The Vancouver Canucks didn’t get the expected Pierre-Luc Dubois pick, nor were they the recipient of an unexpected Jesse Puljujarvi fallout. But they have addressed arguably the biggest organizational need, the need for a elite-level puck-moving defenseman.
Drafting Juolevi also means that the Canucks passed on the hard-nosed winger Matthew Tkachuk. Though not so liked in Vancouver, I believed that Tkachuk could be Daniel Sedin‘s successor.
So what does Juolevi bring?
Olli Juolevi: A Puck-Moving Top-2 Blueliner
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 183 pounds
Shoots: Left
2015-16: OHL 57 GP — 9 Goals — 33 Assists
A competitive spark-plug, Olli Juolevi is a complete, all-around defenceman who can hem the opposition in their own end or make things difficult for the opposition at home; either way, he puts the pressure on and lays it on thick.