Player Discussion Jesse Puljujärvi 4th Overall 2016 Draft.

[Jimmi McJenkins]

I am one of the few that thinks McDavid will not and should not be facing top competition.

Leave him with Ebs and Maroon as the "second" line in terms of quality of competition and have Lucic with Nuge to do the heavy lifting.

It would be unfair to put Puli on that line in terms of competition. But would be a great opportunity for the kid as well. Playing with our two most experienced guys.

I hope to see Lucic RNH and Puli as a line for a good chunk of the season if Puli legitimately makes and stays on the team.

He's McDavid, whoever he plays with will face top competition by default, and Lucic didn't sign here to play with Nuge/Draisaitl. He may end up on a line like that because it works better for the team, but you're fooling yourself if you think Lucic isn't "penned" on to McDavid's Left side.

 

[Hokinaittii]

Hopefully some of you will find this interesting.

 

[ResilientBeast]

I am one of the few that thinks McDavid will not and should not be facing top competition.

Leave him with Ebs and Maroon as the "second" line in terms of quality of competition and have Lucic with Nuge to do the heavy lifting.

It would be unfair to put Puli on that line in terms of competition. But would be a great opportunity for the kid as well. Playing with our two most experienced guys.

I hope to see Lucic RNH and Puli as a line for a good chunk of the season if Puli legitimately makes and stays on the team.

I'm sorry but if a team isn't sending their best to defend against McDavid they're doing it wrong.

 

[McArthur]

I'm sorry but if a team isn't sending their best to defend against McDavid they're doing it wrong.

This indeed, especially on the road. At home, you can do as you please. But RNH should log 20 minutes at home. But if Puljujarvi makes the team; he'll need a staple center in the form of RNH. We don't know yet if he makes the team. Draisaitl didn't right out of camp. And we don't know how Puljujarvi is going to handle the speed of the game.

 

[Booster*]

This indeed, especially on the road. At home, you can do as you please. But RNH should log 20 minutes at home. But if Puljujarvi makes the team; he'll need a staple center in the form of RNH. We don't know yet if he makes the team. Draisaitl didn't right out of camp. And we don't know how Puljujarvi is going to handle the speed of the game.

Handling the speed actually seems like the last thing to be concerned about regarding Pulju.

i think he will adapt fairly quickly

 

[Not Robin Brownlee]

I think I chuckle to myself once per day on this steal at #4. I maintain I would take him over Laine.

 

[Aerchon]

I think I chuckle to myself once per day on this steal at #4. I maintain I would take him over Laine.

While I doubt that would actually happen the caliber of this prospect really is incredible that we got him at 4.

He has no significant weaknesses in any aspect of the game. That's so incredibly rare.

Hope he tears it up this fall.

 

[Canovin]

I'm sorry but if a team isn't sending their best to defend against McDavid they're doing it wrong.

I agree. Teams will send their best shut down line against McDavid until one of other lines becomes even hotter. That's the advantage of having 3 scoring lines. One line cools off or gets shut down, there's 2 more threats ready to unload.

 

[bucks_oil]

I agree. Teams will send their best shut down line against McDavid until one of other lines becomes even hotter. That's the advantage of having 3 scoring lines. One line cools off or gets shut down, there's 2 more threats ready to unload.

Agree with this... and every line is going to have a mix of size and skill, pretty much no matter who plays where. All of our LW are big to huge and all of our RW are dynamic (or at least supposed to be) offensively.

As long as we don't go: Lucic McD Ebs, we'll have balanced offense (I think for RNH/Drai's production, one of them must have Lucic or Ebs... we need to bury Yak with McD in my opinion.

 

[Mr Positive]

He's McDavid, whoever he plays with will face top competition by default, and Lucic didn't sign here to play with Nuge/Draisaitl. He may end up on a line like that because it works better for the team, but you're fooling yourself if you think Lucic isn't "penned" on to McDavid's Left side.

that is not true. Yes, there is a limit to how sheltered he could really get, but at home games we get last change so we pick who he plays against. We also can always pick which zones he plays his minutes in. There's lots of ways that we can and will shelter McDavid.

 

[McShogun99]

I think I chuckle to myself once per day on this steal at #4. I maintain I would take him over Laine.

This draft essentially had 3 #1 picks with Matthews getting the edge due to being a center. Poolparty is actually a perfect fit for this team because of the style and position he plays.

 

[jebs]

This draft essentially had 3 #1 picks with Matthews getting the edge due to being a center. Poolparty is actually a perfect fit for this team because of the style and position he plays.

Eh fans say this stuff every year. I remember leafs fans posting that Marner is a normal 1 overall guy too, just unlucky to be in very top heavy draft.
Pulj is a good #4 overall guy.

I would take Laine and Mathews over him easily. I've seen all this hype on here so many times before. He hasn't proven anything yet.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

that is not true. Yes, there is a limit to how sheltered he could really get, but at home games we get last change so we pick who he plays against. We also can always pick which zones he plays his minutes in. There's lots of ways that we can and will shelter McDavid.

Probably, there's always ways to try and not win as well.

 

[Aerchon]

Eh fans say this stuff every year. I remember leafs fans posting that Marner is a normal 1 overall guy too, just unlucky to be in very top heavy draft.
Pulj is a good #4 overall guy.

I would take Laine and Mathews over him easily. I've seen all this hype on here so many times before. He hasn't proven anything yet.

I would take Mathews for sure.

Laine, while more dynamic than both, has the traditional holes in his game that make him less of a complete package than Mathews or Puli. Skating needs work and his 200 foot game needs work.

 

[Mr Positive]

Probably, there's always ways to try and not win as well.

and to win games it would be smart to give McDavid as much PP time as we can, let him play in the offensive zone as much as we can, limit his minutes to a degree while he's young to keep him fresh, and take advantage of matchups when we can to put our best offensive player in an even better position to score goals.

We'll be depending on McDavid to push our offense, and it would be a big mistake to put the full burden of the team on him as if he were a veteran already.

 

[Homesick]

I think I chuckle to myself once per day on this steal at #4. I maintain I would take him over Laine.

International Scouting Services had Puljujarvi as the second best player in the draft as well. They're not some hack blogger that just puts out a list as click bait.

 

[Biltmore]

Pulljoy was a steal at #4 !

 

[McOvechking]

Could anyone else see Pulju being our second best all-around forward this year?

I don't think people realize Puljujarvi might well end up being better than Hall.

 

[Raab]

From what I've seen of Puljujarvi, he reminds of Malkin when he plays RW. Big playmaking RW who can skate. Still don't understand Columbus passing on him for Dubois of all people. There's a very real chance Dubois never becomes anything more then a 2/3rd line tweener and Puljujarvi becomes one of the best RW's in the league.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

and to win games it would be smart to give McDavid as much PP time as we can, let him play in the offensive zone as much as we can, limit his minutes to a degree while he's young to keep him fresh, and take advantage of matchups when we can to put our best offensive player in an even better position to score goals.

We'll be depending on McDavid to push our offense, and it would be a big mistake to put the full burden of the team on him as if he were a veteran already.

Full burden of what? He's needs to get the most minutes, that's going to lead to hard match ups.

 

[BB88]

Eh fans say this stuff every year. I remember leafs fans posting that Marner is a normal 1 overall guy too, just unlucky to be in very top heavy draft.
Pulj is a good #4 overall guy.

I would take Laine and Mathews over him easily. I've seen all this hype on here so many times before. He hasn't proven anything yet.

Biggest factor for Pulju going 4th was he got injured(and he's a very different prospect vs Marner), and I think that ended up as a win for him in the end but would have loved to see if he could have kept the development he had for the last few months, and if he would have gotten into the Worlds team.

After WJC to his injury he was playing better than Laine, and finished the season with 26 points in 29 games against men.
But just a bit after he got injured Laine found another gear and did what he did.

Then we can look at his junior tourneys for the last 2 years, dominating for his age (16) at the WJC 2015, 7 points in 7 games at the U18 2015.
17 points in 7 games at the WJC 2016, 7 points in 4 games at the U18 2016, while playing injured.

I think he is more than a good 4th overall.

From what I've seen of Puljujarvi, he reminds of Malkin when he plays RW. Big playmaking RW who can skate. Still don't understand Columbus passing on him for Dubois of all people. There's a very real chance Dubois never becomes anything more then a 2/3rd line tweener and Puljujarvi becomes one of the best RW's in the league.

He's said Malkin is a player he looks up to.

I believe some Columbus fans mentioned character as one reasoning.
Which would be odd considering it was Pulju vs Dupois.

Could anyone else see Pulju being our second best all-around forward this year?

I don't think people realize Puljujarvi might well end up being better than Hall.

I definitely see Pulju having the potential to be the best Rw in the game one day, his compination of skill, 2way potential, size and skating is rare, and makes him such a special prospect.

I hope he is fighting for Calder next season, and for your 1st question a promising sign is/ was Pulju being the best possession player for his Liiga team at 17, maybe he develops so well and is a top6 2way winger at the end of season.

 

[snipes]

I agree. Teams will send their best shut down line against McDavid until one of other lines becomes even hotter. That's the advantage of having 3 scoring lines. One line cools off or gets shut down, there's 2 more threats ready to unload.

100% this. Play to our strengths.

There is no "single formula" to winning in the NHL. Many different styles of play have been successful. The underlying quality has been having good players, a team that battles with 100% effort, and playing to the strengths of your roster.

 

[Mr Positive]

Full burden of what? He's needs to get the most minutes, that's going to lead to hard match ups.

McDavid already played a lot of minutes per game, and was heavily targeted. Through coaching, McLellan was able to keep his quality of competition down and push his offense in other ways like having a high offensive zone percentage and a lot of PP time. For top defensemen, it is impossible for them to run away from hard matchups, but it's actually quite easy for a coach to shelter any forward they want to. And I'm not saying that McLellan could make McDavid one of the most sheltered forwards in the league. He could make it close to average.

McDavid's minutes might go up, but I don't see McLellan taking away a lot of McDavid's prime scoring opportunities just to spread them out to the other lines more.

And then there's Draisaitl. Maybe we could get away with lumping more responsibility on McDavid as if he were a veteran, but I doubt Drai could do it. He had great offense last season, but it dried up when RNH got injured and Drai didn't have it as easy. And that's normal. Players as young as Drai and Puljujarvi, and even our other main guys like Eberle and RNH will benefit from being separated from tougher competition. None of these guys are veterans in their prime.

 

[Vanqu1sh]

McDavid already played a lot of minutes per game, and was heavily targeted. Through coaching, McLellan was able to keep his quality of competition down and push his offense in other ways like having a high offensive zone percentage and a lot of PP time. For top defensemen, it is impossible for them to run away from hard matchups, but it's actually quite easy for a coach to shelter any forward they want to. And I'm not saying that McLellan could make McDavid one of the most sheltered forwards in the league. He could make it close to average.

McDavid's minutes might go up, but I don't see McLellan taking away a lot of McDavid's prime scoring opportunities just to spread them out to the other lines more.

And then there's Draisaitl. Maybe we could get away with lumping more responsibility on McDavid as if he were a veteran, but I doubt Drai could do it. He had great offense last season, but it dried up when RNH got injured and Drai didn't have it as easy. And that's normal. Players as young as Drai and Puljujarvi, and even our other main guys like Eberle and RNH will benefit from being separated from tougher competition. None of these guys are veterans in their prime.

Mcdavid pretty much transcends his age. Not only will he be our best center and player but likely at the top of the league. He'll get the toughest comp and still outperform everyone. I see him taking the toughest assignments and putting up crazy numbers. RNH and Draisaitl will both benefit from that. I think lightening RNH's load will help him a lot offensively.

Definitely see Pulju with Mcdavid long-term, but for this season I think a partnership with Draisaitl could be very good. Pouliot-Drai-Pulju, Pulju's speed and puck carrying ability will work very well with Draisaitl, similar to how him and Hall worked together. He's a right handed stick and a bigger threat to score off his shot than Hall. Not to mention the combo of size and speed on that line would be deadly. Pouliot would be the perfect complimentary player for them as he's proven in his time here.

IMO I see Drai getting the most sheltered minutes of the 3 C's and that suits Pulju well for now as well.

 

[Mr Positive]

Pulljoy was a steal at #4 !

It really was a minor miracle (and we know what the major one was).

I had him ahead of Laine. I definitely would say he fits our needs better than Laine, although having Laine next to McDavid would have been sweet. Puljujarvi has crazy speed, size, two way play, and he is a good offensive player as well. He'll be our Landeskog.