Canucks should jump on the Finnish Bandwagon

When the Canucks selected Finnish defenceman Olli Juolevi fifth overall at the 2016 Draft, he became just the sixth Finnish player they’d ever drafted. A number perplexingly low given they’ve been reasonably successful when they went to that well in the past, with Petri Skriko and Jarkko Ruutu going on to have successful NHL careers — Jonathan Iilahti, Markus Kankaanpera, and Karri Kivi less so.

I’m of the mind, though, that the Canucks would be wise to strengthen their draft ties to Suomi.

If you haven’t noticed, Finland has started churning out talent at an astounding rate. Always regarded for producing top-notch netminders, Finland is now producing offensively gifted forwards and two-way defenceman while maintaining a spot among the world’s best at developing goalies.

The 2016 NHL entry draft was a prime example with Patrik Laine, Jesse Puljujarvi, and the aforementioned Olli Juolevi all being selected in the top five. It didn’t stop there either. Henrik Borgstrom, Janne Kuokkanen, Kasper Bjorqvist and Markus Niemelainen also went in the first three rounds. By the time the draft finished, 15 Finns were selected, accounting for 7.1% of the players taken in this class — the most ever for Finland.

All of this after winning the U20 World Juniors, U18 World Juniors and capturing silver at the IIHF World Championships.

Needless to say, it was a banner year for Finland, and it’s not a coincidence or a blip on the radar. There has been a philosophical change to how youth and junior hockey programs are done in Finland. Mike Morreale at NHL.com spoke with Goran Stubb, the NHL director of European Scouting, about the changes to the Finnish program:

To add to that, whenever asked, Finnish-born players mention it’s also about having fun. It’s about becoming friends with your teammates and having fun while working on those skills. It’s working, as they continue to create high-end talent year after year and the 2017 NHL Entry Draft will continue that trend.

Jeremy Davis did an early preview of the 2017 NHL Entry draft earlier today, with Eeli Tolvanen and Kristian Vesalainen ranked in the top 8. Craig Button at TSN also had both of those players in the Top 8, and had goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, defenceman Miro Heiskanen and Henri Jokiharju in the top 30 . We could easily see those 5, which are two high-end offensive forwards, two defenceman and goaltender, hear their names called in the first round of the draft next season.

In my opinion, there is enough talent in this year’s draft class, that they will surpass the 15 selected in 2016.

From the intangible side of things, the winning that Finland has recently seen has to be, at the very least, considered to be an attractive asset. These players have won before, they know what it takes, and can hopefully translate to the next level.

They could even keep winning as they get older – representing Finland in the upcoming World Juniors, World Championships, Olympics, or World Cup of Hockey.

Furthermore, these players aren’t afraid to muck it up and play gritty hockey. They aren’t afraid to dig for pucks, battle in front of the net, and hit. Although the narrative that European players played soft, was always overblown, there is no doubt that the Suomi play gritty hockey.

We obviously don’t know where the Canucks will end the season, or who will be available at the time of their selection, but getting on the Finnish bandwagon is a good course of action. They are producing high-end players who will make an impact at the NHL level, have those intangibles that teams long for, and are just winning.

The Canucks made the first step adding Olli Juolevi to the fold, but taking a long look at every player coming out of Finland seems to be a worthwhile venture.