Olli Juolevi (; born 5 May 1998) is a Finnish professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

currently playing for the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play th ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) while under contract to the Anaheim Ducks of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was selected fifth overall by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in the

2016 NHL Entry Draft The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine go ...

. Born and raised in Finland, Juolevi developed in the

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters) are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga (1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002). Jokerit plays its h ...

program before he moved to North America to play

major junior Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

hockey with the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

(OHL)'s

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...

in 2015. After one season with London, he was drafted by the Canucks. Internationally, Juolevi has represented

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in three World Junior Championships, winning gold at the 2016 tournament.

Playing career

At age 14, Juolevi began playing

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

in Finland for

's U16 team in 2012–13. By the following year, he was playing for Jokerit's U20 team in the Jr. A SM-liiga. After scoring 32 points (6 goals and 26 assists) in 44 games, he was named to the league's First All-Star Team and awarded Rookie of the Year. During the off-season, Juolevi was selected 45th overall by the

of the

(OHL) at the 2015 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft. Juolevi committed to the Knights shortly thereafter, leaving his junior career in Finland. With 42 points (9 goals and 33 assists) in 57 games, Juolevi ranked third among OHL rookie defencemen and 13th among defencemen overall in 2015–16. He was named to the OHL Third All-Star Team and Second All-Rookie Team. During the 2016 OHL playoffs, he added 14 points (3 goals and 11 assists) in 18 games, ranking second among all defencemen, as the Knights won the

J. Ross Robertson Cup The J. Ross Robertson Cup is a Canadian ice hockey trophy. It is awarded annually in junior ice hockey to the champion of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. It was donated by John Ross Robertson to the Ontario Hockey Association in 1910, and ...

as OHL champions. With the Knights advancing to the

2016 Memorial Cup The 2016 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2016 Mastercard Memorial Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a four-team, round-robin format tournament that took place at the ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, from May 20–29, 2016. It was the 98th Memorial Cup cha ...

, Juolevi recorded seven assists in four games and was named to the tournament's All-Star Team, helping London to a national championship. Having played a key role in London's championship season, Juolevi was highly regarded by scouts.

NHL Central Scouting The NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS) is a department within the National Hockey League that ranks prospects for the NHL Entry Draft at specific times during the hockey season. Players are ranked based on how well they will translate to the profe ...

ranked him fifth among draft-eligible players competing in North America, praising his offensive play. During the

, he was the first defenceman selected, fifth overall by the

. On 5 August 2016, Juolevi signed his first professional contract in agreeing to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Canucks. Juolevi was assigned to Vancouver's AHL affiliate, the

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wi ...

, to start the 2018–19 season. After registering 13 points in 18 games in his first AHL season, Juolevi was sidelined for the remainder of the year due to knee surgery. Following his injury-shortened season, Juolevi was again sent to Utica to start for the 2019–20 season. After 5 points in 14 games, Juolevi again suffered an injury in November 2019, though he returned three weeks later. Juolevi would play in 45 games with Utica, scoring 25 points, before the

2019–20 AHL season The 2019–20 AHL season was the 84th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began October 4, 2019, and was officially cancelled on May 11, 2020. The 2020 Calder Cup playoffs, which was also cancelled, would have followed the con ...

was suspended and later cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Juolevi made his NHL debut with the Canucks during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, playing in the fourth and final game of Vancouver's

Qualifying Round Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

series against the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

. He played 6:16 in the game, which Vancouver won 5–4 in overtime to eliminate Minnesota and move onto the First Round. The following season, Juolevi earned a spot on Vancouver's roster out of training camp for the first time in his career. He scored his first career goal on 25 January 2021 in a 7–1 win over the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

. On 10 October 2021, Juolevi was traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Noah Juulsen and Juho Lammikko. He began the season on the Panthers roster, adding depth to the blueline in remaining as a healthy scratch. Yet to feature with the Panthers, he was assigned on a conditioning stint to AHL affiliate, the

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affi ...

, before returning to the Panthers and making his debut against the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mul ...

on 10 December 2021. He went scoreless over 10 games before on 5 March 2022, Juolevi was placed on waivers by the Panthers. The following day, Juolevi tenure with the Panthers ended after he was claimed by the Detroit Red Wings. On July 27, 2022, Juolevi signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Anaheim Ducks.

International play

Juolevi played for Finland at the 2016 World Junior Championships, where they won gold on 5 January 2016. In recognition of his play, he was named to the tournament All-star team. Juolevi was named Finland's captain for the 2017 World Junior Championships. In the tournament, Finland was unable to match their success from the previous year, placing ninth and defeating Team Latvia to avoid

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Juolevi, Olli 1998 births Living people Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players Detroit Red Wings players London Knights players Ice hockey people from Helsinki Finnish ice hockey defencemen Florida Panthers players Memorial Cup winners National Hockey League first-round draft picks San Diego Gulls (AHL) players HC TPS players Utica Comets players Vancouver Canucks draft picks Vancouver Canucks players