The Vancouver Canucks selected defenseman Olli Juolevi with the fifth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft on Friday.

Olli Juolevi

Position: Defense
Height: 6-2
Weight: 183 pounds
Age: 18
Club: London (OHL)
Nationality: Finnish

(Even-strength stats courtesy: prospect-stats.com)

Juolevi was fantastic in his first season in North America, recording nine goals and 32 assists and leading all rookies with a plus-38 rating after transferring from Jokerit's under-20 team in Finland to the OHL's London Knights.

But the young Finn really made his mark at the World Junior Championship, where he and fellow 2016 draft prospects Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi led their country to a gold medal in Helsinki. He finished the tournament with nine assists in seven games.

Juolevi is a great two-way defenseman who can play in any situation. With "elite-level vision and hockey sense," according to Elite Prospects, the 18-year-old is comparable to fellow Finnish blue-liner Olli Maatta, who also possesses great skating ability and skill.

The first defenseman off the board, Juolevi is also the third-highest Finnish blue-liner ever selected at the NHL Draft.

With the addition of Erik Gudbranson, Vancouver has six defenders under contract for next year. So despite Juolevi being as NHL-ready as any blue-liner on the board, it's a long shot he'll contribute next season.

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The Edmonton Oilers selected forward Jesse Puljujarvi with the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft on Friday.

Jesse Puljujarvi

Position: RW
Height: 6-3
Weight: 210 lbs
Age: 18
Club: Kärpät (Liiga)
Nationality: Finnish

Puljujarvi entered the draft as the third-ranked European skater, bumped down a peg in light of American-born Auston Matthews' decision to play in Switzerland this past season, and ultimately listed behind countryman Patrik Laine, with whom he battled for the second spot for quite some time.

The 18-year-old is described as a big winger who combines size, skating, and skill; a smart player at both ends of the ice who compares well to Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars, according to Elite Prospects.

Puljujarvi carries 71 games of Finnish Elite League experience with him, recording 17 goals and 39 assists (0.55 point per game) as a teenage pro. He also led the 2016 World Junior Championships in scoring with five goals and 12 assists for the dominant and gold medal winning Finnish side.

The Oilers get another promising winger to add to their stable of talented forwards. Edmonton is loaded with trade assets up front and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is reportedly on the block, so it makes sense to add a blue-chip, cost-effective forward to the organization.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets selected forward Pierre-Luc Dubois with the third overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft on Friday.

Pierre-Luc Dubois

Position: Left Wing
Height: 6-3
Weight: 202 pounds
Age: 17
Club: Cape Breton (QMJHL)
Nationality: Canadian

(Even-strength stats courtesy: prospect-stats.com)

Dubois was NHL Central Scouting's top-ranked North American skater ahead of the draft, having shot up to No. 1 after a midterm ranking of seventh. After scoring only 10 goals in 54 games in his first season with Cape Breton, Dubois exploded in 2015-16, finishing with 42 goals, 99 points, and 112 penalty minutes in 65 games. He had seven goals and 12 points in 12 playoff games.

A "dynamic two-way winger," according to Elite Prospects, Dubois plays in all situations and possesses above-average hockey IQ. He's been compared to NHLers like James Neal and Patrick Marleau.

Dubois isn't as physical a player as many would hope considering his size, and his skating is thought to be his biggest downside.

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What's old is new again.

The Toronto Maple Leafs officially revealed their new uniforms upon selecting Auston Matthews with the first overall pick in the draft Friday night.

James Mirtle of The Globe & Mail passed along a closer look at the inscription on the collar.

The jerseys were leaked Thursday night when the Leafs accidentally uploaded a video featuring the new look to their mobile app.

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The Auston Matthews era is officially underway in Toronto, as the Maple Leafs locked down the consensus No. 1-ranked prospect in the 2016 Draft on Friday.

It's been a long time coming for the Maple Leafs and their fans, and Matthews officially donning blue and white set Twitter ablaze.

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The Winnipeg Jets selected Patrik Laine with the second overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft on Friday.

Patrik Laine

Position: LW/RW
Height: 6-4
Weight: 206 pounds
Age: 18
Club: Tappara Tampere (Liiga)
Nationality: Finnish

Laine was can't-miss programming in the latter portion of his inspired, fervid, and impassioned crusade toward the draft floor. This is a prospect that made it his mission, on the ice and on the mic, to unseat Auston Matthews as the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft.

This is a supremely talented, exceedingly dynamic, NHL-ready scorer with the skill set pundits liken to Alex Ovechkin, and who's as physically prepared to take on the challenge at the next level as any lottery pick. His robust frame, elite shot, and underrated vision and passing capability makes him a terror in the offensize zone. His one flaw, at least in an attacking capacity, would be his average skating ability compared to other top prospects.

He was a national force over the last calendar year for three separate teams. Laine helped Finland win gold at U-18 and U-20 tournaments before being named to the senior team for last month's World Championship. There, he scored seven goals and five assists in 10 games, earning MVP honors in a competition saturated with elite NHL talent.

Laine totalled 33 points in 46 regular-season games at the club level before absolutely exploding in the playoffs. He spliced together a personal highlight tape (see below) with 10 goals and five assists in 18 games, and was named, unsurprisingly, playoff MVP as Tappara Tampere captured the Liiga title.

The decorated sniper immediately becomes the best prospect in Winnipeg's loaded system, and jump to the front of the line, factoring on opening night.

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The Montreal Canadiens have traded Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals for second-round draft selections in 2017 and 2018, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced Friday.

Washington stated its intent to shore up the top six after a disappointing end to what was a record-breaking season, and Eller should be able to provide that upgrade.

He's hit double-digit goal totals in four of his six seasons with Montreal, performing predominantly in a bottom-six capacity. But always thought to have more to provide, he failed to live up to expectations in top-six opportunities.

He will earn $9 million over the next two seasons, but will only cost the Capitals $3.5 million against the salary cap.

The trade directly preceded the announcement that Montreal had acquired Andrew Shaw from the Chicago Blackhawks, also for two second-round draft selections.

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The Chicago Blackhawks traded forward Andrew Shaw to the Montreal Canadiens for two 2016 second-round picks, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced at the NHL Draft.

The deal was announced after Bettman revealed the Canadiens traded forward Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals for two second-round picks, one in 2017 and one in 2018.

Shaw's a restricted free agent, and another casualty of the Blackhawks' salary-cap issues. He had 14 goals and 20 assists in 78 games this past season, and had six points in six playoff games. He was a fifth-round pick in the 2011 draft and won two Stanley Cups with Chicago.

The Belleville, Ontario native will turn 25 on July 19, and made $2.5 million last season. He's reportedly seeking at least $4.5 million per season on his next deal.

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It was a formality: The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Auston Matthews with the first overall pick at the 2016 NHL Draft on Friday.

Auston Matthews

Position: Center
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 194 pounds
Age: 18
Club: Zurich (Switzerland National League)
Nationality: American

Matthews' journey to Friday night was an unconventional one. The 18-year-old was born in San Ramon, Calif., and grew up in Scottsdale, Ariz. He didn't play junior or college hockey, instead spending three years in the United States Hockey League before playing his draft year for Zurich in the Swiss League - where he acquitted himself more than adequately.

The teenager played at better than a point-per-game pace among men in Switzerland, proof that he boasts a very high hockey IQ. In addition to being offensively gifted, he plays a complete game. He's got elite hands, and he's a strong, excellent skater. He's more than NHL-ready, he's the total package.

Marc Crawford, who coached Matthews in Zurich, had nothing but praise for the forward in a profile in The Globe and Mail.

His puck-handling skills are off the chart. I'm always amazed at the things he can do. And it really translates in a game. His short-area game is at an NHL level for sure - and it’s at an NHL-elite level. I believe that's a lot of what the game is becoming. Those little plays that you make when you're getting checked. People are pinching up so much more now and there's so much confrontation at the blue lines that you've got to be able to make plays in that five-foot area. You've got to be able to protect the puck and get by people. He does those things exceptionally well.

During the Stanley Cup Final, Matthews was asked what one attribute he'd steal from a player on the Pittsburgh Penguins or San Jose Sharks. "Sidney Crosby's puck-protection skills," he said. The kid gets it.

Matthews impressed outside of Switzerland in 2015-16, too. He had seven goals and four assists in seven games for the U.S. at the World Junior Hockey Championship, and six goals and three assists in 10 games at the World Championship. All eyes were on him during both tournaments, yet he performed, and that will serve him well as he heads north.

The prospect base in Toronto is that much stronger Friday night with the addition of Matthews, who immediately rises to the top of the group. The Maple Leafs' future is Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner. That's something, yeah.

For the first time since Mats Sundin patrolled the middle in Toronto, the Maple Leafs have a prospect who projects to be a No. 1 center.

View a video of Matthews highlights here.

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Insider commentary prior to the NHL draft on Friday proved to be fodder for the Columbus Blue Jackets' social media team.

The team's Twitter account provided this perfectly executed online quip when various NHL insiders provided running commentary of a discussion between Jarmo Kekalainen, and fellow executives Brad Treliving and Peter Chiarelli.

Chiarelli and Treliving are scheduled to select in lottery position soon after Kekalainen.

The wheel awaits.

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