he moves the puck so well and is smart on getting the puck through with snap shots.

[khay]

12 hours ago, J.R. said:

Still don't know why we drafted this bum 'off the board'?! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah... I seriously don't get why we drafted this bum "off the board."

 

I really don't get people saying Juolevi was the "off the board" pick. He was ranked top defenceman in Bob McKenzie's list and was ranked number 6 overall. McKenzie's ranking is consensus based, which means that is his average ranking amongst the scouts that Bob asked.  Picking a guy at #5 when he is ranked #6 is hardly "off the board". Off the board is like, picking a guy that is ranked #20 at #5.

 

[JamesB]

1 hour ago, khay said:

Yeah... I seriously don't get why we drafted this bum "off the board."

 

I really don't get people saying Juolevi was the "off the board" pick. He was ranked top defenceman in Bob McKenzie's list and was ranked number 6 overall. McKenzie's ranking is consensus based, which means that is his average ranking amongst the scouts that Bob asked.  Picking a guy at #5 when he is ranked #6 is hardly "off the board". Off the board is like, picking a guy that is ranked #20 at #5.

 

Juolevi was highly rated. But almost every major list had Tkachuk ahead of the Juolevi. A good summary of the major rankings is at http://www.mynhldraft.com/2016-draft/nhl-draft-rankings/

 

There are 14 rankings shown with Tkachuk and Juolevi. Every single one had Tkachuk ahead of Juolevi. And Tkachuk was always in the top 6 (almost always in the top 5). Juolevi's rankings bounced around, sometimes right after Tkachuk, but sometimes outside the top 10.

 

So, yes, Juolevi was "close" in the rankings to Tkachuk but it was still a surprise to see him taken first as Tkachuk was pretty much unanimously preferred by the rating organizations. So Benning was going against that unanimous opinion. In that sense the pick was "off the board". 

 

Maybe the term "off the board" is misleading or not a good term. I agree that Juolevi was on everyone's board, but after Tkachuk. It might be more accurate to say he was taken "out of order", but that doesn't sound as good.

[HomeBrew]

12 minutes ago, JamesB said:

Juolevi was highly rated. But almost every major list had Tkachuk ahead of the Juolevi. A good summary of the major rankings is at http://www.mynhldraft.com/2016-draft/nhl-draft-rankings/

 

There are 14 rankings shown with Tkachuk and Juolevi. Every single one had Tkachuk ahead of Juolevi. And Tkachuk was always in the top 6 (almost always in the top 5). Juolevi's rankings bounced around, sometimes right after Tkachuk, but sometimes outside the top 10.

 

So, yes, Juolevi was "close" in the rankings to Tkachuk but it was still a surprise to see him taken first as Tkachuk was pretty much unanimously preferred by the rating organizations. So Benning was going against that unanimous opinion. In that sense the pick was "off the board". 

 

Maybe the term "off the board" is misleading or not a good term. I agree that Juolevi was on everyone's board, but after Tkachuk. It might be more accurate to say he was taken "out of order", but that doesn't sound as good.

I don't think GM JB was ever considering picking Tkachuk regardless. If the draft went differently and Columbus selected Puljujarvi instead, the Oilers were highly suspected of drafting Juolevi for themselves because of high organizational needs, as exhibited in their Taylor Hall trade shortly after. Given this scenario, I think the Canucks were ready to select Dubois. Thus, there is no real scenario where we would have picked Tkachuk, there is no real debate to be had because he was never going to be a Canuck. It was always either Dubois or Juolevi. 

[Toews]

9 hours ago, debluvscanucks said:

 

Not true (at all).  There are a lot of negatives and criticism shared here but this is obviously going to be a little biased, as a site for Canuck fans.  

Bias is not the problem IMO. Its when people try and shut down other people who have a different opinion than them by insults, potshots etc. I up-voted your post about addressing the content of the post and not the poster. It seems to me like we are all adults and are capable of having a civil discussion with multiple different views without someone saying "omg you are an idiot, go cheer for the oilers".

Edited April 6, 2017 by Toews

[Caknuckle Puck]

11 hours ago, The 5th Line said:

Oh yeah I'm also on the record as saying I hate Tkachuk, It's all there if you just go back about 10-15 pages.  But yes, let's all pile on The 5th Line while ignoring any evidence that he is in fact a Juolevi supporter.  Awesome

boo-urns

[McBackup]

33 minutes ago, Toews said:

Bias is not the problem IMO. Its when people try and shut down other people who have a different opinion than them by insults, potshots etc. I up-voted your post about addressing the content of the post and not the poster. It seems to me like we are all adults and are capable of having a civil discussion with multiple different views without someone saying "omg you are an idiot, go cheer for the oilers".

I agree with the sentiment but I want to point out that people are just as likely to get flamed here for being an overt homer as they are for being overly critical, especially on this website where the fanbase is self-loathing.

 

It's also important to make the distinction between optimism and homerism, and between less rosey outlooks and Canuck bashing.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Bitter Melon

[Rush17]

7 hours ago, HomeBrew said:

For those of you who missed the game 7, this video (14 minutes long including his game winning goal) has the majority of Juolevi's time on the ice:

 

 

Wow this kid is really something special.  He makes it look effortless out there.  He sees plays develop so well its like he is using cheats in a video game.

 

That game winner too.  Very much like this pick.  He has some very special talents.

[Rush17]

Look at the expression on his face when max jones jumps towards him :D

 

 

This kids a gamer. I'm glad he has some meaningful games to apply himself too. :D

 

Edited April 6, 2017 by Rush17

[wellnon]

Don't think he will ever be a big hitter but I think this video shows that Olli is definitely not soft.  Not afraid to get physical along the boards at all.   

[timberz21]

4 hours ago, HomeBrew said:

I don't think GM JB was ever considering picking Tkachuk regardless. If the draft went differently and Columbus selected Puljujarvi instead, the Oilers were highly suspected of drafting Juolevi for themselves because of high organizational needs, as exhibited in their Taylor Hall trade shortly after. Given this scenario, I think the Canucks were ready to select Dubois. Thus, there is no real scenario where we would have picked Tkachuk, there is no real debate to be had because he was never going to be a Canuck. It was always either Dubois or Juolevi. 

If I remember the rumors around the draft, the Oilers were more interested in Sergachev than Juolevi and were willing to pick him at 4 I believe and when Columbus picked Dubois, they had no choice to pick Puljujarvi.

 

The other rumors was that they would trade down to MTL's #9 if Dubois was available at 4, with the intention of picking Sergachev at 9.