Vancouver Canucks: 5 Reasons Why Olli Juolevi Was a Great Pick
Not everyone in Vancouver Canucks Nation is happy with Olli Juolevi. But you have no reason not to be.
The Vancouver Canucks were one of the teams that sparked many rumors in the final days leading up to the 2016 NHL Draft. That was mostly because GM Jim Benning likes to let fans know what he thinks, what he is doing, and what will be next. He just seemed to change his mind a lot.
It all started with Benning stating he was looking at a defenseman for their first-round pick, when they were still in playoff contention. Once he knew where his team would pick, however, he noted that picking a forward at five is more realistic, because the top-six players in this draft are forwards. Then, after talking to his scouting staff for weeks, Benning changed his mind once again — there was a defenseman in his top six, perhaps even top five.
Today we know, Jim Benning had London Knights defenseman Olli Juolevi ranked fifth on his list. The whole thing probably looked like this:
- F Auston Matthews
- F Patrik Laine
- F Jesse Puljujarvi
- F Pierre-Luc Dubois
- D Olli Juolevi
- F Matthew Tkachuk
As so often, the Canucks managed to miss out on exactly the four players they would have liked the most, despite ranking Matthew Tkachuk, who was rumored to be the Edmonton Oilers’ favorite at No. 4, at No. 6. Whether Edmonton had Tkachuk ranked ahead of Pierre-Luc Dubois and Juolevi didn’t even matter in the end, as the Columbus Blue Jackets went a little bit off the board, leaving Jesse Puljujarvi for the Oilers.
Many Canucks fans would have preferred Puljujarvi, Dubois or Tkachuk over Juolevi, but there is reason to believe Benning made the perfect call. I am not saying Tkachuk would have been a bad pick, but only that Juolevi was a great one.
Here are five reasons why!
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