Juolevi, Laine & Puljujärvi.

[Svedu]

I know there are people that would and could debate about their actual talent level back in the days etc. Even if Laine clearly showed what he could do early on.
But isn't it pretty darn insane that all those highly touted Finnish prospects from the same draft have been so injury prone? I mean like on a whole other level. On that kind of level that makes it almost impossible if not in fact impossible to reach your full potential. Almost like there was a spell on those Finnish prospects from that particular round and draft year.

Dubois has been controversial. Alex Nylander looked a lot more promising than what he has achieved so far as well.
Jost another one. Borgström...
I mean there are some good picks from that draft as well, don't get me wrong. Mostly from NA though. But those three finns.

My question is, has something close to this ever happened before? Like three out of top5 picks from the same draft that get injured on that level?

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[EXTRAS]

If all 3 lived up to their potential that's the best Finnish draft class in history and the Finnish national team would have been a step up from where it's at for a decade.

 

[VeteranPresence]

JP's hips have been an issue sure but it's more his lack of hockey sense that has held him back. Laine couldn't have done anything to avoid being kneehunted by a goon. Juolevi is really the only one of those three who qualifies.

 

[McShogun99]

I thought Juolevi was going to be a star in the NHL after watching him in junior.

 

[Coffees]

I thought Juolevi was going to be a star in the NHL after watching him in junior.

You’re usually good with prospects

 

[Siludin]

Honestly feeling pretty happy for Juolevi insofar as he returned to Finland, but was able to capture the championship last year for Tappara.

Obviously it never panned out for him in the NHL, but he ended up with more hardware than most players do in their careers.
I'd love to see him return and sneak onto another NHL roster somehow, but he has been with a lot of orgs.

Edit: On the subject of injury, he also played 65 games last season, which is the most he played since 2016/2017 (his final junior year). Sami Salo-inspired bad injury luck.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Not sure your point.

Laine and Pulijarvi were predicted to 2 and 3. Debois was the surprise pick and Juolevi was a shock pick for some.

The 2016 draft unfolded for the first about 10 to 15 accept for the BJS passing on Pulijarvi and the canucks drafting Juolevi way to early

 

[Romang67]

Was Puljujärvi particularly injury prone? He had hip surgery in his draft+3 season, but other than that he seemed to just be kinda bad. I didn't get the impression that his skating held him back before that surgery either. He just skated to the wrong spots.

The 2000 draft probably has it beat regardless. DiPietro and Heatley went #1 and #2, and both careers were irrevocably damaged by injuries.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Kakko hasn’t been the most durable either


Bottom line never draft Finnnishmen

 

[Siludin]

Kakko hasn’t been the most durable either


Bottom line never draft Finnnishmen

They're completely... done? complete? what's the word again?

 

[Bank Shot]

Pretty crazy how no one was talking about Aho, and still aren't.

He has ended up being the best one by a mile.

Regardless of injuries, the other 3 were nowhere as good as touted even when healthy. Laine was good at scoring goals, but never came close to the hype level. Puljujarvi was likely 100% a product of Aho.

It's quite possible all 3 only looked as good in the tournament as they did, because Aho is the water that lifts all boats.



Selanne knew what was up.

 

[WayTooCold]

Laine is injured all the time and spends his time w/ PlayStation.
Pulju is a crackpot.
Juolevi was overhyped 100x by the Finnish dick riders.

When has Finland developed real talent? Like never? Just some ok grinders but not real stars.

 

[tucker3434]

That 2016 U20 roster was nasty. I tuned in to watch Rantanen, but Puljujarvi, Aho, and Laine were the stars that year. Juolevi had a great tournament too. Definitely a surprising result in the end.

 

[PunchImlach is Alive]

Paganism and sorcery has been common in Finnish regions since at least the 17th century. Could come down to something as simple as needing a healing charm when prospects make their way across the Atlantic.

 

[Toby91ca]

JP's hips have been an issue sure but it's more his lack of hockey sense that has held him back. Laine couldn't have done anything to avoid being kneehunted by a goon. Juolevi is really the only one of those three who qualifies.

What?

1 - Laine wasn't kneehunted by anyone
2 - He absolutely could have done something to avoid it
3 - An event in September 2024 didn't cause him to miss 64 games in 23/24, 27 games in 22/23, 26 games in 21/22 and 10 games in 20/21.

 

[GreeningOil]

Was Puljujärvi particularly injury prone? He had hip surgery in his draft+3 season, but other than that he seemed to just be kinda bad. I didn't get the impression that his skating held him back before that surgery either. He just skated to the wrong spots.

The 2000 draft probably has it beat regardless. DiPietro and Heatley went #1 and #2, and both careers were irrevocably damaged by injuries.

He’s just busy prone lol

 

[Mr Kot]

Paganism and sorcery has been common in Finnish regions since at least the 17th century. Could come down to something as simple as needing a healing charm when prospects make their way across the Atlantic.

this but unironically

 

[NVious]

Paganism and sorcery has been common in Finnish regions since at least the 17th century. Could come down to something as simple as needing a healing charm when prospects make their way across the Atlantic.

Maybe this is the problem.

Too many Finnish prospects are too reliant on witchcraft and black magick to get them to the NHL, instead of practicing their skating or shooting they are reading grimoires and creating alchemical potions, that stuff is much weaker in North America.

I heard Laine wasn't even asking for a monetary aspect of his next contract he just demanded "unlimited chickens and amulets"

 

[Cup or Bust]

There was one Oilers training camp that Puljujarvi looked great but it never translated to the regular season. He looks great very briefly and then gets lost on the ice for the next 10-15 games and can't seem to get much done.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

I thought Juolevi was going to be a star in the NHL after watching him in junior.

I thought he was the safe pick of the D in that draft. The guy I wanted was Sergachev though. Sometimes wonder who we would have drafted if Puljujarvi was drafted by Columbus as expected.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Laine couldn't have done anything to avoid being kneehunted by a goon.

If Pare was a goon, he would have fought Wi-Fi instead of running away.

and the canucks drafting Juolevi way to early

"Way to early" is stretching it. The Canucks should definitely have taken Tkachuk with their pick instead, even without hindsight. But he was solidly rated in the Top 10 by most scouts. Injuries definitely derailed his development and ended up sewering his career.

I'd put him and Laine in the same injury prone tier... Pool Party turned out to just not have an NHL mind.

 

[AvroArrow]

JP's hips have been an issue sure but it's more his lack of hockey sense that has held him back. Laine couldn't have done anything to avoid being kneehunted by a goon. Juolevi is really the only one of those three who qualifies.

Laine's lack of effort for years has been his biggest issue. Had a great rookie season, but talent will only take you so far.

 

[Breakers]

World Juniors is a hell of a drug in The scouting community

Incredibly overrated tournament
But can boost your draft stock immensely

Look at Lawson crouse

I knew Juolevi was going to suck after chatting with the London knights section of Hfboards.
They told you he wasn’t even the #1 defenceman on his team.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

I be hesitant to touch a Finnish player with a 1st round pick. Just look at the draft record of them from the last decade.

2014 Honka, Kapanen
2015 Rantanen
2016 Laine, Puljujarvi, Juolevi, Borgstrom.
2017 Heiskanen, Valimaki, Vaakanainen, Vesalainen, Jokiharju, Tolvanen
2018 Kotkaniemi, Kupari
2019 Kakko, Thomson, Heinola
2020 Lundell
2021 None
2022 Kemell, Lambert
2023 None
2024 Helenuis, Hemming

Only star players drafted last 10 years would be Rantanen and Heiskanen with 1st round picks. Guys drafted after 2021 jury out on. Lundell isn't a bad pick but still he's a 3rd liner on Florida. I do see a top 6 player there.

Overall if I was in charge of a scouting department I'm paying attention to this and drafting more out my own backyard. Just way too many misses.

 

[heksagon]

The replies are so predictable, it's the weekly "never draft Finns, they are all busts" discussion number 2541. zzzzzzzzzzz... Some Finnish posters on this site tend to overrate Finnish prospects and can be annoying, but the narrative has shifted too far the other way now.

The sample size for a small country is small enough to have ebbs and flows with busts and good picks. Draft players, not nationalities.

(Go tell Florida, Colorado, Dallas and Carolina to not draft Finns. Just saying, some pretty good teams seem to have a lot of those bust country citizens. )