A massive setback for the Jokers – star acquisition on the operating table!

Helsinki Jokerit received bad news just months before the start of the new Liiga season. The club announced on its social media channels that one of the summer’s most notable signings, Olli Juolevi, will undergo surgery due to an injury revealed in examinations.

According to Jokerit, the injury dates back to last spring’s Liiga playoffs.

– The injury originates from last spring’s Liiga playoffs and ended the defender’s season. Juolevi has already started rehabilitation after the surgery, and the recovery timeline will be clarified later, the club states in its Instagram post.

This setback is significant, especially since Juolevi was expected to be one of the cornerstones of Jokerit’s defense in the upcoming Liiga season.

The 28-year-old defender’s career has unfortunately been plagued by injuries. Last season, Juolevi played only 26 games with Tappara’s championship team. In the season prior, he managed just 18 games.

Juolevi’s story is one of Finnish hockey’s great what-if tales. The defender was drafted into the NHL in the summer of 2016 as the fifth player overall, and he was expected to rise among the world’s top defenders.

However, his NHL career never fully took off, partly due to ongoing injuries. Nevertheless, Juolevi has played a total of 105 NHL games.

Now Jokerit must wait for more information regarding their star defender’s situation. For now, it is unclear how much the surgery will affect Juolevi’s preparation and the start of next season.