After Jesse Puljujarvi fell into the Edmonton Oilers’ lap at fourth overall, Jim Benning faced a choice. Should he select Juolevi, or his teammate with the OHL’s London Knights, Matthew Tkachuk? The Canucks general manager decided to take Juolevi.
At the time, the choice was certainly debatable. Was Juolevi truly a better player than Tkachuk, or did Benning merely want a defenseman? The debate has raged on ever since.
To compound matters, Tkachuk is currently in the NHL — on the rival Calgary Flames, no less — and has scored 46 points in 67 games.