The Vancouver Canucks were winless for six straight games. It was one of Travis Green’s longest losing streaks on his NHL coaching career and one that had rookie defenceman, Olli Juolevi, witnessing the majority of from the press box.
But in the midst of all the losing, Green decided it was time to reactivate Juolevi in place of Jalen Chatfield, and he’s really coming into his own as an everyday NHL blueliner. Back in the lineup after being scratched for multiple games despite scoring his first NHL goal, Juolevi has been playing with something to prove.
Juolevi has been very steady, a number of subtle and smart plays all night. His best game in the NHL so far
— Satiar Shah (@SatiarShah) February 14, 2021
His best performance came in the team’s most recent victory — a 3-1 triumph over the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. The 22-year-old Finn gathered 15:17 in ice time, fired two shots on net, made some pretty passing plays in the offensive zone and absolutely laid out the Flames agitator, Matthew Tkachuk.
Juolevi moving Tkachuk out of the way like he did at the 2016 draft pic.twitter.com/SIBPMkzrnd
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) February 14, 2021
The hit was something not often seen in Juolevi’s game, but maybe it’s an attribute he can bring to the table when he’s fully healthy. The fans absolutely loved it! It was a clean hit in the defensive end that, you could tell, got under the skin of Tkachuk in a hurry.
The fact that it was against Tkachuk makes the hit that much bigger for the young man and for the organization. The Canucks elected to draft Juolevi over Tkachuk in the 2016 Draft and since then, Vancouver has been heavily scrutinized for making the ‘wrong’ selection.
It’s been hard to argue that. While Juolevi was battling injury after injury, and surgery after surgery, just trying to make it to the NHL, Tkachuk found himself to be an instant game-changer for the Flames. He made the team right out of his first training camp and never looked back.
He’s gone on to quickly become one of the best two-way pests in the world. On the other hand, five long years later, and Juolevi has just begun his tenure as a full-time Canuck in the NHL.
There is quite a difference between how each player made their way onto the NHL landscape, but for the Canucks it’s especially great to see Juolevi make such a successful turnaround of his once very doubted career as a quality NHL defenceman.
Through 10 NHL games, Juolevi has registered one goal, he’s averaged 12:53 in ice time, and he’s plus three. Juolevi doesn’t exactly jump off the page in terms of offensive ability, but his defensive game has come a long way when you consider the significant hurdles he’s faced.
As Juolevi continues to impress, look for him to become more of a mainstay on Vancouver’s blueline. When he’s on the ice the Canucks are a better team. Hopefully, the trend continues in the right direction and Juolevi can continue to help the Canucks get back on track inside the all-Canadian division.
Vancouver and Calgary clash again at 7 p.m. Check back at The Canuck Way for the post-game report and don’t forget to comment below and let us know what you think!