Florida Panthers place defenseman Olli Juolevi on waivers

The Florida Panthers placed defenseman Olli Juolevi on waivers on Saturday afternoon.

Juolevi, 23, has not registered a point in 10 appearances this season. He’s averaged 12:27 of ice time. Juolevi also played three games in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers on a conditioning stint in December.

Juolevi was the No. 5 overall pick by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2016 NHL Draft, selected one slot before of Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames, and ahead of other defenseman on the board such as Mikhail Sergachev, Charlie McAvoy and Jakob Chychrun.

The Panthers waived Juolevi to create roster space for the impending recall of goaltender Spencer Knight, as reported by Daily Faceoff on Friday.

Likely one more corresponding roster move will need to be made in order to recall Knight. Forward Maxim Mamin is also waiver exempt and can be sent to the AHL without requiring waivers.

The Panthers traded for Juolevi on Oct. 10, 2021 in exchange for Noah Juulsen and Juho Lammikko.