Ex-Canucks defenceman Olli Juolevi picked up by Red Wings

Olli Juolevi is the newest member of the Detroit Red Wings.

Placed on waivers yesterday by the Florida Panthers, it was announced just after 11 am PT that Juolevi was officially claimed by the Red Wings.

Both players on waivers were claimed today: Olli Juolevi (DET), Austin Czarnik (NYI).

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 6, 2022

Juolevi, a 2016 first round pick by the Canucks, never quite stuck with the organization the way that former Canucks general manager Jim Benning hoped when he was selected at fifth overall.

Taken one spot ahead of Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk, Juolevi managed just 23 NHL games with the Canucks before being traded to Florida for Juho Lammikko and Noah Juulsen this past October.

Juolevi dealt with a bad bout of COVID-19 last season, and looked a step behind the pack when doing former coach Travis Green’s bag skate in Canucks training camp to begin the year.

“[Juolevi] was one of our guys who got really sick,” Benning said back in May. “He lost a bunch of weight there in those three weeks. I think he lost 10-15 pounds.”

Juolevi’s Florida tenure wasn’t all that glamourous either: 10 games, zero goals, and zero assists.

Detroit could be hoping to turn the 23-year-old Juolevi into a serviceable NHL defenceman, nearly six years removed from his draft. More likely, though, they see him as able to fill in on their blueline as the team is poised to be a seller come trade deadline.

Juolevi carries a cap hit of $750k on a one-year contract that expires this offseason, after which he will be an unrestricted free agent.

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