Player Discussion Jesse Puljujärvi 4th Overall 2016 Draft.

[Mr Positive]

who cares... lets just say that if the Oilers won the 2nd lotto and were picking 2nd overall they would have picked Laine over Puljujarvi or Dubois 10\10 times. It really was a no brainer pick by Jets and will remain that way until Puljujarvi proves to be better.. Will have to wait ~5yrs for that.

not necessarily true. If Columbus could pick Dubois over Puljujarvi, then we could have picked Puljujarvi over Laine. Puljujarvi has speed and two-way play on his side, and the fact that he's a right handed shot who plays the right side, which is exactly what we need. I'm not saying we wouldn't have picked Laine, just that no way it's 10/10

 

[BB88]

my viewings are very limited. I am going by some highlights, but mostly on what's been written by others. Although, I must say that you saying this made me google this and I did find a couple places that said he has to work on his defensive play, but that might be due to a few showings like in that tournament, and I would guess that maybe he was cheating for offense to get attention of scouts for the draft.

I see source after source touting Puljujarvi's two way play and defense zone play. Here's a thorough one: http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/p...sumed-no-2-and-3-picks-stack-up-in-key-areas/

There were many others like that I could post. I would ask you that since Puljujarvi and Laine were evenly ranked for most of the year, and that Laine is clearly superior in offense, then what exactly do you think is Puljujarvi's advantage over Laine?

He definitely has 2way skill in his game, but he's not Barkov and it will take longer to develop, as it usually does.

I can agree that Laine deserved to go before Puljujarvi but c'mon, that's not exactly fair. It's not like Laine went head to head with Puljujarvi and Laine came on top. It was more like Laine did very well and Puljujarvi got injured. If we're talking about them in terms of their skills, there is plenty of room for debate about which is better in which way. To me it's kind of like Hall vs Seguin. Hall deserved to go 1st overall, but he got to be on a stacked Windsor squad, one that allowed Hall to distinguish himself. Seguin was on a worse team so he got knocked out of the playoffs early and couldn't prove himself. And yet, as of today Seguin is ranked ahead of Hall.

I see I failed to make my point.

I didn't try to make Pulju sound worse, I tried to say he had bad luck as he got injured, at a time where his game had been developing at high rate and was playing better than Laine.

He never got the chance Laine got.
But at the same time with the chance Laine got he did everything you could ask from a prospect, and I tried to give him credit for doing that, it was amazing to watch and would have liked to see Pulju get the same chance as he did(but the injury stopped that).
To me their potential is tied, they are very different players, but in the end the injury ended up as a win for Pulju, couldn't be happier for him and as I've said before I believe he is the best fit for Oilers from this draft.

 

[Mr Positive]

He definitely has 2way skill in his game, but he's not Barkov and it will take longer to develop, as it usually does.

I see I failed to make my point.

I didn't try to make Pulju sound worse, I tried to say he had bad luck as he got injured, at a time where his game had been developing at high rate and was playing better than Laine.

He never got the chance Laine got.
But at the same time with the chance Laine got he did everything you could ask from a prospect, and I tried to give him credit for doing that, it was amazing to watch and would have like to see Pulju get the same chance as he did.
To me their potential is tied, they are very different players, but in the end the injury ended up as a win for Pulju, couldn't be happier for him and as I've said before I believe he is the best fit for Oilers from this draft.

Puljujarvi's two way play actually makes him a good fit for the Oilers. I don't really mind if it takes longer to develop. Most places say that Puljujarvi's skills are the kind that will translate to the NHL too, so maybe Laine will be the late bloomer.

as for that other part, I see now that we actually agree there. I do consider Laine ahead of Puljujarvi, but they are clearly on the same level.

 

[bobbythebrain]

Personally, I would love for us to develop and force JP to focus his game to a 200 ft game primarily.. In a couple years if he could develop into our Hossa, we are all set

 

[McFlyingV]

who cares... lets just say that if the Oilers won the 2nd lotto and were picking 2nd overall they would have picked Laine over Puljujarvi or Dubois 10\10 times. It really was a no brainer pick by Jets and will remain that way until Puljujarvi proves to be better.. Will have to wait ~5yrs for that.

Not necessarily true as we don't know the Oilers draft rankings. I think it was Bob Mckenzie who said he surveyed a few teams or maybe it was scouts from certain organizations and at least 1 out of the 5-10 (can't remember the exact number) had Puljujarvi ahead of Laine. I probably would have taken Laine just because his shot is so damn good and you can't teach that. To me Laine was always the safer pick of the 2, but Puljujarvi was the higher potential if he could put it all together. He's incredibly raw though so it remains to be seen how likely it is that he puts it all together.

The way I see it

Laine: safe bet = consistent 30G 60P winger; absolute ceiling = 45-50goal 80 point winger or a slightly lesser Ovechkin

Puljujarvi: safe bet = 20G 50P winger; absolute ceiling 35G 90P 2-way winger or a similar player to prime Hossa

No idea if either will hit those ceilings, but thats just kind of how I always viewed them. We'll see if Puljujarvi ever gets the chance and meshes with McDavid in the years to come, but that could obviously inflate things if they develop serious chemistry. Also in my ceiling projections you'd probably have to expect league scoring to increase a bit.

 

[Vanqu1sh]

Puljujarvi's two way play actually makes him a good fit for the Oilers. I don't really mind if it takes longer to develop. Most places say that Puljujarvi's skills are the kind that will translate to the NHL too, so maybe Laine will be the late bloomer.

as for that other part, I see now that we actually agree there. I do consider Laine ahead of Puljujarvi, but they are clearly on the same level.

I don't understand what you're saying? Laine will be the late bloomer and yet you have him ahead of Puljujarvi right now?

I don't think there's anything bad to say about Pulju and he's an amazing prospect, being behind Laine doesn't make him any worse as an individual. Getting Puljujarvi was amazing, but getting Laine would have been even better IMO. Laine is not some PP specialist with a shot and some size and that's it. He's an incredible all around hockey player much like Puljujarvi. He's just better at putting the puck in the net.

 

[McFlyingV]

I don't understand what you're saying? Laine will be the late bloomer and yet you have him ahead of Puljujarvi right now?

I don't think there's anything bad to say about Pulju and he's an amazing prospect, being behind Laine doesn't make him any worse as an individual. Getting Puljujarvi was amazing, but getting Laine would have been even better IMO. Laine is not some PP specialist with a shot and some size and that's it. He's an incredible all around hockey player much like Puljujarvi. He's just better at putting the puck in the net.

From my views Laine has the better wrist shot and slap shot in terms of velocity and accuracy, has better puck skills, and hits more. Puljujarvi is the better playmaker, has better skating in every way, has a bit better hockey IQ and is maybe a little better at protecting the puck.

Laine's shot and puck skills definitely give him the advantage right now, but if Jesse can improve some of his more raw areas as he grows into his body he definitely has a shot at being the better NHL player.

 

[Vanqu1sh]

From my views Laine has the better wrist shot and slap shot in terms of velocity and accuracy, has better puck skills, and hits more. Puljujarvi is the better playmaker, has better skating in every way, has a bit better hockey IQ and is maybe a little better at protecting the puck.

Laine's shot and puck skills definitely give him the advantage right now, but if Jesse can improve some of his more raw areas as he grows into his body he definitely has a shot at being the better NHL player.

Of course he does. Just reading through the Pulju/Laine threads from when they first started being discussed on HF until now shows you how much has changed in terms of how these guys are viewed, and compared to each other, over the years.

Watching the 2 I'd say Laine has a little bit better hockey IQ. It's hard to really say because he's just more polished offensively than Pulju but he's definitely the smoother offensive player with more offensive awareness at this point and I attribute that to slightly better hockey sense.

I don't think he's a better goal scorer just because he has better velocity and accuracy on his shot though. He not only has that amazing shot, but supreme command of it, when and where to use it, and just seems to have that clutch factor to score goals when his team needs it. When you watch his highlights it's easy to see he scores goals because his shot is amazing, but it's also just how he gets himself in the right spot and situation, knowing how to take advantage of the space he has to score. Just has that rare goal scoring IQ and offensive awareness. His game and size is also going to help him score goals in a myriad of other ways outside of just sniping it in the NHL which you have to be able to do if you want to score lots.

Pulju honestly has an awesome shot and release, and if he wasn't so easily compared to Laine it would probably get more fanfare. But IMO even if his shot improves to be elite like Laine's I just don't see him scoring as many goals.

But Pulju does have the skating factor, which gives him his own rare quality and potential to be a special player.

 

[ijuka]

I would ask you that since Puljujarvi and Laine were evenly ranked for most of the year, and that Laine is clearly superior in offense, then what exactly do you think is Puljujarvi's advantage over Laine?

Well, European scouts reportedly were ranking Laine ahead of Puljujärvi(And ahead of Matthews as well, for the record) since before WJC-20s, so I'm not sure how evenly they actually were ranked. American scouts can only judge European skaters so accurately, after all. I'd personally put much more value on European scouts' opinions on players playing in Europe but you are free to judge as you see fit.

Puljujärvi's advantages over Laine are in my opinion:

Skating and overall strength, conditioning and fitness levels. Especially his fitness levels are ridiculous, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he was already among the top in NHL at those. I cannot think of anything else where I'd be confident about having Puljujärvi ahead of Laine.

Here are some that I disagree with but that are pretty commonly stated:

Playmaking, Vision, Two-way play.


But make no mistake. Even if skating was his only advantage, that doesn't necessarily make him a worse player overall. You can do so much with good skating. You can get breakaways and someone like Puljujärvi will score off them. You can actually become a very solid PKer and, again, threaten / force breakaways and get short handed goals. Even if your defensive sense isn't quite as good, being a good skater allows those faults to be forgiven and still allows you to back check in time. When combined with Puljujärvi's fitness levels and endurance, he's sure to be a threat in several different ways. Personally, I feel that this is Puljujärvi's most powerful weapon by far and people who concentrate on playmaking and vision or his shot cannot see the forest for the trees.

And of course, we have to keep in mind that it's entirely possible, even likely, that my judgment is incorrect and Puljujärvi has other advantages as well.

 

[Joe MacMillan]

It seems as if choosing Puljujärvi over Laine is some kind of taboo around these boards. You'll face a lot of backlash if you dare to go against the majority opinion. Not pointing fingers at anyone in here specifically, just generally on HF.

I'd take Puljujärvi without much hesitation. Not saying Pulju is leaps and bounds the superior prospect, quite the contrary actually as I think they are close. Close enough that it essentially boils down to personal preference. Whether you prefer the player who plays a slower paced game and is more methodical on the ice (Laine) or the player who plays a straightforward game based on speed and quick instincts but may look a tad frantic in doing so (Puljujärvi), you really can't go "wrong" in choosing one over the other. Their current abilities and talent level are close and no one can predict at this point how their development will progress down the road and what type or level of players they will eventually develop into.

In my mind Laine fits the mold of a player who succeeds on big ice but struggles when the availability of extra time and space becomes scarce. This notion passes the eye-test and is supported by the fact that Laine scored the majority of his goals this past season from the point left side, and more than half of them coming from PP. On the big ice where man-to-man coverage is tougher to execute leaving more room for players to roam around and find open ice in the offensive zone, a player who can shoot the puck as well as Laine is going to score a ton from that part of the ice. With that shot of his Laine was bound to score with the way the game is being played over here in Europe.

Laine scored a grand total of 2/27 goals off the rush this past season (I am excluding breakaways from the definition of "rush" here). I always find the Ovechkin comparisons funny and misinformed because of that fact in particular. Especially young Ovechkin thrived at rushing the puck down the ice with speed and he scored a lot of goals that way as well. Laine has very little Ovechkin to his game, they both like to use their powerful shot and they both can score a bunch from the point left side. That's it. The difference is Ovechkin scores only a minority of his goals that way as opposed to Laine. Ovechkin is much more versatile goal scorer, mostly because his fantastic skating is as big a factor as his powerful shot.

Puljujärvi on the other hand plays a lot more well-rounded game. However, I must take exception to the notion about his defensive game. I see Puljujärvi a responsible player defensively but his game is by no means defined by his defensive skills. He is first and foremost offensively-minded player no doubt. IMO he is better than Laine defensively mostly due to the following:

1) His fantastic speed makes him a great backchecker. Laine is as responsible at backchecking as well but his speed simply isn't the same level and thus his backchecking is not as effective.

2) Puljujärvi is the smarter player off the puck and is better at providing puck support both offensively and defensively.

But neither player really is a legit defensive or 2 way player IMO. It's clear by watching them play that they both focus more on producing offense than dealing with preventing attacks to the back end. Their defensive awareness is relatively limited whereas their offensive IQ is clearly top notch. I prefer Puljujärvi for his offensive skills, not because of the completeness of his game. I think it is a misconception to call Laine the clearly better offensive player.

 

[Vanqu1sh]

It seems as if choosing Puljujärvi over Laine is some kind of taboo around these boards. You'll face a lot of backlash if you dare to go against the majority opinion. Not pointing fingers at anyone in here specifically, just generally on HF.

I'd take Puljujärvi without much hesitation. Not saying Pulju is leaps and bounds the superior prospect, quite the contrary actually as I think they are close. Close enough that it essentially boils down to personal preference. Whether you prefer the player who plays a slower paced game and is more methodical on the ice (Laine) or the player who plays a straightforward game based on speed and quick instincts but may look a tad frantic in doing so (Puljujärvi), you really can't go "wrong" in choosing one over the other. Their current abilities and talent level are close and no one can predict at this point how their development will progress down the road and what type or level of players they will eventually develop into.

In my mind Laine fits the mold of a player who succeeds on big ice but struggles when the availability of extra time and space becomes scarce. This notion passes the eye-test and is supported by the fact that Laine scored the majority of his goals this past season from the point left side, and more than half of them coming from PP. On the big ice where man-to-man coverage is tougher to execute leaving more room for players to roam around and find open ice in the offensive zone, a player who can shoot the puck as well as Laine is going to score a ton from that part of the ice. With that shot of his Laine was bound to score with the way the game is being played over here in Europe.

Laine scored a grand total of 2/27 goals off the rush this past season (I am excluding breakaways from the definition of "rush" here). I always find the Ovechkin comparisons funny and misinformed because of that fact in particular. Especially young Ovechkin thrived at rushing the puck down the ice with speed and he scored a lot of goals that way as well. Laine has very little Ovechkin to his game, they both like to use their powerful shot and they both can score a bunch from the point left side. That's it. The difference is Ovechkin scores only a minority of his goals that way as opposed to Laine. Ovechkin is much more versatile goal scorer, mostly because his fantastic skating is as big a factor as his powerful shot.

Puljujärvi on the other hand plays a lot more well-rounded game. However, I must take exception to the notion about his defensive game. I see Puljujärvi a responsible player defensively but his game is by no means defined by his defensive skills. He is first and foremost offensively-minded player no doubt. IMO he is better than Laine defensively mostly due to the following:

1) His fantastic speed makes him a great backchecker. Laine is as responsible at backchecking as well but his speed simply isn't the same level and thus his backchecking is not as effective.

2) Puljujärvi is the smarter player off the puck and is better at providing puck support both offensively and defensively.

But neither player really is a legit defensive or 2 way player IMO. It's clear by watching them play that they both focus more on producing offense than dealing with preventing attacks to the back end. Their defensive awareness is relatively limited whereas their offensive IQ is clearly top notch. I prefer Puljujärvi for his offensive skills, not because of the completeness of his game. I think it is a misconception to call Laine the clearly better offensive player.

Interesting points regarding Laine's transition to smaller ice and how he scored his goals. He's so smart though, I can't see him failing to adapt to different circumstances. He has all the tools to score goals in a myriad of ways in the NHL.

One thing I'll point out in your argument - Laine is likely to improve his skating by a fairly significant amount, much as Pulju will refine all aspects of his game. Do you still take a more polished Pulju over a faster Laine later in their careers?

I suppose at the end of the day you either get a player that can better keep up with Mcdavid and impact the game all over the ice with him with their skating. Or you get an elite goal scorer to play with the best playmaker in the game..... WHO DO YOU CHOOSE?

I take the better goal scorer because IMO it's the most valuable trait to have in the game today.

 

[Joe MacMillan]

Interesting points regarding Laine's transition to smaller ice and how he scored his goals. He's so smart though, I can't see him failing to adapt to different circumstances. He has all the tools to score goals in a myriad of ways in the NHL.

One thing I'll point out in your argument - Laine is likely to improve his skating by a fairly significant amount, much as Pulju will refine all aspects of his game. Do you still take a more polished Pulju over a faster Laine later in their careers?

I suppose at the end of the day you either get a player that can better keep up with Mcdavid and impact the game all over the ice with him with their skating. Or you get an elite goal scorer to play with the best playmaker in the game..... WHO DO YOU CHOOSE?

I take the better goal scorer because IMO it's the most valuable trait to have in the game today.

He is smart but his smarts will help him only so far if he lacks physical tools. Obviously he can overcome the obvious challenges even if his skating doesn't improve much from the current level. Remains to be seen I guess.

I personally don't think his skating will ever become better than average by NHL standards. Currently he has pretty good top speed but his acceleration and agility leave a lot to be desired. When time and space get more limited the ability to make quick transitions around the ice becomes more crucial. That requires acceleration and explosiveness and he currently lacks them both. I seems he focuses on improving on explosiveness this offseason so we'll see how it turns out for him soon.

Regarding which one would be the better fit to play with McDavid IMO Puljujärvi pretty easily. My reasoning:

1) They both excel at rushing the puck into the offensive zone with speed. McDavid dominates with his world class skating, elusiveness and puck handling while Puljujärvi excels with the sheer size + speed combo. He will potentially become a 6'5 220 lbs winger with top notch speed which would be impossible to contain. Have McDavid carry the puck with Pulju rushing alongside him and I can see them both forming a lethal combo.

2) Puljujärvi likes to create offense through his linemates more so than Laine. Laine is a bit of a puck hog, he likes to create offense on his own while Pulju excels more at finding his teammates and making plays through them in creating offense. Perfect fit for McDavid in that regard as well IMO. Let McDavid dominate with the puck and Pulju find open ice for scoring opportunities and for McDavid to pass to.

With his shot Laine would probably be the better fit on PP but Pulju actually has a very powerful shot himself. 5-on-5 I think the edge goes to Puljujärvi easily since his game is built on speed just like McDavid's.

 

[Kyyrii]

I also can see the reasoning behind that Pulju fits better in Oilers than Laine, especially if in the future he is think to play with McDavid. It mainly comes to desicion in witch kind of player you like the most. And right now Pulju is more raw in o-zone than Laine, but just a year ago he did look much better. Now that he has all summer to adjust to his new body and use the sticks he wants, maybe his offensive instincs are better in par in Laine when season starts. And at the draft you could see in that small info screen, that 2way game / defensively aware were the terms they used for Pulju. It is true that you can't play in a system like Kärpät without good D play and it did took time for Pulju to adjust this. In u20 he did block the shots constantly and in both u20 and u18 he was one of the first guys to skate to d-zone so the responsibility is there. Sure, he is no Barkov, but then again who is at the age of 17?

But I came here for a reason. Just wanted to tell, that what I have catch from the social media this week it looks like Pulju has been skating and playing hockey every day these week. So I think that it is safe to say that knee may not bother him anymore.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIuEmR5jtq_/ Here is a small vid from today. Pulju doing shoot outs. Also notice mitts and pants in Oilers colors.

 

[Pressure]

I'd have JP on the 3rd line as well to was him into the NHL.

Lucic-Mcdavid-Yakupov
Mcdavud and Yak have good chemistry, plus Lucic is an instant upgrade on Maroon.

Pou-RNH-Eberle
Proven line and a legitimate 1st line, this will create matchup problems for opposing teams.

Maroon-Draisaitl-JP
Combination of size and speed, this line will end up with the easier matchups.

100%

 

[Joe MacMillan]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIuEmR5jtq_/ Here is a small vid from today. Pulju doing shoot outs. Also notice mitts and pants in Oilers colors.

They look gorgeous on him. I like.

E: also the conditioning seems to have gone well for him if the video is any indication.

 

[kelsier]

Ijuka presented the most accurate picture of these two. Though there's no need for a Laine versus Puljujärvi battle here as most Finns are happy about the success of either one.

Puljujärvi's strengths should fit just fine for the Oilers. I've said it plenty of times that he's a match made in heaven with McDavid for the future.

I've been watching both players for couple of years now. During the 14-15 season Puljujärvi was ahead of Laine who was struggling to recover from his injury that basically ruined the whole off-season. Looking at them today and last season in particular, they basically switched the order again, with Laine coming out on top as the draft position probably suggests itself. A lot of people falsely think Laine being a sniping machine who doesn't really have much other traits to offer to be considered special. Laine is can-do-it-all type of player in the offensive zone and by far ahead of Puljujärvi. There were times in the FEL were he just took over the game and turned the tide by himself. Not only by scoring goals at last minutes or seconds in the playoffs but by dominating on ice. Something of which I've never seen happening before in the FEL (from a 17 year old kid) and certainly something Puljujärvi wasn't yet able to do. That's not a knock on Jesse, who can yet become dominating player on his own right, given time. He is the most raw out of the all three top players in the draft (PLD obviously excluded) so we've yet but scratched a surface of the potential there. Someone said Laine is where the puck will be, while Puljujärvi skates where the puck is going. They are different type of players who had amazing chemistry in the WJC and even before that.

I wouldn't bet money on Puljujärvi excelling in NHL right of the gates but as far as my expectations go, I'd really hope to have him in the league instead of the AHL. He has the speed, endurance, size and skills (which some may still need a bit refining) to play at the highest stage. I truly hope he figures it out fast enough that the management doesn't even have to toy with the idea of sending him down only to play more minutes.

 

[HockeyHistorian]

It seems as if choosing Puljujärvi over Laine is some kind of taboo around these boards. You'll face a lot of backlash if you dare to go against the majority opinion. Not pointing fingers at anyone in here specifically, just generally on HF.

I'd take Puljujärvi without much hesitation. Not saying Pulju is leaps and bounds the superior prospect, quite the contrary actually as I think they are close. Close enough that it essentially boils down to personal preference. Whether you prefer the player who plays a slower paced game and is more methodical on the ice (Laine) or the player who plays a straightforward game based on speed and quick instincts but may look a tad frantic in doing so (Puljujärvi), you really can't go "wrong" in choosing one over the other. Their current abilities and talent level are close and no one can predict at this point how their development will progress down the road and what type or level of players they will eventually develop into.

Puljujärvi on the other hand plays a lot more well-rounded game. However, I must take exception to the notion about his defensive game. I see Puljujärvi a responsible player defensively but his game is by no means defined by his defensive skills. He is first and foremost offensively-minded player no doubt. IMO he is better than Laine defensively mostly due to the following:

1) His fantastic speed makes him a great backchecker. Laine is as responsible at backchecking as well but his speed simply isn't the same level and thus his backchecking is not as effective.

2) Puljujärvi is the smarter player off the puck and is better at providing puck support both offensively and defensively.

But neither player really is a legit defensive or 2 way player IMO. It's clear by watching them play that they both focus more on producing offense than dealing with preventing attacks to the back end. Their defensive awareness is relatively limited whereas their offensive IQ is clearly top notch. I prefer Puljujärvi for his offensive skills, not because of the completeness of his game. I think it is a misconception to call Laine the clearly better offensive player.

I agree with this. I prefer Puljujärvi as well. I like Laine too, but Pulju is just so dynamic when he is on his game. If he works out the few kinks in his game he will be an elite NHL player. Namely, his accuracy and his occasional fumbling of the puck need some improvement. If he can work on his accuracy and choose his shots more wisely he could become a damn good sniper. Puljujärvi has a rare case of being able to deke opponents in many ways but he seems to fumble the puck more than you would like. If he fixes that, he will become a better player.

 

[THall4]

Enough said

Wow. watching this...he and McDavid are going to be fantastic together someday.

 

[Dieseloil]

100%

This makes the most sense, at least to start.

 

[snipes]

It seems as if choosing Puljujärvi over Laine is some kind of taboo around these boards. You'll face a lot of backlash if you dare to go against the majority opinion. Not pointing fingers at anyone in here specifically, just generally on HF.

I'd take Puljujärvi without much hesitation. Not saying Pulju is leaps and bounds the superior prospect, quite the contrary actually as I think they are close. Close enough that it essentially boils down to personal preference. Whether you prefer the player who plays a slower paced game and is more methodical on the ice (Laine) or the player who plays a straightforward game based on speed and quick instincts but may look a tad frantic in doing so (Puljujärvi), you really can't go "wrong" in choosing one over the other. Their current abilities and talent level are close and no one can predict at this point how their development will progress down the road and what type or level of players they will eventually develop into.

In my mind Laine fits the mold of a player who succeeds on big ice but struggles when the availability of extra time and space becomes scarce. This notion passes the eye-test and is supported by the fact that Laine scored the majority of his goals this past season from the point left side, and more than half of them coming from PP. On the big ice where man-to-man coverage is tougher to execute leaving more room for players to roam around and find open ice in the offensive zone, a player who can shoot the puck as well as Laine is going to score a ton from that part of the ice. With that shot of his Laine was bound to score with the way the game is being played over here in Europe.

Laine scored a grand total of 2/27 goals off the rush this past season (I am excluding breakaways from the definition of "rush" here). I always find the Ovechkin comparisons funny and misinformed because of that fact in particular. Especially young Ovechkin thrived at rushing the puck down the ice with speed and he scored a lot of goals that way as well. Laine has very little Ovechkin to his game, they both like to use their powerful shot and they both can score a bunch from the point left side. That's it. The difference is Ovechkin scores only a minority of his goals that way as opposed to Laine. Ovechkin is much more versatile goal scorer, mostly because his fantastic skating is as big a factor as his powerful shot.

Puljujärvi on the other hand plays a lot more well-rounded game. However, I must take exception to the notion about his defensive game. I see Puljujärvi a responsible player defensively but his game is by no means defined by his defensive skills. He is first and foremost offensively-minded player no doubt. IMO he is better than Laine defensively mostly due to the following:

1) His fantastic speed makes him a great backchecker. Laine is as responsible at backchecking as well but his speed simply isn't the same level and thus his backchecking is not as effective.

2) Puljujärvi is the smarter player off the puck and is better at providing puck support both offensively and defensively.

But neither player really is a legit defensive or 2 way player IMO. It's clear by watching them play that they both focus more on producing offense than dealing with preventing attacks to the back end. Their defensive awareness is relatively limited whereas their offensive IQ is clearly top notch. I prefer Puljujärvi for his offensive skills, not because of the completeness of his game. I think it is a misconception to call Laine the clearly better offensive player.

Excellent post. Thanks for the review, I enjoyed reading that.

 

[THall4]

Ijuka presented the most accurate picture of these two. Though there's no need for a Laine versus Puljujärvi battle here as most Finns are happy about the success of either one.

Puljujärvi's strengths should fit just fine for the Oilers. I've said it plenty of times that he's a match made in heaven with McDavid for the future.

I've been watching both players for couple of years now. During the 14-15 season Puljujärvi was ahead of Laine who was struggling to recover from his injury that basically ruined the whole off-season. Looking at them today and last season in particular, they basically switched the order again, with Laine coming out on top as the draft position probably suggests itself. A lot of people falsely think Laine being a sniping machine who doesn't really have much other traits to offer to be considered special. Laine is can-do-it-all type of player in the offensive zone and by far ahead of Puljujärvi. There were times in the FEL were he just took over the game and turned the tide by himself. Not only by scoring goals at last minutes or seconds in the playoffs but by dominating on ice. Something of which I've never seen happening before in the FEL (from a 17 year old kid) and certainly something Puljujärvi wasn't yet able to do. That's not a knock on Jesse, who can yet become dominating player on his own right, given time. He is the most raw out of the all three top players in the draft (PLD obviously excluded) so we've yet but scratched a surface of the potential there. Someone said Laine is where the puck will be, while Puljujärvi skates where the puck is going. They are different type of players who had amazing chemistry in the WJC and even before that.

I wouldn't bet money on Puljujärvi excelling in NHL right of the gates but as far as my expectations go, I'd really hope to have him in the league instead of the AHL. He has the speed, endurance, size and skills (which some may still need a bit refining) to play at the highest stage. I truly hope he figures it out fast enough that the management doesn't even have to toy with the idea of sending him down only to play more minutes.

Just sayin...

 

[kelsier]

Just sayin...

Think you misinterpreted this one. There's a difference with "skating where the puck is going" and "I skate where the puck is going to be". It actually refers to what I said about Laine, he as well tends to be ahead in the game and often at the right place at the right time. Where as Puljujärvi preys on the puck and motors off towards it. Patrik's hockey IQ is on a higher level and he seems to be one step ahead of Jesse, especially at the opposite end of the rink. Jesse speed and vision compensate a lot regardless.

 

[Joe MacMillan]

Puljujärvi chases the play more frequently because he is able to do it effectively due to his excellent speed and reach whereas Laine plays higher up in the zone because that's where he is the most dangerous due to his shot. It may seem as if Laine "knew" where the puck was going to be but in reality it's probably more random than cognitive awareness on his part. The odds for the puck coming to him is obviously higher when his positioning covers smaller portion of the ice. Not necessarily anything to do with hockey IQ, except for understanding to be in a position to utilize his strengths most effectively.

Neither player deserves to carry the moniker of "be where the puck is going to be" since their understanding of the flow of the game isn't quite that level. That moniker belongs to the Great One exclusively as far as I am concerned.

Their hockey IQ is about the same level IMO. Both seem to understand the progression of play extremely well and I personally find it hard to rank one over the other. Laine appears to be more methodical while Puljujärvi seems to play more by instincts. Take your pick.

 

[kelsier]

It's their current hockey awareness that led Laine into men's ice hockey championships and Puljujärvi into U18s. It's no secret that Jesse wasn't close to even getting a tryout in the WHC squad. The cap between the two is as clear as day and night. That said, McDavid will be a perfect center man for Jesse cause he needs a driver no matter how fast he is. Laine can carry himself and a portion of the rest of his line if that's required. That's why Oilers was so ideal for Puljujärvi and Jets for Laine. By the end of the day, they could be scoring at even rate if Laine hits his ceiling and Puljujärvi gets to play with the best playmaker in the world.

 

[Joe MacMillan]

It's their current hockey awareness that led Laine into men's ice hockey championships and Puljujärvi into U18s. It's no secret that Jesse wasn't close to even getting a tryout in the WHC squad. The cap between the two is as clear as day and night. That said, McDavid will be a perfect center man for Jesse cause he needs a driver no matter how fast he is. Laine can carry himself and a portion of the rest of his line if that's required. That's why Oilers was so ideal for Puljujärvi and Jets for Laine. By the end of the day, they could be scoring at even rate if Laine hits his ceiling and Puljujärvi gets to play with the best playmaker in the world.

It isn't all that black and white. Laine got selected to the WHC squad because he performed better over the course of the season (especially in the playoffs) and was a better fit for the team. That's the way the WHC teams are put together, built with players that together make the best fit. The selection isn't indicative of their skills or hockey IQ per se.

And it's pure assumption on your part to say that Puljujärvi wasn't close to making the team or getting a tryout. IMO he played well enough towards the end of the season to at least be considered. Don't know if the coaching staff agreed with me but it isn't all that unreasonable to say that Pulju outplayed Laine from WJC to his injury. It's probable he wasn't even going to play at the tournament even if they had picked him for the sole fact that he was going to have his knee operated.