Olli Juolevi | #48 | D

[Ray_Cathode]

On 21/09/2016 at 10:02 AM, DJSkingz said:

I did not see any of this at Penticton. Either he was trying to be safe or had nerves but he did not look confident out there. Stecher on the other hand skated around with swagger.

 

The one stand out play for me was the horrible giveaway at the opposition blueline which led to a break away goal. He looked very slow getting back. He was never really known for his speed though...

I was at the games in Penticton - every defenceman had a problem with pucks bouncing over their stick at the blueline on that side of the ice, when going that way - nothing more than badly manicured ice.

The best defensive defenceman out there was McEneny - never out of position, physically very strong and always taking his man - nobody walked away from him - controlled traffic in front of his net.  He made one mistake on the boards at the hashmarks in his own end when he flubbed a backhand up the boards - but he got back in the play and eliminated his man.  He also had a nice assist on a long pass to Carcone.  Unfortunately, he only got one game.  He had a great year in Kalamazoo last year, being a big plus defenceman  - plus 17 in 39 games and 25 points (he played very well, along with Cederholm) on a very poor team.  

[Bigturk8]

15 hours ago, DeNiro said:

The more games the better for him, but I don't think there's enough room on the blueline.

 

They'd have to put someone on waivers for him to get his 9 games. I don't see that happening.

Hypothetically, if (god forbid) there are injuries to our d-corps during the pre-season, would you be interested in seeing him for 9 games, or would you prefer to get him down to London and in the swing of things right away?

[Putgolzin]

^ with those hypothetics and god-forbids in place, I'd love to see him get his 9 games.

 

that's perhaps a selfish fandom viewpoint, but a few weeks isn't going to stunt his junior season

[Boudrias]

12 hours ago, Ray_Cathode said:

I was at the games in Penticton - every defenceman had a problem with pucks bouncing over their stick at the blueline on that side of the ice, when going that way - nothing more than badly manicured ice.

The best defensive defenceman out there was McEneny - never out of position, physically very strong and always taking his man - nobody walked away from him - controlled traffic in front of his net.  He made one mistake on the boards at the hashmarks in his own end when he flubbed a backhand up the boards - but he got back in the play and eliminated his man.  He also had a nice assist on a long pass to Carcone.  Unfortunately, he only got one game.  He had a great year in Kalamazoo last year, being a big plus defenceman  - plus 17 in 39 games and 25 points (he played very well, along with Cederholm) on a very poor team.  

You couldn't watch the Prospects without being drawn to McEneny. Big body and as you said fairly positioned. I thought he could/should have been more physical to draw more notice. His experience should have shown more not that I thought he was a weak player.

[DJSkingz]

13 hours ago, Ray_Cathode said:

I was at the games in Penticton - every defenceman had a problem with pucks bouncing over their stick at the blueline on that side of the ice, when going that way - nothing more than badly manicured ice.

The best defensive defenceman out there was McEneny - never out of position, physically very strong and always taking his man - nobody walked away from him - controlled traffic in front of his net.  He made one mistake on the boards at the hashmarks in his own end when he flubbed a backhand up the boards - but he got back in the play and eliminated his man.  He also had a nice assist on a long pass to Carcone.  Unfortunately, he only got one game.  He had a great year in Kalamazoo last year, being a big plus defenceman  - plus 17 in 39 games and 25 points (he played very well, along with Cederholm) on a very poor team.  

 

I did notice McEneny but only a few times, which is a good thing; means he was in position and not being noticed for bad plays.

 

I really hope he gets a fair shot at Utica this year. He has the size and the skills it seems.

[SvenBae]

 

Nice little tidbit from Pronman concerning Juolevi.

[TheHockeyNerds]

5 hours ago, SvenBae said:

 

Nice little tidbit from Pronman concerning Juolevi.

Interesting to note pronman had Juolevi ranked higher in his top prospects like in the summer. OJ (14) IP(16) 

[TheHockeyNerds]

How did OJ play tonight? Didn't catch the game 

[RogersTowell]

13 minutes ago, TheHockeyNerds said:

How did OJ play tonight? Didn't catch the game 

He was solid but unexceptional.  He held his own in the defensive end but wasn't making too much happen offensively.  Not a bad start for the youngest player out there.

[snizzle_]

I thought he was adequate defensively. I'd say everyone but Biega was more solid on the backend - he had a lot of missed pinches and got beat outside a few times. When he had the puck he was solid. Made a few nice plays but obviously had to adjust to speed so his decision making was slow down it seemed. 

[MoneypuckOverlord]

2 hours ago, TheHockeyNerds said:

How did OJ play tonight? Didn't catch the game 

looked better in this game then he did against Winnipeg (his last prospects game)

 

he came exactly as advertised.  I give him 2 thumbs up for an 18 year old, and held his ground extremely well against a pretty stacked Oilers line up, which included Connor Mcdavid, 3 of their regular top 4 dmans, Eberle, Lucic.  He made safe plays, exception vision, end to end skating reminds me of Duncan Keith.  

 

Very excited about this pick.   He's exactly what the Canucks need.

[Blömqvist]

2 hours ago, junglesniper said:

I thought he was adequate defensively. I'd say everyone but Biega was more solid on the backend - he had a lot of missed pinches and got beat outside a few times. When he had the puck he was solid. Made a few nice plays but obviously had to adjust to speed so his decision making was slow down it seemed. 

 

I thought he had a little bit of trouble adjusting to the speed of the game too. Nothing terrible, but just a little thing that we notice. He looked to be generate more offense later on in the game, but for his first preseason NHL action on home ice he did ok. Nothing impressive, but did ok. 

[NameFaker]

19 minutes ago, Blömqvist said:

 

I thought he had a little bit of trouble adjusting to the speed of the game too. Nothing terrible, but just a little thing that we notice. He looked to be generate more offense later on in the game, but for his first preseason NHL action on home ice he did ok. Nothing impressive, but did ok. 

Yeah, he wasn't noticeable in the way Stetcher or Hutton was, but I'd say he played a strong game. 

 

His positioning was sound, he was poised with the puck, he rarely made mistakes and when he did, he recovered well. There were a couple moments where I thought he looked weak, but hey, I thought Edler looked weaker way more often. Obviously, bias is at work here (I expect more from Edler so I'm harsh on him and I'm stoked on Juolevi so my rose-coloured glasses get stapled to my face when he's on the ice...), but I think he's demonstrated exceptional potential. He plays a contemplative game where first he reads and second he reacts. The gap between reading and reacting will shorten as he gains familiarity. 

 

I want to emphasize how strong Juolevi was positionally. As he gains strength and footspeed, his effectiveness within the role will increase accordingly. And, according to what's already on the ice, we should all be thoroughly excited.

[JamesB]

3 hours ago, RogersTowell said:

He was solid but unexceptional.  He held his own in the defensive end but wasn't making too much happen offensively.  Not a bad start for the youngest player out there.

 

3 hours ago, junglesniper said:

I thought he was adequate defensively. I'd say everyone but Biega was more solid on the backend - he had a lot of missed pinches and got beat outside a few times. When he had the puck he was solid. Made a few nice plays but obviously had to adjust to speed so his decision making was slow down it seemed. 

These two comments are right on target in my opinion. Juolevi is young and talented but he is obviously not ready for the NHL at this stage. We all want to see things positively but, being honest, I was hoping for a bit more tonight against the Oilers, even though he was the  youngest guy on the ice.

 

Stecher, Edler, and Hutton were all excellent tonight and Guddy, as advertised, provides strength and toughness in his own end and can neutralize guys like Lucic. I don't see a lot of space for Juolevi in the team this year (obviously) or next year. But that is okay. He needs time to add strength and he should also work on his acceleration.

[Phat Fingers]

Now that the off season post draft excitement has worn off, all of us that hoped, wished and dreamed that our latest draft pick would make the roster, well we were a tad over enthusiastic...  That okay, we're fans. 

 

I still ill love the pick, but he needs time to grow, another year or more Juinor and then one season of AHL. This is the difference between the top 4 picks vs the rest in the last draft. Mathews,Laine, Dubois and JP all have the potential or real ability to step into the NHL this season. 

 

Juolevi needs time to grow. The long term impact of each player, anyone's guess, but what we missed in this draft was an immediate impact on the roster.  

 

That being said, long game is were JB needs to focus. Looking at how mobile our defence is this year, we can now take time to develop our d prospects. This is awesome and cannot be understated. 

 

Not only does Ollie need time, but the team has no need to rush him.  

Edited September 29, 2016 by Eastcoast meets Westcoast

[stawns]

a strong, quiet game for OJ last night.  didn't make many mistakes, rarely out of position and mad some solid outlet passes in his own end.  He's still a cpl years away, but everyone should be very encouraged.

[Hairy Kneel]

We should send him back to junior and spend his ice time looking at Stecher, Larsen and Pedan. 

He's a blue chipper but 2 or 3 years away at least. He'll get bigger and stronger, he got knocked once pretty good. I think he knows what he needs to work on, smart kid.

[LaBamba]

1 hour ago, Hairy Kneel said:

We should send him back to junior and spend his ice time looking at Stecher, Larsen and Pedan. 

He's a blue chipper but 2 or 3 years away at least. He'll get bigger and stronger, he got knocked once pretty good. I think he knows what he needs to work on, smart kid.

 

I disagree, we have plenty of preseason to evaluate talent. We need to invest as much as we possibly can into our blue chip prospects like Juolevi. He isn't going to learn how to be effective in the NHL by playing Jr. These preseason games are a excellent way to quantify weakness. 

 

I'm also a pretty big critic of Jordan Subban, but even in his case, sending him down 2 years in a row without a look in the preseason is an extremely poor player development strategy. There is nothing to lose in the preseason and everything to gain. The only thing we accomplished by sending Subban down is shattered confidence. If you don't think he is ready, which we can all agree he isn't, show him! Don't tell him he isn't good enough and send him away with doubt in his mind. 

[aGENT]

9 hours ago, MoneypuckOverlord said:

looked better in this game then he did against Winnipeg (his last prospects game)

 

he came exactly as advertised.  I give him 2 thumbs up for an 18 year old, and held his ground extremely well against a pretty stacked Oilers line up, which included Connor Mcdavid, 3 of their regular top 4 dmans, Eberle, Lucic.  He made safe plays, exception vision, end to end skating reminds me of Duncan Keith.  

 

Very excited about this pick.   He's exactly what the Canucks need.

 

8 hours ago, Blömqvist said:

 

I thought he had a little bit of trouble adjusting to the speed of the game too. Nothing terrible, but just a little thing that we notice. He looked to be generate more offense later on in the game, but for his first preseason NHL action on home ice he did ok. Nothing impressive, but did ok. 

 

2 hours ago, stawns said:

a strong, quiet game for OJ last night.  didn't make many mistakes, rarely out of position and mad some solid outlet passes in his own end.  He's still a cpl years away, but everyone should be very encouraged.

 

Yeah my takeaway was that he looked like a REALLY good 18 year old 

 

Made some beautiful plays/passes, rarely out of positions, smooth and smart. But he looked like he was (understandably) still adjusting to the speed and looked a little physically over matched in the rare instances he allowed himself to get hemmed in by not moving the puck as quick as he needed.

 

We should all be VERY encouraged but yeah, probably 2+ years away. And that's ok.

[aGENT]

39 minutes ago, LaBamba said:

 

I disagree, we have plenty of preseason to evaluate talent. We need to invest as much as we possibly can into our blue chip prospects like Juolevi. He isn't going to learn how to be effective in the NHL by playing Jr. These preseason games are a excellent way to quantify weakness. 

 

I'm also a pretty big critic of Jordan Subban, but even in his case, sending him down 2 years in a row without a look in the preseason is an extremely poor player development strategy. There is nothing to lose in the preseason and everything to gain. The only thing we accomplished by sending Subban down is shattered confidence. If you don't think he is ready, which we can all agree he isn't, show him! Don't tell him he isn't good enough and send him away with doubt in his mind. 

 

Unlike you, Subban is not a fragile flower. Subban knows what he has to do and has Green there to help him.