As impressive as Juolevi had been in two days of skills and skating drills, the puck movement and decision-making that made him the Canucks' highest drafted defenseman in 18 years (Bryan Allen, No. 4, 1998) really stood out once the coaches opened things up for a half-hour game against his peers.
"Of course, if it's a game you want to show what you have and how good you are," Juolevi said.
Whether it was making two forecheckers miss in the corner before skating the puck up ice, making a quick reverse under pressure to an open defense partner for another easy exit, or setting up a goal with a nice pass at the other blue line, Juolevi stood out Wednesday.
"He sees things so much different from other players," Smyl said. "Making a play, jumping in, backing off, for me at the end of the day, it's his poise. He doesn't get rattled, he knows what he's doing with the puck really quickly. Those are the things our scouting staff talked about and today was the first day I really saw it. You watch these kids and they all skate really well, but that's the separator, his hockey instinct and his poise. He doesn't get rattled by pressure."
The reality is Juolevi will almost certainly spend at least one more season with London in the Ontario Hockey League, where he had nine goals and 33 assists in 57 regular-season games before winning the Memorial Cup Championship in May. He also should return to the blue line for Finland at the World Junior Championships in December after helping the Finns win the gold medal last season with nine assists, tops among defensemen in the tournament.
For now, though, Juolevi is looking forward to getting back home to Helsinki after a long first season in North America. But it's not as if the 6-foot-3, 179-pound, left-shot defensemen is going home to rest for the summer. Juolevi plans to start working next week with a personal trainer and skating coach, part of a group of five that will include Teuvo Teravainen of the Carolina Hurricanes and Jesse Puljujarvi, who was picked one spot ahead of Joulevi in the draft by the Edmonton Oilers.
"It's a pretty short (break), but when I get home and there is no media all the time and all those things, it's more relaxing for me just to work out," Juolevi said. "I have to get stronger if I want to play in the NHL at a high level."
Learning how to do that properly is a big part of development camp, but it doesn't sound as if the Canucks need to worry about their hopeful future first-pair defenseman bulking up too much. He knows where his strengths lie.
