Matthew Tkachuk will forever be known as the one who got away

Following the completion of the 2016 NHL regular season, the Vancouver Canucks were a team badly in need of a rebuild. Franchise players Henrik and Daniel Sedin were still productive NHL players, but even the twins were immune to the inevitable effects of aging. The team was far from being able to contend for a Stanley Cup and had a thin prospect pool.

The Canucks finished 28th overall in the NHL standings with a 31-38-13 record and were awarded the fifth overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft. The draft was an important one for Canadian teams, as six of the first seven picks belonged to Canadian teams. If they played their cards right, each team would walk away with a future cornerstone of the franchise.

Most notably, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets owned the first and second overall selections. The Edmonton Oilers selected fourth overall, one pick ahead of the Canucks, followed by the Calgary Flames selecting 6th overall.

Heading into the draft, the Canucks had some good young prospects, including Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat, but the team lacked a true superstar prospect, particularly a star defensive prospect. Luckily for the Canucks, they were awarded a top-five pick in the 2016 draft, which would undoubtedly give them the chance to select a player who would be a part of their future for a long time.

The Canucks were linked to several players, including Matthew Tkachuk, Pierre-Luc Dubious, Mikhail Sergachev, and Jakob Chychrun. The consensus was that the Canucks would select Dubois at the fifth overall selection.

Things didn't quite go as planned for the Canucks at the 2016 draft

The first two picks of the draft went as expected: the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Auston Matthews, followed by the Winnipeg Jets selecting Patrik Laine.

Everything changed when the Columbus Blue Jackets came up to make their third overall selection. The team was projected to pick skilled Finnish winger Jesse Puljujarvi, but instead opted to select Pierre-Luc Dubois. This pick made sense for Columbus at the time, especially after they traded away Ryan Johansen, leaving a hole in the center position. However, it was also a bit of a head-scratcher, leaving the arguably more skilled Puljujarvi on the board.

For the Canucks, it's fair to say this pick probably threw a wrench in their draft plans. After watching their top draft choice slip from their grasp and the Edmonton Oilers select Puljujarvi, the Canucks were left with the chance to draft arguably the best remaining forward, Matthew Tkachuk. Not a bad position to be in if you ask me.

Then Canucks General Manager Jim Benning made his way up to the podium, and anticipation rose amongst fans. As he approached the microphone, set to announce his team's selection, he uttered the words all fans wanted to hear: "The Vancouver Canucks select, from the London Knights of the OHL" followed by words that sent shockwaves and disappointment through the bodies of Canucks nation: "Olli Juolevi."

While it was considered a good pick at the time, especially with the team's need for a top defensive prospect, it was hard to overlook the player the Canucks had passed on.

In his draft year, Tkachuk had 107 points in 57 regular-season games, followed by 40 points in 18 playoff games with the London Knights.

To make matters worse, Tkachuk was selected a pick later by Vancouver's Pacific division rival, the Calgary Flames.

The next season, Tkachuk put up 48 points in 76 games in his rookie season with the Flames. Meanwhile, Juolevi had 19 points in 37 games with TPS Turku in Finland. It wasn't until the 2020-21 season that Juolevi made his NHL regular-season debut. By this time, Tkachuk had already established himself as a solid NHL player, including a 70-point season for the Flames in 2018.

The following season, Tkachuk exploded for a 42-goal, 104-point season with the Flames before being traded to the Florida Panthers, where he achieved another 100+ point season.

Tkachuk's success continues to haunt the Canucks to this day

Fast forward to 2025, Tkachuk is a back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion with the Florida Panthers, and has solidified himself as one of the top forwards in the league. Juolevi, on the other hand, bounced around the league for a few seasons before finding himself back in Finland. During his time with the Canucks, Juolevi never played more than 30 games with the big club, and only put up an astounding three points.

While the Canucks have had a few draft steals themselves (Elias Pettersson in 2017 and Quinn Hughes in 2018), it's hard not to wonder what the Canucks would be like today if they drafted Tkachuk.

Picking Juolevi over Tkachuk is one of the biggest draft blunders in Canucks history, one that will continue to haunt Canucks fans for years.