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The Prospector: Petrus Palmu, Olli Juolevi, and Jack Rathbone

There are certain Canucks prospects that have gotten a lot of press lately. Elias Pettersson dominated the SHL. Jonathan Dahlen excelled in the playoffs for Timrå and is trying to do the same in Utica.
Olli Juolevi of the Vancouver Canucks

There are certain Canucks prospects that have gotten a lot of press lately. Elias Pettersson dominated the SHL. Jonathan Dahlen excelled in the playoffs for Timrå and is trying to do the same in Utica. Adam Gaudette won the Hobey Baker and had a solid NHL debut. Even Lukas Jasek came flying in out of nowhere to make a splash in the Canucks’ prospect pool.

But let’s look at a few of the other guys in the Canucks’ system. It’s not that all of them are under the radar — one is a blue-chip prospect that the Canucks are counting on to be a key part of the core going forward — but a little less attention has been paid to them of late.

Let’s take a look at Petrus Palmu, Olli Juolevi, and Jack Rathbone.

Petrus Palmu

After getting selected in the sixth round by the Canucks in the 2017 draft, Palmu went back to Finland to play for TPS in the Finnish Liiga. There, he led all rookies in scoring with 17 goals and 36 points in 59 games.

I don’t want that to be misleading: while he was a rookie, he’s already 20 years old, as he was drafted at the age of 19. He was out-scored by 18-year-old Kristian Vesalainen, a first-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets, it’s just that Vesalainen isn’t technically a rookie by Finnish standards, as he played nine Liiga games last season.

Still, it was a solid season for Palmu, who followed it up with four goals and six points in 10 playoff games, good for second in rookie scoring in the playoffs behind his teammate, Olli Juolevi.

While Palmu still has one year remaining on his contract with TPS, he could potentially get out of that contract and make his debut in North America next season.

 

 

Since the Finnish Liiga publishes some advanced statistics on their website, we know that Palmu had a very good season in terms of possession statistics. He was third on TPS with a 56.0% corsi at 5-on-5, though he did have the fourth-highest ratio of offensive zone starts to defensive zone starts on the team. As a young rookie, he may have been a bit sheltered, but did well with what he was given. In fact, he led all Liiga rookies in shot-attempt differential.

His highlight reel from the past season is delightful, showing a player capable of scoring from almost any angle with an absolutely lethal wrist shot, but also someone willing to go to the dirty areas of the ice to finish plays. Some of the passes are also superb, showing some great vision in the offensive zone.

Of course, the biggest question mark for Palmu is his size. His hockey hero is Martin St. Louis for a reason, though Palmu is actually an inch shorter than St. Louis. While he’s not shy about darting into dangerous areas and has a strong, stocky frame, his size will still be a challenge for Palmu as he attempts to make the NHL.

Olli Juolevi

The Canucks’ top prospect on defence had an up-and-down season with TPS in the Finnish Liiga. When he was in the lineup, he played a regular shift, averaging just under 18 minutes per game during the regular season. At times, however, he was a healthy scratch, which raised eyebrows on this side of the pond.

Juolevi finished with 19 points in 38 games during the regular season, while posting a very respectable 53.6% corsi. During the playoffs, he stepped up his game even more.

“He had a really good year,” said former Canuck and current TPS assistant coach Sami Salo. “He improved in the areas he needed, like in the defensive zone. He had a great playoffs, he carried the team after we lost a key defenseman. He took the team on his shoulders, we were really happy with his development.”

Juolevi led TPS in ice time in the playoffs, averaging just under 23 minutes per game, and led their defencemen in scoring with 7 points in 11 games. He was dominant in puck possession, posting a 60.4% corsi, and had a whopping 46 shots in the 11 games, including one game where he had 10 shots on goal.

It’s an encouraging sign for Juolevi and another is that he’s been invited to play for Finland at the World Hockey Championships. He’ll be part of what looks to be a young Finnish defence that will also include Miro Heiskanen.

We got to see a little of Juolevi’s calm and poised game at the World Juniors, which the highlight reel below doesn’t really capture. The highlights generally only show goals, which displays his wristshot. It would be nice to see a bit more from his slap shot, which still needs some work.

We also get a glimpse, however, of his great hands at the blue line and his passing ability. Hopefully we get to see a bit more at the World Championships.

Jack Rathbone

It’s been hard to keep up to date on Jack Rathbone, as he is playing so far from the public eye. He spent most of the year playing high school hockey in the New England Prep circuit.

We do know that Rathbone was injured early in the season, missing several games. When he did get back in the lineup, he wound up leading all prep hockey defencemen in points per game with 1.76. He had 11 goals and 30 points in just 17 games. That seems good, but it’s hard to really know for sure. What’s a good rate of scoring in New England Prep hockey?

It was a step up for Rathbone from his previous season, but still behind that year’s leader for defencemen, Reilly Walsh, a third-round pick of the New Jersey Devils. Walsh averaged 2.30 points per game that season, while Rathbone was second among defenceman with 1.59 points per game.

Rathbone will join Walsh at Harvard next year. Walsh put up 20 points in 33 games with Harvard this season and it’s reasonable to expect a bit less than that from Rathbone.

Rathbone also played for the Cape Cod Whalers at the Chipotle-USA Hockey Youth Tier I 18U National Championship. Yes, that is the name of the tournament. He had a hat trick in one game to send the Whalers to the semi-finals. They eventually lost in the finals, where Rathbone had one goal.

His second goal of his hat trick was a rather nice penalty shot tally.

 

 

From what I’ve been able to see of Rathbone, he’s got fantastic speed and a knack for knowing when to jump up in the play. With his speed, he has the ability to take chances on the rush and get back in time to be in position defensively. Whether he’ll be able to do that at higher levels is another question.

At just 5’10”, he’ll have to be an excellent skater in order to have any hope of making the NHL. He’s the biggest wild card in the Canucks’ prospect pool, as the Canucks are hoping he has the upside to be an impact puck-mover at the NHL level.