Rumor: Jesse Puljujarvi Part 3: Maybe He Picked Out His Brain Through His Nose One Lick at a Time?

[guymez]

Agreed, it's an underrated part of drafting your first rounder, as we've seen twice now. But, I think they have already. The Broberg pick is a good example of that IMO. Puljujarvi should have been drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round like @nexttothemoon has mentioned.

Thats a good point. I have no doubt that Holland has revamped (many if not all) of the processes that were initiated by Chiarelli.
That said Chia and his crew did make some good picks.

 

[bobbythebrain]

I knew he was trouble from the way he scarfed that pizza down.

LOL. Kinda true

I knew he was outta touch when he walked into a gift-wrapped, 8ft point blank clapper from the inside hash marks, w/ the goalie scrambling, and then he proceeded to have a seizure half way through his wind up. It was, what I could only guess is an attempt at a slap pass, it was that confusing, but it was way too hard for that. It rifled into the corner and didn't remotely resemble either..a shot or a pass. To this day scholars will debate what he intended

A couple games later, he was alone in the slot. JP went top cheddar from 4ft away...........except it wasn't top cheddar. It was rotten fromage. He lofted the puck into Maroon's throat who was a ft beside the net lol

Then, watching him giveaway the puck all game at the World's, it was clear this kid has issues

 

[Cloned]

LOL. Kinda true

I knew he was outta touch when he walked into a gift-wrapped, 8ft point blank clapper from the inside hash marks, w/ the goalie scrambling, and then he proceeded to have a seizure half way through his wind up. It was, what I could only guess is an attempt at a slap pass, it was that confusing, but it was way too hard for that. It rifled into the corner and didn't remotely resemble either..a shot or a pass. To this day scholars will debate what he intended

A couple games later, he was alone in the slot. JP went top cheddar from 4ft away...........except it wasn't top cheddar. It was rotten fromage. He lofted the puck into Maroon's throat who was a ft beside the net lol

Then, watching him giveaway the puck all game at the World's, it was clear this kid has issues

tbh he seems like a 8 year old kid in the way he acts and talks.

 

[bobbythebrain]

tbh he seems like a 8 year old kid in the way he acts and talks.

Bleach white hair..don't care

 

[iCanada]

If you are aiming for NHL stardom from a fairly early age and you struggle with learning English and you don't address that when you're 16 years old, what are we supposed to believe about you?

Especially in Finland and the Scandanavian countries where learning 3 different languages is par for the course.

Really get the idea Jesse was stronger and faster than his peers growing up and didn't experience any challenges entering his draft year and he expected to blow away the NHL when he came in and all of a sudden **** got real and he copped out hard.

Might be a cool dude but someone please explain why he's not Boyyyd Devereauxx at this point.

I mean... I don't think anyone drafted in the first round ever is not some sort of stronger faster smarter superior to their peers to the point of not really ever experiencing significant challenges. The rub is ensuring you have a player with the mentality to overcome challenges once they actually arise (because they will) and who is malleable enough to understand plus implement what they as a player with their physical and mental gifts needs to do to be a successful Elite athlete. This last piece is a struggle in a few facets; one you need to have an organization that understands what that player needs and they need to be able to communicate it (which I'd argue the Oilers have historically failed at), and you need the player to understand, agree and buyin, and then follow through.

A good example would be Gilbert Brule or Nail Yakupov; both guys wanted to be a bull in the China shop player akin to Ovechkin or Bure. Both guys got to a top 3 pick doing that against children. Both guys had the skillsets to be elite NHL forwards if they understood that being as they were built in the form of a chihuahua that that didn't work against men. If they understood that they had the same toolkit as a guy like Steven Stamkos. They had NHL speed, NHL shots in terms of power accuracy and release, NHL puck handling abilities, and the mentality to fight through checks and bodies. But they both tried and tried to be that bull in the China shop. On the other hand you had the play driving Steven Stamkos with identical success in Junior realizing he couldn't be a puck handler at the NHL level, and just focusing on finding open ice and beating goalies.

 

[Aerrol]

The f*** is going on in this thread lol.

The remarks about Pulju failing to work with coaches are disappointing but I don't know that they significantly change what we know about the situation. It was obvious before this he was failing to develop with coaching, and it was clear calling him back up from the AHL for Hitch was a dumb move. As before IMO, there's plenty of blame to go around. Quite disappointing that he refuses to report even in theory though. Might as well hope he finds his game over there for us to trade him.

 

[brenden]

I don’t know why they don’t trade Puljujarvi for another prospect of equal quality. There’s lots out there that have done less than a former 4th overall, consensus top 5 pick in that draft. To name a few might be Zacha , McLeod, Eriksson Ek, Roslovic, Crouse, Bellows, Gauthier, Borgstrom, Frederic,Howden or Lais Anderson. Most of these teams might have to add a small pick or something.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Agreed, it's an underrated part of drafting your first rounder, as we've seen twice now. But, I think they have already. The Broberg pick is a good example of that IMO. Puljujarvi should have been drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round like @nexttothemoon has mentioned.

Just want to be clear that while I was clearly not wanting to draft Puljujarvi at #4 in that draft (because he simply wasn't that good of a prospect to pick at #4)... I wouldn't have dropped him all the way down to the 2nd or 3rd round... I would have had JP closer to the 11-15 range in the 1st round of that draft.

For all intents and purposes that would still have steered the Oilers well clear of him though... and they would have likely picked a better player almost by default.

I have actually never been a JP hater either... I just think he was picked much too high and that's largely the problem... leading to him being thrust into the NHL too quickly and he obviously has the ego and entitlement of a #4 pick as well... without enough skill and talent to back up that level of ego and entitlement.

 

[Del Preston]

Enjoy wherever Jesse ends up because your time here has just come to an end.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

I don’t know why they don’t trade Puljujarvi for another prospect of equal quality. There’s lots out there that have done less than a former 4th overall, consensus top 5 pick in that draft. To name a few might be Zacha , McLeod, Eriksson Ek, Roslovic, Crouse, Bellows, Gauthier, Borgstrom, Frederic,Howden or Lais Anderson. Most of these teams might have to add a small pick or something.

It requires the other team to agree to make the trade.

Maybe the other teams do not see value in JP compared to what they have.

We don't know what needs to be package to satisfy the trade.

Do teams really want to gamble on JP? Too many factors and I think it's a big risk taking in JP.

Not a lot of GM is willing to pull the trigger immediately.

Teams are still in the process of fitting their players under the cap and sorting out their cap structure as well.

 

[brenden]

It requires the other team to agree to make the trade.

Maybe the other teams do not see value in JP compared to what they have.

We don't know what needs to be package to satisfy the trade.

Do teams really want to gamble on JP? Too many factors and I think it's a big risk taking in JP.

Not a lot of GM is willing to pull the trigger immediately.

For sure, really only NHL G.M’s can judge the value (and the scouts). We’re all just guessing.

 

[nexttothemoon]

I don’t know why they don’t trade Puljujarvi for another prospect of equal quality. There’s lots out there that have done less than a former 4th overall, consensus top 5 pick in that draft. To name a few might be Zacha , McLeod, Eriksson Ek, Roslovic, Crouse, Bellows, Gauthier, Borgstrom, Frederic,Howden or Lais Anderson. Most of these teams might have to add a small pick or something.

I generally agree... the player that is currently JP isn't a #4 draft talent anymore (never was in the 1st place)... but his draft slot in that year's draft doesn't matter anymore anyway so you move on and try to maximize value for him and that means bringing back "something" of approximately equal value if you can achieve that in a trade... but of course the player/prospect coming back will hopefully WANT to play in Edmonton whereas JP obviously doesn't.

Problem of course is that JP has had 3 years of generally increasingly inferior play PLUS a fairly serious injury he's coming off of PLUS a trade demand fiasco on top of that.

Not exactly a situation which maximizes asset value when you add all that up so you are basically selling him at his lowest value possible.

It will likely be another prospect coming back with similarly large questions surrounding them. A prospect who's also likely underperformed and has been underwhelming so far in his NHL games and who is also looking like they are on the train to Bustville.


If Holland feels that type of return isn't "good enough"... then yes Europe for JP is the next step... so that hopefully his value rises at least slightly and they can trade him for slightly better value down the line.


I get the sense from the comments Holland made about "heating up the phones over the next couple weeks" that he might be resigned to just moving on from this situation and getting what he can out of it... even if it's an inferior return.

Of course he also did say that the Europe option is also a possibility if nothing comes out of that 2 weeks of hotline bling.... so I don't know what the outcome will be but it sounds like we should know one way or the other reasonably soon because JP needs to get on some team in Europe as well before their season gets underway out there if no trade can be worked out.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

For sure, really only NHL G.M’s can judge the value (and the scouts). We’re all just guessing.

He's RFA status and also needs a new contract.

It's wise not to move him while his value is low.

 

[Bank Shot]

Any teams not do that? I dont think there has to be a weird motive like that anyway. JPs drama led people to ask why, and of course it wouldn't be pretty

Many teams don't sewer departing players. You've got management trashing Rieder in a public forum. That's not normal behavior.

And this info never seems to come out until the player in question is departed, or a decision has been made to wash the org's hands of him.

You think a reporter couldn't have found out that Jesse is stubborn a year ago?

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Add it to the list of inexcusable mistakes made by that clown. To think his name is still mentioned in consideration for further employment in the NHL. It’s shocking.

Unfortunately, not really.

The NHL is the ultimate old boy's club. It very rarely, if ever, when it comes to coaches and executives, thinks outside the box and hires outside the immediate hockey world. I can't think of any other professional sports league that refuses to give new blood a chance to establish itself.

It's what ensures complete and abject failures like Todd McLellan and Peter Chiarelli the chance to fail upwards.

 

[frag2]

Many teams don't sewer departing players. You've got management trashing Rieder in a public forum. That's not normal behavior.

And this info never seems to come out until the player in question is departed, or a decision has been made to wash the org's hands of him.

You think a reporter couldn't have found out that Jesse is stubborn a year ago?

This stuff about JP being stubborn, immature and not the brightest bulb? It's been out for years.

Any segment on Oilers Now the past 3 years with the media guest talking about JP always has a quip here or there about his character. It's just many here, mainly his apologists, decide to ignore it and use the "I'm talking louder than you so your point is moot" strategy of misdirection.

It's been mentioned even in his first season guy lacks professionalism and still sees the NHL as a game. But then the usuals would begin slandering the source because they just don't like what they are hearing

 

[Jumptheshark]

This stuff about JP being stubborn, immature and not the brightest bulb? It's been out for years.

Any segment on Oilers Now the past 3 years with the media guest talking about JP always has a quip here or there about his character. It's just many here, mainly his apologists, decide to ignore it and use the "I'm talking louder than you so your point is moot" strategy of misdirection.

It's been mentioned even in his first season guy lacks professionalism and still sees the NHL as a game. But then the usuals would begin slandering the source because they just don't like what they are hearing

At this years world championships the fin fans said he was lazy and were not shocked by what had happened. Usually fins and swedes do not bash their country men to fans from other countries. The only other time I met a Scandinavian fan who bashed a player it was in regards to Linus Omark

 

[GameChanger]

When the Edmonton Journal (/Kurt Leavins) wrote positive articles about Jesse I was often told it can't be taken seriously as they write anything to support what helps the team and the organization. Maybe that should be kept in mind now, too.

Like I've said I wasn't too happy about the Oilers saying publicly they are ready to give up on Puljujarvi last spring. In general it's sometimes hard to understand how different the workers rights sometimes are in NA. I really like Canada, but it's just strange the team could basically do almost anything but the player would need to stay for at least 7-8 years. I guess that's a cultural difference between NA and Europe.

I'll stay out of this (poisonous straight from the title) thread, but have followed what's going on and I'm excited to see how the team will do next year. I like some of the little moves and the Lucic/Neal deal looks very good. I still believe some conditional picks could help to ensure you get a fairer value for Jesse if things click better next season. Good luck guys!

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

..In general it's sometimes hard to understand how different the workers rights sometimes are in NA. I really like Canada, but it's just strange the team could basically do almost anything but the player would need to stay for at least 7-8 years. I guess that's a cultural difference between NA and Europe.

It’s called the CBA and this is not a case of “workers rights”. JP doesn’t have to play for the Oilers. He can play anywhere he wants outside of the NHL. It just so happens the NHL pays far more and has the best talent of any league in the world and so you want to play there you abide by the agreement that was collectively bargained and ratified by the team owners and all the players.

Yes the Oilers handled JP poorly but this thread has seen his failures being blamed on:

1. McDavids poor leadership skills
2. HFOil not being nice to him
3. Edmonton’s poor education system
4. The CBA
5. The lack of workers rights.

Seems some people in Finland can’t get their head around the fact that maybe, just maybe, JP has something to do with his own problems.

 

[GameChanger]

It’s called the CBA and this is not a case of “workers rights”. JP doesn’t have to play for the Oilers. He can play anywhere he wants outside of the NHL. It just so happens the NHL pays far more and has the best talent of any league in the world and so you want to play there you abide by the agreement that was collectively bargained and ratified by the team owners and all the players.

Yes the Oilers handled JP poorly but this thread has seen his failures being blamed on:

1. McDavids poor leadership skills
2. HFOil not being nice to him
3. Edmonton’s poor education system
4. The CBA
5. The lack of workers rights.

Seems some people in Finland can’t get their head around the fact that maybe, just maybe, JP has something to do with his own problems.

That's a bit tiring. AFAIK every single Finn over here has said (repeatedly in fact) there's also fault in Jesse. On the other hand there's plenty of posters who've never really blamed the organization in this case. I personally think and would like to say know there's fault in both sides. I won't write more about this anymore.

As for the CBA, to me it's extermely strict, no matter how one puts it. Well it's none of my business, but that's what I feel anyway. I understand teams want to own their young players like property, but on the other hand less strict rules would ensure there's more quality players available. Thus it wouldn't be only negative for the teams. The draft picks wouldn't be quite as valuable, but it'd be easier to fix the team by trades.

 

[Drivesaitl]

The **** is going on in this thread lol.

The remarks about Pulju failing to work with coaches are disappointing but I don't know that they significantly change what we know about the situation. It was obvious before this he was failing to develop with coaching, and it was clear calling him back up from the AHL for Hitch was a dumb move. As before IMO, there's plenty of blame to go around. Quite disappointing that he refuses to report even in theory though. Might as well hope he finds his game over there for us to trade him.

I can't subscribe to the bolded at all and mainly because its revisionist thought.

Literally everybody at the time was saying that Hitch was showing faith in Pulju, giving him a fresh chance, fresh start, and with prospects the constant line of thought has usually been give them chances, several, in the show, to experience it, grow into the NHL game, gain their confidence here etc. Virtually nothing was served in having this 4th pick player toil in the AHL.

The trouble with what you are saying on this is it subscribes to the can't win line of thinking. If the Oilers fail to bring up Pulju they are burying him in the minors. If they bring up Pulju its far too early, he's not ready yada yada. I blame this org for things all day but this one is on Pulju, and its up to him to deal with the several chances given.

 

[Drivesaitl]

This line of thinking has never made much sense to me.

The year Puljujarvi had been drafted, the Oilers were in a position to be drafting one of him, Matthews or Laine for the entire season and his season ended before the draft lottery slid us out of the top 3. Before the draft lottery they were poised to select 2nd overall that season. If not him, than who the hell would they have been scouting?

I don't follow scouting as much as some of you do but, and this is in retrospect but NA gems like Tkachuk, Debrincat, McAvoy, Keller, Jost etc didn't go as high in the draft as they should. There just seemed to be this continuing romance with Euro players. All of the 4 listed are far better players than Pulju and possibly always were. Moreso, and this can't get stated enough, this is the NHL, this is NA hockey and rink dimensions. It selects, especially in playoffs, for NA bred players.

The NHL prospect rankings often seem just strange to me and increasingly erring on the side of Euro players which is odd relative to the NA players available. It astounds me that NHL scouts had Pulju ranked higher than any of the above NA players.

 

[SomeDudeOTI]

Very disappointing to hear that Jesse was unwilling to work with the coaching staff and Manny V.

It’s also odd to hear now that he actually wanted to go down to the AHL and work on his offensive game and confidence for an extended period of time last season, but then was promptly called up after only two games, only to be told they wanted him to be a checker and he didn’t get a sniff of the top 6 after that even though the season was over. Guessing that is when he made up his mind that he no longer wanted to be an Oiler?

I think it was when he realized no one wanted to play with him.

He’s sleeping through his wake up call.

We're back on Aberg?

That seems like pretty faulty logic. The Finnish thing seems overblown. People don't make anything of it if a Canadian GM passes on a Canadian player, and when an American GM passes on an American player. Why is this different?

Just because he's Finnish, does that mean that he needs to be partial to Finnish players? Of the 50 available contract spots for CBJ, 4 of them are taken by Finnish players. That doesn't seem significant at all.

Also, CBJ was in dire need of a center. They reached for the best center prospect available, Dubois. Montreal did this with Kotkaniemi. (Could hardly call it a reach, he was in my top 5)

JP may well have been a good pick if his development was handled properly.

He had the advantage of even interviewing Jesse in Finnish as well. Nothing gets lost in translation then.

If English is a problem (which IMO is a tell) then the teams should have an interpreter present so that they are clear that everything they ask is fully understood by the player.

The advantage of interviewing him in his native language is not overblown. Often times it's not the answer to a question that is enlightening, but how they answer.

 

[frag2]

It’s called the CBA and this is not a case of “workers rights”. JP doesn’t have to play for the Oilers. He can play anywhere he wants outside of the NHL. It just so happens the NHL pays far more and has the best talent of any league in the world and so you want to play there you abide by the agreement that was collectively bargained and ratified by the team owners and all the players.

Yes the Oilers handled JP poorly but this thread has seen his failures being blamed on:

1. McDavids poor leadership skills
2. HFOil not being nice to him
3. Edmonton’s poor education system
4. The CBA
5. The lack of workers rights.

Seems some people in Finland can’t get their head around the fact that maybe, just maybe, JP has something to do with his own problems.

Dont forget, youre responsible for screwing up his trade value.

YOU MONSTER!!

 

[Louis Cypher]

Add it to the list of inexcusable mistakes made by that clown. To think his name is still mentioned in consideration for further employment in the NHL. It’s shocking.

Not suprised in the least. If this was Jesse on another team and the Oilers still being starved for a legit winger I'm sure we would be calling that team about acquiring him.