Olli Juolevi makes his NHL debut

[Bankerguy]

OJ has a pretty large frame. Wouldn't be surprised if he's heavier than the 182 lbs he's listed at on HockeyDB.

There's no way he's 182lbs.
I would put money on him being over 200lbs right now if he were to be put on a scale. My guess is that he's 206 - 208lb

 

[Snatcher Demko]

Agreed, let's give him a couple of years on the bottom pairing and see how he progresses.

They still need a #2 LD to replace Edler, and a #3RD to replace Myers if we can jettison his contract. So far he is on pace to have a good year (offensively) and may allow us to trade that contract.

 

[Fatass]

Agreed, let's give him a couple of years on the bottom pairing and see how he progresses.

They still need a #2 LD to replace Edler, and a #3RD to replace Myers if we can jettison his contract. So far he is on pace to have a good year (offensively) and may allow us to trade that contract.

I’m thinking SAN Jose would happily trade us EK for Myers.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

There's no way he's 182lbs.
I would put money on him being over 200lbs right now if he were to be put on a scale. My guess is that he's 206 - 208lb

He was listed on last years Utica team at 198lbs...That 182lbs looks like it's been unchanged since he was drafted.

 

[4Twenty]

Agreed, let's give him a couple of years on the bottom pairing and see how he progresses.

They still need a #2 LD to replace Edler, and a #3RD to replace Myers if we can jettison his contract. So far he is on pace to have a good year (offensively) and may allow us to trade that contract.

I don’t see Myers going anywhere.

If you’re locking in Hughes and Juolevi on the left side I’m afraid Edler doesn’t cut it anymore but it probably also means you’re considerably weaker back there depending on the Hughes partner addition.

 

[CHEESE]

And just like that the thread has been turned into a “get rid of Myers thread so I am not wrong” thread

 

[mathonwy]

And just like that the thread has been turned into a “get rid of Myers thread so I am not wrong” thread

Get rid of Myers?

Ok

 

[Nucker101]

OJ has a pretty large frame. Wouldn't be surprised if he's heavier than the 182 lbs he's listed at on HockeyDB.

Those are usually from draft years and rarely get updated afterward

 

[logan5]

So has the knee injury/surgery permanently hampered his skating, or is this something he has or will regain?

 

[HockeyWooot]

Every year i have watched Juolevi and followed his progress he got much better as the year wore on.

Pre draft after a decent start he had a tremendous U20 in Helsinki and followed it up with a solid stretch run and tremendous playoff and Memorial Cup which led to his draft at 5

After the draft he was relatively poor back in London and the U20s. This happens when players have a big run to the draft sometimes and ease off the gas pedal. Was replaced on the PP by Mete at times and was generally rather disappointing from where he was selected until late in the season and playoffs where he stepped up including a tremendous series against Windsor where he outplayed Sergachev and looked excellent.

17/18 was his pro year in Liiga. I streamed a lot of his games. Started with a poor camp here and then being criticized by Salo. His conditioning was awful and had obviously bombed his offseason preparation. Was certainly a low point and benchings followed in Turku. Had a really good U20 where in my opinion outclassed both Jokiharju and Valimaki and was as effective as Heiskanen but obviously not in the same tier of skater. Stretch run he started to produce and have some really good stretches of play and in the playoffs was Turku's top defenseman and leaned on heavily.

His AHL career with Utica was essentially a year shut down by surgery and then a second one starting slowly recovering and then the Covid shut down.

He has some mild skating flaws and isn't a burner who is gonna lug the puck around like Myers or Hughes can. Has an effective stick is pretty smart in his decisions and has a really effective first pass when turned up ice. He also seems like he's learning to use his size more effectively.

I don't think anyone can say with certainty where he will end up other than he's not a Doughty or Heiskanen that we would hope for at 5 that can control and tilt the ice. What i do believe is there is plenty of room for optimism if he can continue building on his current play and do what he has always done and get better as the year wears on.

So far so good as far as i'm concerned. Progress, grow, stay healthy and work extremely hard on explosive power and lateral movement in the off season. Could still have a core piece. Only 22 with a couple lost years.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. We need to be patient with OJ48, back surgery and knee surgery is nothing small to overcome, yet here he is finally in the NHL and steadily improving.

Played 18:59 last game versus Hughes’ 18:01. Didn’t look unsustainable and there looks like there is more there.

His transition play seems to be a noticeable addition since being back in the lineup. If I read somewhere correctly he’s 4th among dmen in terms of corsi for? Obviously advanced stats are not perfect, but it seems to match the eye test.

I think his decision making will continue to improve as he adjusts to NHL speed, and starts to slow the game down.

As with any rookie dman he will have some growing pains we should manage our expectations accordingly, but am cautiously optimistic we have a player here.

Agree he likely won’t be a legit no1 stud, but is it impossible he turns into an Edler-lite or Lindell type player as a ceiling? Edler for example had his first full season at D+4, and broke out the following year. Perhaps OJ48 may have a similar development curve, albeit a year behind due to his injury setbacks.

 

[LordBacon]

I agree wholeheartedly with this. We need to be patient with OJ48, back surgery and knee surgery is nothing small to overcome, yet here he is finally in the NHL and steadily improving.

Played 18:59 last game versus Hughes’ 18:01. Didn’t look unsustainable and there looks like there is more there.

His transition play seems to be a noticeable addition since being back in the lineup. If I read somewhere correctly he’s 4th among dmen in terms of corsi for? Obviously advanced stats are not perfect, but it seems to match the eye test.

I think his decision making will continue to improve as he adjusts to NHL speed, and starts to slow the game down.

As with any rookie dman he will have some growing pains we should manage our expectations accordingly, but am cautiously optimistic we have a player here.

Agree he likely won’t be a legit no1 stud, but is it impossible he turns into an Edler-lite or Lindell type player as a ceiling? Edler for example had his first full season at D+4, and broke out the following year. Perhaps OJ48 may have a similar development curve, albeit a year behind due to his injury setbacks.

He still has top3-4 upside,
could end up being a hamhuis lite.
Eats up big minutes and provide steady 2-way play.
That’s a win in my books considering how thin we are at d.

 

[Bougieman]

I'm starting to not notice him at all, and I love that. That's terrific progression considering where we were with him a year ago. A lot of people thought he might never play a full season in the big leagues.

 

[I am toxic]

I'm starting to not notice him at all, and I love that. That's terrific progression considering where we were with him a year ago. A lot of people thought he might never play a full season in the big leagues.

 

[David71]

It really is a shame though, if he just was a little bit better of a skater, He could legit be a top 4 guy

major injuries really hampered his development. if he was 100 percent healthy im sure his pivoting and skating would be much better. could he be a piece to powerplay unit 2? has a good decent slapper.

 

[logan5]

Can we have 2 L shooting D's on the PP? Not a big fan of Myers on the 2nd unit. Juolevi is a smarter player than Myers and has a better power play skillset imo.

 

[canuckking1]

Can we have 2 L shooting D's on the PP? Not a big fan of Myers on the 2nd unit. Juolevi is a smarter player than Myers and has a better power play skillset imo.

Myers is actually pretty decent on the PP imo. He's good at holding the line and creating space.

 

[LordBacon]

Can we have 2 L shooting D's on the PP? Not a big fan of Myers on the 2nd unit. Juolevi is a smarter player than Myers and has a better power play skillset imo.

I’ve always wanted to see juolevi and schmidt on the blue line on pp2

 

[Hit the post]

Agree he likely won’t be a legit no1 stud, but is it impossible he turns into an Edler-lite or Lindell type player as a ceiling? Edler for example had his first full season at D+4, and broke out the following year. Perhaps OJ48 may have a similar development curve, albeit a year behind due to his injury setbacks.

Edler is an outlier. Not fair to compare Juolevi's progress to Edler; who had an insane developmental curve.

Edler was basically playing in a beer league when the Canucks drafted him. At draft D+4, Edler was playing top 4 minutes on a veteran team, with guys on the blueline like Mitchell, Ohlund, Bieksa and Salo. Juolevi right now can't even get in every game on a mediocre team (look at the current blueline and compare that to the 2008-09 team). Yes, further context in that those solid vets can SIGNIFANCTLY better insulate a developing prospect that blueline we have now. But Vigneault was hardly the type of coach who would play a D that couldn't effectively work within his system (see Keith Ballard).

 

[4Twenty]

Everyone likes to say his skating was great before injuries and I always disagreed.

The pivoting and unwillingness to skate backwards have always been hallmarks of his game.

He’s a good forward skater but never had any power.

On this page there is a shift by shift from his draft year worlds (the good one not the next year when he and Finland stunk):
LD Olli Juolevi - TPS, Liiga (2016, 5th, VAN)

I know I now pay way more attention to the details in defensman’s skating when analyzing prospects.


Want a roller coaster ride? Look up @Lucbourdon ’s posts over the two Juolevi prospect threads lol

 

[Canucks LB]

Everyone likes to say his skating was great before injuries and I always disagreed.

The pivoting and unwillingness to skate backwards have always been hallmarks of his game.

He’s a good forward skater but never had any power.

On this page there is a shift by shift from his draft year worlds (the good one not the next year when he and Finland stunk):
LD Olli Juolevi - TPS, Liiga (2016, 5th, VAN)

I know I now pay way more attention to the details in defensman’s skating when analyzing prospects.


Want a roller coaster ride? Look up @Lucbourdon ’s posts over the two Juolevi prospect threads lol

So is life! I am happy he is doing well, still would take tkachuk lol

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Edler is an outlier. Not fair to compare Juolevi's progress to Edler; who had an insane developmental curve.

Edler was basically playing in a beer league when the Canucks drafted him. At draft D+4, Edler was playing top 4 minutes on a veteran team, with guys on the blueline like Mitchell, Ohlund, Bieksa and Salo. Juolevi right now can't even get in every game on a mediocre team (look at the current blueline and compare that to the 2008-09 team). Yes, further context in that those solid vets can SIGNIFANCTLY better insulate a developing prospect that blueline we have now. But Vigneault was hardly the type of coach who would play a D that couldn't effectively work within his system (see Keith Ballard).

Did Edler have back, hip, knee surgeries, after his draft year?

 

[4Twenty]

Did Edler have back, hip, knee surgeries, and miss 2.5 seasons with injuries after his draft year?

Juolevi has not missed 2.5 seasons. He missed time in those seasons.

Juolevi was also an injury concern before he was ever drafted.

Valimaki his compatriot actually missed a full season and we don’t hear excuses for him. Looks a top 4 already.

 

[sting101]

Juolevi has not missed 2.5 seasons. He missed time in those seasons.

Juolevi was also an injury concern before he was ever drafted.

Valimaki his compatriot actually missed a full season and we don’t hear excuses for him. Looks a top 4 already.

why do you say that?

 

[4Twenty]

why do you say that?

Because he missed a bunch of time before London. I’ve been bored going through old threads.

 

[sting101]

Because he missed a bunch of time before London. I’ve been bored going through old threads.

That makes no sense.

Was it chronic?