Revisiting Juulsen-Juolevi Trade & DeSmith Biggest Surprise of 2023-24
Revisiting the trade that brought Noah Juulsen to the Canucks and how Casey DeSmith has been the biggest surprise of 2023-24 so far
Welcome to the THW Vancouver Canucks Substack newsletter, with all the latest from our team of Canucks writers.
In today’s edition, we revisit the 2021 trade that shipped former top prospect Olli Juolevi to the Florida Panthers for Noah Juulsen and Juho Lammikko, how Casey DeSmith has been the biggest surprise of 2023-24, and more.
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Revisiting Canucks’ Juulsen & Lammikko For Juolevi Trade
December 22, 2023 by Matthew Zator
Vancouver Canucks fans do not have fond memories looking back on the 2016 NHL Draft. The Canucks had the fifth-overall pick and decided on low-event puck-moving defenceman Olli Juolevi as their selection rather than present stars Matthew Tkachuk (197 goals), Clayton Keller (372 points), Mikhail Sergachev (two Stanley Cups, 257 points), Charlie McAvoy (247 points), or Jakob Chychrun (197 points). While it’s not good to live in the past, it’s still difficult to think what could have been if the Canucks would have selected one of those players instead of Juolevi.
Juolevi battled several major injuries in his young career and saw his development halt before being shipped off to the Florida Panthers for Noah Juulsen and Juho Lammikko on Oct. 10, 2021. All in all, he spent five seasons in the Canucks organization and only played 23 games, scoring two goals and three points. He showed flashes of being a legitimate NHL defenceman, but the surgeries to his back and knee ultimately derailed his once-promising career and destroyed the asset that made him a top prospect – his skating. Now two years removed from the trade, let’s take a look at where the different players are hanging their skates these days.
Casey DeSmith: Canucks’ Biggest Surprise of 2023-24
December 21, 2023 by The Old Prof
On Tuesday night (Dec. 19) in Nashville, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Casey DeSmith was on his game yet again. In the Canucks convincing 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators, DeSmith stopped 26 of 28 shots and led his team to another victory. His performance was particularly notable — he had allowed only one goal for the majority of the game, with the second goal coming in the third period.
This game was yet another example of DeSmith’s being consistently reliable as he’s allowed two goals or fewer in his last three starts. While the entire Canucks’ team is playing well this season and now sits second in the Pacific Division just behind the Vegas Golden Knights, DeSmith has been a huge part of his team’s success.