Anaheim Ducks give former top 5 pick his last chance in the NHL

Back in 2016, with the 5th overall pick the Vancouver Canucks thought they were drafting a stud defenceman in Olli Juolevi. He had just put up 9 goals, 42 points in 57 games for the London Knights, went on to win the World Juniors goal with team Finland where her recorded 9 points in 7 games, he looked like he was going to develop into the stud defenceman all the experts thought he would be. Unfortunately though, a few years later Juolevi just did not pan out for the Canucks and he was traded on 2021-Oct-10 to the Florida Panthers.

Juolevi then played 10 games with the Panthers before getting placed on waivers and was claimed by the Detroit Red Wings. He played in 8 games last year for the Wings and did not register a point.

Yesterday the Anaheim Ducks gave him another shot at being an NHL defenceman, signing him to a one-year, two-way contract with an AAV of $750k in the NHL and $175k in the AHL.

NEWS: We have signed Olli Juolevi to a one-year contract. #FlyTogether https://t.co/cD2I9fCZx6— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) July 27, 2022

Due to his age, he will still be a restricted free agent at the end of this contract, so let's hope Juolevi puts in the work this offseason and becomes that defenceman for the Ducks that everyone hoped he could be.