BB06
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One of the few Dmen where Offence doesn’t die in his stick. Has great vision and is good at not telegraphing his passes really think he’d be a better fit than Benn/Fanta
Olli Juolevi makes his NHL debut
- Thread starter Dr Black
- Start date
One of the few Dmen where Offence doesn’t die in his stick. Has great vision and is good at not telegraphing his passes really think he’d be a better fit than Benn/Fanta
Pip
Registered User
He barely played but didn’t screw up which is good. Unsure how he will perform with real ice time but definitely a positive step for him.
GetFocht
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I think the plan moving forward is having Juolevi as the 3 LD, and then once Edler's contract is up, you move him up (if his development goes well in the NHL) and have Rathbone take the 3 LD position.
Blue and Green
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From my reports in the Utica thread and Prospects thread...
Jan 15: "I thought Juolevi had another solid game, the best Comet D-man in his own zone which has been the case a few times recently."
Jan 17: "Olli Juolevi has improved noticeably; I could make a case that he has been the Comets' best all-around defenceman in the 10-game stretch since Christmas."
Jan 21: "Neither Lind nor Juolevi is physically ready. Olli has made good progress recently but his skating hasn't come around enough. Let him mature and have hopefully a full off-season of training in a healthy state."
*****
They had given him a few weeks off in December to get over hip soreness. He returned after Christmas with his best three-week stretch of the season before falling off a bit, probably in part because of lack of conditioning. Now, he has those few months of training in a healthy state under his belt, which he didn't have from the past two summers because of the injuries.
Jan 15: "I thought Juolevi had another solid game, the best Comet D-man in his own zone which has been the case a few times recently."
Jan 17: "Olli Juolevi has improved noticeably; I could make a case that he has been the Comets' best all-around defenceman in the 10-game stretch since Christmas."
Jan 21: "Neither Lind nor Juolevi is physically ready. Olli has made good progress recently but his skating hasn't come around enough. Let him mature and have hopefully a full off-season of training in a healthy state."
*****
They had given him a few weeks off in December to get over hip soreness. He returned after Christmas with his best three-week stretch of the season before falling off a bit, probably in part because of lack of conditioning. Now, he has those few months of training in a healthy state under his belt, which he didn't have from the past two summers because of the injuries.
sting101
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This cannot be understated.
Odd development but it's nice to see that he looks fully committed now and is making strides. Looked good his draft year camp but was full of confidence and in great shape from the Mem Cup and over a 100 games many of which were elimination types. I honestly was excited after seeing him live a couple times.
In 2017 camp he came in completely out of shape and was quickly overwhelmed and had to be dispatched to Finland for Salo to give this kid a dose of reality, a kick in the ass and earn some respect for what it takes to be a pro at the highest level. Finished as a top player for his team but still had some strides to make.
Then the back and ACL surgeries. Just an incredibly unfortunate series of events and timing for a young player needing to develop power and explosiveness. Never questioned his IceQ. This kid looks people off like no one's business and has excellent innate passing skills and good feet. His last juniors he was better than all of Jokiharju Heiskanen Valimaki and should have been given he was older but nevertheless he has the talent and if his deficiencies can be negated to a respectable level we may have a top4 defenseman yet from Olli.
Rooting for him and was great to finally see him play NHL hockey
? The Canucks have a lot of d-men that can make plays with the puck: Hughes, Edler, Meyers, Stecher ... it's in their own zone where things get shaky.
Fire Benning
diaper filled piss baby
6 sheltered minutes and didn't catastrophically screw up and cost them the game which is about the best you could hope considering the situation, obviously he wasn't going to play big TOI numbers. Hopefully he can stay healthy now.
Fire Benning
diaper filled piss baby
Doubtful..unless they run into injury trouble, especially if Benn joins the team at some point.
sting101
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Thanks for the reports B&G. I followed your posts the most from Utica this year.
Pastor Of Muppetz
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Benn is your typical meat and potatoes stay at home 6D...If Juolevi can keep his head above water on the defensive end, I think he could surprise..
Having another D man with really good puck distribution skills and vision, would be a real added bonus.
BB06
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I'm referring to his competition Benn and Fanta. Should've worded it better.
BB06
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As someone who watched his game a lot do you see a top 4 Dmen as a possibility?
VanillaCoke
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Ngl looked better than I was expecting and IF he can stay healthy maybe isnt a complete bust.
Fire Benning
diaper filled piss baby
You could make a strong argument that Juolevi would be an upgrade on Benn or Fantenberg to fill those minutes and might be able to add a different look to the inept second unit power play, but coaches typically err on the side of veterans who they can trust playing tougher minutes at 5v5 and on the PK when it comes to high pressure situations in the playoffs. Because of that I'd be shocked if he plays barring injuries, best you can hope for right now is that he can avoid another major injury and build off receiving a taste of NHL action.
Hockey DB lists Juolevi at 6'3" and 200...but looks to me that he might be 10 pounds heavier than that. I know he was drafted for his offense, but this kid isn't a 'small' d-man by any stretch.
Maybe he can follow the same career trajectory as Alex Edler, listed at 6'3" and 212? I know it's a lot to hope for, but after all, Juolevi was a top-five draft pick.
Maybe he can follow the same career trajectory as Alex Edler, listed at 6'3" and 212? I know it's a lot to hope for, but after all, Juolevi was a top-five draft pick.
Tim Calhoun
#11
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Seems like a pretty terrible idea to put a guy who needs to be massively sheltered in a playoff game, especially a dman. Means you have to ride your top guys hard 27 minutes/game. One mid-game injury and you’re f***ed.
Hope we don’t see him again.
Hope we don’t see him again.
VancouverJagger
Not trying to fit in
How big would it be for our team if this guy could become a decent regular D-man? To me that's found money as most of us had been very close to writing him off.
All of a sudden our D future doesn't look nearly as bad.......
Will be interesting to see if he continues to play this postseason. One thing I've noticed with him is that he definitely seems to step it up comes playoff time (for the most part he's consistently played better when the games matter most). Hoping he can continue that trend here.
6 minutes yes........but it's a 6 minutes that should all give us cause for some optimism.
All of a sudden our D future doesn't look nearly as bad.......
Will be interesting to see if he continues to play this postseason. One thing I've noticed with him is that he definitely seems to step it up comes playoff time (for the most part he's consistently played better when the games matter most). Hoping he can continue that trend here.
6 minutes yes........but it's a 6 minutes that should all give us cause for some optimism.
GetFocht
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He wasn't sheltered, he played on the PK. Juolevi wasn't the reason Hughes played 27 mins, the reason was is that Green wanted to close this series and for once relied on his top players to play heavy minutes.
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Fatass
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This makes absolutely no sense. OJ getting his first NHL game minutes is a high intensity series game is huge fir his development. (It was Tanev in 2011 with a similar experience). OJ will continue to play, and his minutes will go up as the coaches learn more about him. Kid was great!
If Juolevi can even slot in as a solid #5 on the depth chart with the capability of moving into a top-four role in a pinch, that would be a huge 'win' considering where he's come from. I know you still expect more from a fifth overall pick, but if he becomes an everyday d-man along with Rathbone, it completely changes the outlook for this blueline which has to lose Edler and Tanev sooner or later.
VancouverJagger
Not trying to fit in
Yeah exactly - in the span of roughly a month it seems like our D future has gone from a big question mark to one that we can at least feel reasonably optimistic about with the signing of Rathbone and OJ's seeming. emergence.
OJ would appear to have all the tools and to my eye he looks like he's filled out a bit........he's not small by any means.
Man I wish we could clone Tanev. Minus the injuries.
He’s the perfect partner and mentor for all these young guys. I don’t think he gets enough credit for Hughes success either.
It looks like Hughes might have rubbed off on him too. His second career three point night was timely!
He’s the perfect partner and mentor for all these young guys. I don’t think he gets enough credit for Hughes success either.
It looks like Hughes might have rubbed off on him too. His second career three point night was timely!
Soups On
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The reports from camp were surprising based on his performance since being drafted, but it is nice to see him get some NHL ice time and not look overtly out of place. Yes, it's only 6 minutes, but it's good he got his feet wet and made some nice passes and plays in the offensive zone.
Would be interesting to see how he would hold up for 15ish minutes with time on PP2. Edler should be strictly used for shutdown purposes at this point anyways.
I do wonder if Fantenberg is out for a bit, if it plays out like this:
Hughes Tanev
Edler Myers/Stecher
Juolevi Stecher/Myers
PP2
Pearson Sutter/Gaudette Virtanen
Juolevi Myers
Would be interesting to see how he would hold up for 15ish minutes with time on PP2. Edler should be strictly used for shutdown purposes at this point anyways.
I do wonder if Fantenberg is out for a bit, if it plays out like this:
Hughes Tanev
Edler Myers/Stecher
Juolevi Stecher/Myers
PP2
Pearson Sutter/Gaudette Virtanen
Juolevi Myers
Blue and Green
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Yes. I see him most likely in the #3 - #5 range if he stays reasonably healthy. First pair would be a pleasant surprise.
There seems to be a perception of Olli as an offensive player who can't defend. He's more of a balanced guy in my eyes. Someone who could play respectably in all situations is what I see as his reasonable upside. Not an offensive dynamo, not a shutdown defender, but a steady player who can do most things okay.
