Back to back off season spent rehabbing to return to his pre injury condition first vs having that time spent improving himself hurts.
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