Prospect Info: Olli Juolevi - 5th overall 2016

[alternate]

its really ignorant of GM's to say such stupid things putting a cap on a players ceiling when they have no clue.

Fact is Juolevi could very well become a number 1 D-man in the NHL and the more good things I hear about him the more I suspect he will become one

Gamesmanship. Benning knows Chiarelli respects his scouting prowess, and a top pairing blueliner helps EDM a lot m9re than yet another high skilled winger, so Benning played his old boss.

Either that, or more likely Benning views a #1 dman as on par with a franchise center...hard to acquire, extremely valuable, and rare. You can be a heck of a good player and not be a true #1 defenseman. But we all know that if Benning had said "we feel we have an opportunity to draft a future #1 defender" you guys would be going on about tipping his hand and putting unnecessary pressure on the young man.

Mainly this:

The Matthew Tkachuk hype and the lack of discussion about Olli Juolevi made it seem as though Tkachuk was the obvious choice at the fifth overall position

Except it wasn't hype, we didn't focus on Dubois and Tkachuk because of hype. It wasn't a lack of discussion about Juolevi that made it "seem" as though Tkachuk was the obvious choice.

It was the scouts opinions, publications, prominent draft followers whose opinions amounted to the conclusion that Tkachuk was an "obvious" top 5 player.

Honestly though, who gives a **** what the pundits' "obvious" choice was? Outside of 1OA it's nothing but a fluff concept. Every year the "obvious" choice for someone ends up being a bad pick. The point of drafting is to acquire the best players you can, not to win some draft grade or please the internet experts. The two recent p8cks that had this board most excited were Hodgson and Schroeder...hopefully this pick lives up to those success stories right.

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

I'd say 40 point potential and solid defensively. That would be excellent value for a 5th overall.

I know I was hoping for more flash and excitement at 5, but we need players like Juolevi to win.

I was personally just super bitter about missing out on Dubois.

That time when you feel the need to remind everyone Kevin Bieksa had multiple 40+ point seasons in his career...

 

[Cupless44]

Can anyone comment on Juolevi's shot?

I heard it was not that hard.

Maybe I just need some excitement and a bigger more toolsy player but I preferred Sergachev if you had to draft a D.

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Told you guys before the draft that Vancouver couldn't afford to draft yet another first round winger this high in a strong draft when you've already picked Virtanen, Boeser and traded for Baertschi and with wing being the least important position in hockey. It was obvious you needed to leave the draft with a cornerstone centre or dman if you really thought about it and thought about how hard it is to fine elite young centres and dmen.

Of course that logical argument got me nothing but ridicule as most of you had convinced yourselves it was a clearcut top 5 when no scouts agreed with that premise.

It was a smart move by Benning. Defense is critical and it's nearly impossible to trade for top pairing defencemen. Gotta draft them and they can take a few years so getting one early in the rebuild is important.

Worked out well for both our teams I'd say.

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

Can anyone comment on Juolevi's shot?

I heard it was not that hard.

Maybe I just need some excitement and a bigger more toolsy player but I preferred Sergachev if you had to draft a D.

Not hard but tricky. Basically he knows when to shoot instead of just blast it and let it hit the board

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Can anyone comment on Juolevi's shot?

I heard it was not that hard.

Maybe I just need some excitement and a bigger more toolsy player but I preferred Sergachev if you had to draft a D.

Yeah for me I just wanted a player who was going to bring us to the edge of our seats. Juolevi isn't that player but he will be a solid defenceman. Losing the draft lottery and falling two spots was the real kick in the junk...****ing Jets.

We just went through an absolute trainwreck of a season to come away with a player who likely has lower upside than the players drafted around him (but a higher floor.) Salt in the wounds that our rivals, some of which had better seasons, got lucky as **** and that already have stacked prospect pools, happened to pick up those players.

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

I believe he said something like, "there's no #1 D-man in this class and the first 5 forwards are all 1st liners." He then hinted he would take a forward because of this.

Either he changed his mind or that was the first time he utilized a smokescreen.

And before that around the time of the draft lottery he said they'd take BPA for the first four picks and after that they'd lean towards a dman. The clues were there. Not sure why so many fans decided to ignore that earlier interview.

 

[Horse McHindu]

Can anyone comment on Juolevi's shot?

I heard it was not that hard.

Maybe I just need some excitement and a bigger more toolsy player but I preferred Sergachev if you had to draft a D.

No idea about Juolevi's shot, but he was considered to be the clear cut consensus 'best defenseman' in this draft. You likely prefer Sergachev due to your attitude towards Jim Benning.

I'll also admit that my heart was set on Dubois or Tkachuk, and that I was originally 'mixed' when I heard about the selection, but I have warmed up to the pick a lot over the last 24 hours. Everything I've heard and read about Juolevi over the last 24 hours is extremely positive. His play at the World's, and the Memorial Cup stretch, is starting to make me believe.

At best, he'll be a franchise guy. At worst, I think he'll cap out at Edler/Ohlund prime.

 

[Cupless44]

Not hard but tricky. Basically he knows when to shoot instead of just blast it and let it hit the board

Hopefully tricky means better than Tanev cuz it sure sounds like that lol

 

[Olli Juolevi]

Can anyone comment on Juolevi's shot?

I heard it was not that hard.

Maybe I just need some excitement and a bigger more toolsy player but I preferred Sergachev if you had to draft a D.

Generally speaking his all around game is very good, think of a player with stats all in the 80%-90% range and his only "weakness" I guess is that he doesn't have a stat that is far and away better than other players (90-100% range). He can still work on his shot but by far his best attributes are his ability to read the play and anticipating what the correct line of play should be. An analogy would be a chess player that can read the play many moves ahead than the other player.

 

[Cupless44]

No idea about Juolevi's shot, but he was considered to be the clear cut consensus 'best defenseman' in this draft. You likely prefer Sergachev due to your attitude towards Jim Benning.

I'll also admit that my heart was set on Dubois or Tkachuk, and that I was originally 'mixed' when I heard about the selection, but I have warmed up to the pick a lot over the last 24 hours. Everything I've heard and read about Juolevi over the last 24 hours is extremely positive. His play at the World's, and the Memorial Cup stretch, is starting to make me believe.

At best, he'll be a franchise guy. At worst, I think he'll cap out at Edler/Ohlund prime.

What attitude towards Jim Benning ?

I have been pretty fair and balanced towards Benning. I have not been afraid to call out his many poor moves but have tried to keep and open mind and have often wound up on the defending Benning side on here against the pitch forkers.

But I also said this off season was crucial and would make my final judgement. Well epic fail at the deadline, embarrassing tampering, no picks and poor draft. The pitch forkers are right. The guy really is in over his head as an NHL GM.