My Special Purpose
Registered User
- Apr 8, 2008
- 8,151
- 21,787
I thought I'd do some of my own research instead of blindly piggybacking on the many narratives going around regarding this guy. It didn't take long for me to pick a side, either. I think we should get this guy.
To start, I watched two videos. The first was his Liiga highlights from 2015-16, where he had 13g, 15a, 28pts in 50 games. I was expecting to see a lot of Sebastian Aho. And I did, but nowhere near as much as I was led to believe. Puljujärvi has a rap of being a product of his linemates, especially considering the dominant WJC tournament the same season where he and Aho were joined by Patrik Laine. But he was *extremely* big, strong, confident, fast, creative and dominant in this video. All on his own. You could have removed all the Aho-related plays and I'd still have said this guy was a top-5 NHL draft pick.
Then I watched this video, all of Puljujärvi's NHL goals, and I quickly noticed several things. No. 1, I noticed a lot of Milan Lucic and Jujhar Khaira. Secondly, I noticed a guy who was clearly coached to go to the front of the net and stay there, despite there being nothing in his history that limits him to this type role. Put simply, the Oilers just never put this guy in a position to be himself as a player.
I get there are other factors at play here. He doesn't seem comfortable in North America, doesn't speak a lot of English, and he looks like he needs a custom helmet. He may still be a little miffed that he got passed over by Columbus in the 2016 draft.
But if you break it all down, we're talking about a 21-year-old, 6-foot-4, 200 pound, right shot, right winger with a great shot, who skates well, can be used in all situations, doesn't mind throwing a hit or mixing it up, and gives 100 percent effort all the time with a great attitude, which I'm not sure I could manage in Edmonton's current hellscape.
If there's one real criticism of his game, it's that he hasn't really put the "power" part into his power-winger profile. But we all know that comes later. These guys are notorious late bloomers. I'm 100 percent sold that we will win the trade, no matter what we give up for him, given his current value. And -- and this is important -- I don't think he needs to play with Aho to be successful. I think he'd fill a third-line role with Haula and Martinook, for example, very nicely while his game rounds into shape. I think being *in the room* with Aho, Teravainen, Haula and the vast majority of the Finnish under-25 program will help, but I don't think he requires Finnish linemates. Not from what I saw.
Also, he was born in Sweden. Is this common knowledge? I'm not sure I knew that.
To start, I watched two videos. The first was his Liiga highlights from 2015-16, where he had 13g, 15a, 28pts in 50 games. I was expecting to see a lot of Sebastian Aho. And I did, but nowhere near as much as I was led to believe. Puljujärvi has a rap of being a product of his linemates, especially considering the dominant WJC tournament the same season where he and Aho were joined by Patrik Laine. But he was *extremely* big, strong, confident, fast, creative and dominant in this video. All on his own. You could have removed all the Aho-related plays and I'd still have said this guy was a top-5 NHL draft pick.
Then I watched this video, all of Puljujärvi's NHL goals, and I quickly noticed several things. No. 1, I noticed a lot of Milan Lucic and Jujhar Khaira. Secondly, I noticed a guy who was clearly coached to go to the front of the net and stay there, despite there being nothing in his history that limits him to this type role. Put simply, the Oilers just never put this guy in a position to be himself as a player.
I get there are other factors at play here. He doesn't seem comfortable in North America, doesn't speak a lot of English, and he looks like he needs a custom helmet. He may still be a little miffed that he got passed over by Columbus in the 2016 draft.
But if you break it all down, we're talking about a 21-year-old, 6-foot-4, 200 pound, right shot, right winger with a great shot, who skates well, can be used in all situations, doesn't mind throwing a hit or mixing it up, and gives 100 percent effort all the time with a great attitude, which I'm not sure I could manage in Edmonton's current hellscape.
If there's one real criticism of his game, it's that he hasn't really put the "power" part into his power-winger profile. But we all know that comes later. These guys are notorious late bloomers. I'm 100 percent sold that we will win the trade, no matter what we give up for him, given his current value. And -- and this is important -- I don't think he needs to play with Aho to be successful. I think he'd fill a third-line role with Haula and Martinook, for example, very nicely while his game rounds into shape. I think being *in the room* with Aho, Teravainen, Haula and the vast majority of the Finnish under-25 program will help, but I don't think he requires Finnish linemates. Not from what I saw.
Also, he was born in Sweden. Is this common knowledge? I'm not sure I knew that.