Juolevi working towards a spot on Canucks’ blueline
BUFFALO — Olli Juolevi had the puck on his stick and a chance to be the hero again.
Two years ago the Finnish defenceman helped his country win gold at the IIHL World Junior Hockey Championship in Helsinki, where at the age of 17 he had nine points in seven games and was named to the tournament’s allstar team. But, like last year, when Finland finished in ninth place, he couldn’t quite get the job done.
Skating in alone on Czech goalie Josef Korenar in a shootout, Juolevi needed to score to extend the shootout. Instead, he had his shot stopped, as Finland was upset 4-3 in the quarter-final.
“I was going five-hole,” said Juolevi, who had a goal and assist and was named Finland’s player of the game. “It’s tough. It’s tough in the shootout. You just have to trust your guts.”
Juolevi has been trying to do more of that lately.
A fifth-overall pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2016, after failing to land a job in the NHL this season, Juolevi was supposed to return to the London Knights for a third season in the Ontario Hockey League. But, with the blessing of the Canuc ks, he decided to return home to Finland and play in the SM-Liiga.
On the surface, it made sense. A year after Juolevi won a Memorial Cup with the Knights in 2016, he failed to build on his offensive totals and finished with an identical 42 points in 58 games. He looked bored. Or at the very least, he seemed in need of a bigger challenge.
“You know how it is sometimes when players get drafted,” said Canucks GM Jim Benning, “The next year, for whatever reason, they have an off year.”
“That’s a really great league,” Juolevi said of the Ontario Hockey League. “That’s not the thing. It’s always nice to have something new. When you get the chance to do something else, I think it’s good. Of course, I think I wanted to play with the men. I had two great years in London and I thought it was time to make a move and take the next step.”
The Canucks gave the green light to the decision, in part because former Canucks defenceman Sami Salo is an assistant coach with TPS Turka. The two hit it off at the team’s development came and have continued that relationship in Finland.
“I think if we can point to one thing that has really helped Olli, it’s Sami working with him,” said Benning. “It was a tough decision because London did such a good job with the development of players. Dale Hunter is an excellent coach. He just felt like he wanted to play in a pro league against men.”
Juolevi has five goals and 14 points with TPS Turku, but it’s the defensive part of the game where he said he has made his biggest strides. The 6-foot-2 and 182-pound Juolevi will never be overly physical, but he has learned how to better position himself so that he can defend against bigger players.
“Some tips, of course,” Juolevi said of what he’s learned from Salo. “As an old player, he knows a lot about the game. Just some individual stuff. Maybe my defensive game, all the angles, how I go at guys, how I close them up. I thought I’ve done a pretty good job of that.”
Juolevi showcased some of that in this year’s world juniors, in which Team Finland head coach Jussi Ahokas called him “one of our best D on the team.”
Despite the end result, Tuesday’s quarter-final was arguably his best game of the tournament. Juolevi picked up the assist and gave Finland a 2-1 lead when he found the top corner with a wrist shot from the point.
The multi-point game came exactly two years since Juolevi’s last one; when he picked up three assists in a 6-5 win in the quarterfinal against Canada. It was that breakout performance at the 2016 world juniors, where he tied for the defence scoring lead with nine assists, which elevated Juolevi’s draft stock.
But it might have been misleading for a defenceman whose strengths are far more subtle.
“We didn’t really see him as a topend offensive guy,” said Benning. “We just saw him as a three-zone player who is solid in all situations. In the offensive zone, he can walk the line and distribute the puck well and gets his shot through and on net. In his own zone, he’s smart defensively with his reads and has a good stick.”
The problem is developing an all-around defenceman takes time. While Mikhail Sergachev, who was selected four spots after Juolevi, and Charlie McAvoy (14th overall) have already become impact players in the NHL, Juolevi is the only player selected in the top-11 of the draft who has yet to play a game.
“Every player has his own path as to when he’s going to get there and when they’re going to get real good,” said Benning. “Some players — like the Bo Horvat’s and Brock Boeser’s — make the transition look real easy and other players take a little more time. Defence is a tough position to play in the NHL.”
As for Juolevi’s time frame, the 19-year-old believes he is close.
“I think I’m there but obviously it’s up to the staff,” said Juolevi. “All I can do is work hard and try my best and that’s what I’ve been trying to do.”