Canucks assign Olli Juolevi to TPS in Finland

The worst-kept secret in the last couple of weeks for the Canucks has been their intentions to get former 5th overall pick Olli Juolevi over to TPS Turku in Finland. It finally happened this afternoon:

Although not specifically mentioned which team, Salo is the assistant coach for TPS.

The move makes sense on a multitude of levels as it allows the Finnish defenceman to return home and play against men for the upcoming season. It would also ensure that he will be available to play for Suomi at the upcoming World Juniors this winter.

2017 6th round pick Petrus Palmu has already been playing for TPS for this season (and has been doing really well), and as mentioned above, former Canucks defenceman Sami Salo is an assistant coach. Salo had been added as a coach for the Canucks development camp this past summer, so it isn’t surprising that the Canucks wanted to get Juolevi under his wing for this year.

From a depth standpoint, Juolevi does have an opportunity to play a lot for Turku. At this moment, Tarmo Raunanen and Henrik Tallinder have been workhorses on the backend, Juolevi will be able to jump in takeover top line minutes. TPS is also competing in the Champions Hockey League, so it gives Juolevi even more chances to play against elevated competition.

At the conclusion of the SM Liiga season, Olli Juolevi could play for the Utica Comets to close out the 2017-18 season.

All and all, it’s the smart move for the long term development of Juolevi. He gets to play a lot for a top team in his home country without sacrificing the chance to represent Finland at the World Juniors.

Juolevi ends his OHL career with the London Knights with 84 points (19-65-84) in 115 regular season games.