NHL Mock Draft 2016: Vancouver Canucks Select Olli Juolevi with No. 5 Pick

Name: Olli Juolevi

Team: London Knights (OHL)

Position: Defence

Height: 6' 2"

Weight: 183 lb

Shoots: Left

Born in: Helsinki, Finland (May 5th, 1998)

What Happened to Tkachuk/Dubois!?

With the folks over at Copper & Blue choosing Pierre-Luc Dubois; the decision came down to adding the best available forward (Matthew Tkachuk) or drafting from a position of need and bringing in the best option for our blue line. After all the votes had been cast, counted, recounted and counted again, Olli Juolevi is our guy.

What can Olli do?

Olli Juolevi is a strong, skilled defenceman with great vision, hockey sense and skating ability. While he's not afraid to get physical, he knows how to pick his battles and make the right play when the puck is on his stick. He has an impressive all around game and is considered one of the most well rounded defenceman in this years draft.

His strong passing game and ability to join the rush helped him finish third in scoring for rookie defensemen in the OHL this season with 9 goals and 42 points. By the middle of the season, scouts were penciling Juolevi into the top 10, with some already considering him over the likes of Jakob Chychrun and Mikhail Sergachev.

You may also recognize Olli Juolevi from the 2015-2016 World Junior Championship, where his 9 assists tied for first in points by a defenceman and broke the record for most points by a 17 year old blue liner (Ryan Ellis of theNashville Predators had 7 in 2009). Leading the team in ice time on the back end, he helped his team win Gold for the second time in three years.