RW Jesse Puljujarvi - Bakersfield Condors, AHL (2016, 4th, EDM)

[Skinnyjimmy08]

He has shown that he can play in the NHL. No need to send him down. Bakersfield is not any better than the Oilers. There's no one there.

I agree at times he has shown he can. But IMO its definately not on a consistent level. But im sure whatever Oilers decide, itll all work out. I have high hopes for the guy and i just want to see him succeed and possibly one day dominate

He only has 4 points in last 17 games or so i think and also only played 9 mins last game.. Again, i prefer AHL the rest of the season but we will see

 

[JustaFinnishGuy]

Trade him away. The Oilers are not a good org for developing young forwards with big hopes made for them.
It's pretty much the only way I see him surging to being a 60+ point player in the league at this point.

Um. Now is the best time for him to play on the Oilers and learn the NHL game, because your team sucks ass and isn't going anywhere.

That is true. But he's not showing signs of consistently producing in the NHL. He'll be out of the league after his 4th year at this rate. He is also not going anywhere in learning.. Every other rookie actually scores and makes plays when 'learning' the league. He is the exception to the rule for the most part.
He's becoming a bust for his draft position, and not a strength. If you cannot play with McD, you got some real big problems.

I'll be glad to eat crow if he ever wakes up.

 

[BB88]

Um. Now is the best time for him to play on the Oilers and learn the NHL game, because your team sucks ass and isn't going anywhere.

Yeah, this is the time to develop the kids at the NHL level, get rid of Letestu's off the World and give the longterm players their offensive chances.
JP has had zero opportunies on the 1st pp and he's the 5th option on pp2 if he gets there.

He's not producing right now, but he's a 19y rookie. There's been plenty of games where he has been one of the few creating.

 

[Deedog99]

Remember when there was a toss up by some between he and Laine for 2nd overall??

 

[Ippenator]

I definitely want good things to happen for him, but I’m really worried that he just does not have what it takes to make it at the real top level that the NHL is.

He is just so damn inconsistent and I just honestly have to say that the lack of hockey IQ that I have seen in his game without the puck since his Liiga season 2015-2016 is just simply very alarming for me. I saw it already then and was then already warning Finnish fellows here that he might never really become a real top player because he is seriously lacking with his IQ without the puck. I was laughed at by quite many Pulju fans then, but I think that now already more and more of people have really realized that the kid might not really be after all what many thought he would be.

I don’t want to write him off yet, but it just does not make me feel at all good about him to see him still having the exactly same problems that I saw him having during that 2015-2016 Liiga season. To me he honestly seems like he hasn’t really developed much at all from that time. That is what is truly alarming for me.

I’m trying to be patient with him, but how bad he has been lately just simply makes it very hard to believe in his chances of becoming a real top class NHL player. I just hope I’m eventually wrong with the fears I’m having about his development at the moment.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Remember when there was a toss up by some between he and Laine for 2nd overall??

yes haha... i know on here many people kept saying Puljujarvi is better and will be better but everyone outside of this site that I saw had Laine the obvious #2 choice

always gotta take things with a grain of salt that you read on here

 

[FlameChampion]

I definitely want good things to happen for him, but I’m really worried that he just does not have what it takes to make it at the real top level that the NHL is.

He is just so damn inconsistent and I just honestly have to say that the lack of hockey IQ that I have seen in his game without the puck since his Liiga season 2015-2016 is just simply very alarming for me. I saw it already then and was then already warning Finnish fellows here that he might never really become a real top player because he is seriously lacking with his IQ without the puck. I was laughed at by quite many Pulju fans then, but I think that now already more and more of people have really realized that the kid might not really be after all what many thought he would be.

I don’t want to write him off yet, but it just does not make me feel at all good about him to see him still having the exactly same problems that I saw him having during that 2015-2016 Liiga season. To me he honestly seems like he hasn’t really developed much at all from that time. That is what is truly alarming for me.

I’m trying to be patient with him, but how bad he has been lately just simply makes it very hard to believe in his chances of becoming a real top class NHL player. I just hope I’m eventually wrong with the fears I’m having about his development at the moment.

When I watch him he has very good ability to read the play defensively. He knows where to be, where to get put his stick etc. I have seen him make some really nice plays offensively with McDavid that give me hope. So I think he does have pretty good hockey IQ. Whether its elite, I dunno.

You are right though in the offensive zone, his play without the puck leaves a lot to be desired. He looks a little lost at times. I dont know if this is because of hockey IQ or because he doesnt really know what the coaching staff wants him to do. For example when you watch him on the PP, they have him floating around in the slot. I am not really sure what hes doing, but I get the impression thats what the coaching staff wants him to do. I am not sure why they just dont play him on the half wall looking for a shot like Ovechkin, Laine etc. Honestly I think the coaching staff is making him focus too much on his defense which kills some creativity. I think hes second guessing himself a lot on offense.

I think its hard to really judge him at this point. I dont think the coaching staff is putting him in a position to succeed. Todd McClellan loves his veteran players and doesnt give young players much rope (unless your McDavid or Draitsaitl which should be obvious). I also think Pulju lacks strength and balance which affects his confidence. I think once he gets stronger and starts imposing his will, he will have more success. Hopefully he will have a new coach next year that puts him in a position to succeed. He is very young and it will take him some time. To me hes already an NHL player, I just dont know what his offensive ceiling is. I do think its going to be lower than what he was draft projected him to be though.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

Wasn't a big fan of his going into his draft year. I questioned his finishing ability as well as his offensive instincts. He's still young though, and he has nice tools.

 

[Finnished]

It's so damn weird that he hasn't learned proper English in the 1.5 years he has lived in English speaking places. Even in Finnish interviews he seems a bit weird or slow. Well I guess the only thing he has ever done is play hockey so that's understandable.

 

[ijuka]

It's so damn weird that he hasn't learned proper English in the 1.5 years he has lived in English speaking places. Even in Finnish interviews he seems a bit weird or slow. Well I guess the only thing he has ever done is play hockey so that's understandable.

Agreed. It shows a poor attitude, I feel. To me it's complete common sense and entirely obvious to go "I'm planning on playing in NHL. I probably should learn the language", well before he even went to NA. Even just learning the basics of the language of the country you are moving to is just so completely obvious, this is entirely beyond me. A large part of being an athlete is recovery and during recovery you have all the time in the world to study(Like Laine for example has all the time in the world to play call of duty).

 

[93LEAFS]

Agreed. It shows a poor attitude, I feel. To me it's complete common sense and entirely obvious to go "I'm planning on playing in NHL. I probably should learn the language", well before he even went to NA. Even just learning the basics of the language of the country you are moving to is just so completely obvious, this is entirely beyond me. A large part of being an athlete is recovery and during recovery you have all the time in the world to study(Like Laine for example has all the time in the world to play call of duty).

I wonder if playing online through headphone/microphone actually helped him pick up basic english. Although, I'm sure he learned a decent amount through either school or tutor, but it's an interesting place to practice it.

 

[Laineux]

I wonder if playing online through headphone/microphone actually helped him pick up basic english. Although, I'm sure he learned a decent amount through either school or tutor, but it's an interesting place to practice it.

I'd say that at least 90% of young Finns are good in English these days. Most of us wouldn't need anything extra to be fairly fluent in it.

 

[93LEAFS]

I'd say that at least 90% of young Finns are good in English these days. Most of us wouldn't need anything extra to be fairly fluent in it.

True, of high picks it seems like a bit of a mixed bag. Laine seemed ahead of guys like Puljujarvi and Barkov when they were interviewed were fairly shaky. I'm not sure I remember Rantanen or Heiskanen's interview. Although, a bunch of people can understand written text or people talking to them, but aren't comfortable speaking it, let alone on live television.

 

[BB88]

True, of high picks it seems like a bit of a mixed bag. Laine seemed ahead of guys like Puljujarvi and Barkov when they were interviewed were fairly shaky. I'm not sure I remember Rantanen or Heiskanen's interview. Although, a bunch of people can understand written text or people talking to them, but aren't comfortable speaking it, let alone on live television.

I thought Aho sounded surprisingly weak.

It's easy to get nervous when you have to speak in english and it makes you sound a lot worse than you really are. I feel I have that issue due to never having to speak english. I can understand, I can write somewhat but the rare time someone asks something in english I sound garbage.
I guess that could be worked out in a few weeks if I had to use english daily.

TV on english subs helped me a ton, more than school in someways.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Not much discussion about him. Seems like people would be talking about him a lot this season since he has been up with the Oils pretty much all season.

What is going on with him? I try to watch as many Oiler games as possible when they are televised and I just am not a fan at all. I just really don't see high NHL potential at all. It's strange to see just cause all the hype I was reading on here about him. Obviously I always take stuff I read with a grain of salt on here but it's just crazy.

I just see a kid that doesn't seem NHL ready and that struggles a lot with hockey sense. Does he need more AHL time? I really don't know the answer. I realize he is still extremely young but still there is something that makes me nervous for him. I would LOVE to see him become a stud in the league and create unreal chemistry with some of the young studs on the Oilers but it just doesn't seem like he has the IQ to do so

Again I don't watch Oilers games religiously but I do watch when I can... maybe die hard fans that watch all games can chime in how he's been? I hate stat watching but I cant help but look how little points he is putting up... in last 27 games(since Feb 1st) he has only put up 5 points and also before that he has gone long stretches without points. And also it's not like he has getting extremely low ice time.. hes averaging over 13 mins of ice per game and getting a bit of PP time(averaging 43 seconds per game)... A lot of people are annoyed he doesn't get PP time, but does he has the IQ to get a lot of PP time? I really don't know

Again, I would LOVE to hear what people can say about him that watch him play nightly... I had extreme high hopes for him before this season but I have to say my excitement level for him is slowly dropping. I was hoping he would kill it this season and help Oilers have a very long post season

Ill say this again that I KNOW hes very young and there should be no reason to panic but for some reason there is a part of me that is a bit

 

[FinPanda]

It was known even in his draft year that he struggled with his hockey sense. Almost everyone could see that. He has bomb of a shot and a lot of speed but thats about it.

I haven't watched any of his games this year though but I watched a lot when he played in Finland. He just didn't scream a special talent like Laine. Also it was really frustrating to watch him at the WHC, his problems were so obvious.

If he can turn it around that would be awesome. I really want him to succeed but so far he hasn't shown anything to make me believe that he will do that.

 

[Walshy7]

I'd say that at least 90% of young Finns are good in English these days. Most of us wouldn't need anything extra to be fairly fluent in it.

is Puljujarvi from a particular area of Finland where they don't speak English at all? Like maybe a really northern town or something?. Some countries have areas where for one reason or another a section of the population is a bit different in language to the rest. It is interesting though, he cant speak a word of English? have the oilers got him a teacher?

 

[RANKKA]

is Puljujarvi from a particular area of Finland where they don't speak English at all? Like maybe a really northern town or something?. Some countries have areas where for one reason or another a section of the population is a bit different in language to the rest. It is interesting though, he cant speak a word of English? have the oilers got him a teacher?

no he is not, he just had no time/desire with all the hockey

 

[Walshy7]

no he is not, he just had no time/desire with all the hockey

ok was just wondering. still he will learn it way quicker being in NA with NA coaches etc no issues there

 

[paragon]

I have said Puljujärvi will be a bust from day 1, but that was mostly because of the way he was compared to Laine who was obviously on a whole different tier. Puljujärvi is a tools without toolbox type guy and in a way he reminds me of Olli Jokinen. If he's lucky he's going to follow his career path and eventually meet his personal Keenan who is able to unlock his potential. I don't think it's going to happen in Edmonton.

 

[Hockeyisl1fe]

I think people fail to realize he is still very young, not many players are going to put up lots of points at his age in the NHL. Take Pettersson for example; people are praising his play in the SHL (for a good reason, don't get me wrong), but I bet he would also struggle in the NHL right now. Yeah I know Pettersson was drafted a year later, but they're still born in the same calendar year. His scoring pace isn't much worse than Barkov's at the same age (also Pulju's ice time is significantly lower than Barkov's was), Rantanen had 0p in 9 games and couldn't stick in the line-up. Just something to remind some of you for labelling him a bust at this point. I don't think I see a future ppg player in him, but I think he is able to carve out a career as a consistent ~60p scorer.

 

[Zaddy]

I think it's a mix of Pulju not being as good as people thought he was and him being poorly developed by the Oilers. I wouldn't have minded to see him go back to Finland for the year after his first 9 games in the NHL in his rookie year. Have him play in Liiga another season and really dominate that league while working with an english tutor off the ice. That would've prepared him better for the transition to North America. It's a pretty big ask of an 18 year old kid to just pack his bags and move across the Atlantic and expect everything to go smoothly, especially when he barely speaks the language. The whole situation is honestly really frustrating. I just pray Pulju doesn't become another Pääjärvi or Yakupov. It's a poor look for the organization.

 

[FinPanda]

I think people fail to realize he is still very young, not many players are going to put up lots of points at his age in the NHL. Take Pettersson for example; people are praising his play in the SHL (for a good reason, don't get me wrong), but I bet he would also struggle in the NHL right now. Yeah I know Pettersson was drafted a year later, but they're still born in the same calendar year. His scoring pace isn't much worse than Barkov's at the same age (also Pulju's ice time is significantly lower than Barkov's was), Rantanen had 0p in 9 games and couldn't stick in the line-up. Just something to remind some of you for labelling him a bust at this point. I don't think I see a future ppg player in him, but I think he is able to carve out a career as a consistent ~60p scorer.

Pettersson's problem won't be his hockey sense. He has a lot better chance to succeed. I didn't say he will bust, but I have hard time thinking he'll be a great NHL player. His problems need a lot of work and they aren't that easy to fix. I don't have big hopes for him, but if he manages to play a very good NHL career, I would really love that. I seriously want him to be successful.

 

[Hockeyisl1fe]

Pettersson's problem won't be his hockey sense. He has a lot better chance to succeed. I didn't say he will bust, but I have hard time thinking he'll be a great NHL player. His problems need a lot of work and they aren't that easy to fix. I don't have big hopes for him, but if he manages to play a very good NHL career, I would really love that. I seriously want him to be successful.

I didn't directly try to compare him to Pettersson, just to point out that Pulju isn't really that much older than one of the most highly touted prospects. And while Pulju's hockey sense might not be at a top tier level, he is still far from a finished product physically too. That is holding him back also atm. I am hoping him to become a poor man's Wheeler, his playing is very reminiscent of him. And speaking of Wheeler, it took a very long time for him to become a player he is now.

 

[FinPanda]

I didn't directly try to compare him to Pettersson, just to point out that Pulju isn't really that much older than one of the most highly touted prospects. And while Pulju's hockey sense might not be at a top tier level, he is still far from a finished product physically too. That is holding him back also atm. I am hoping him to become a poor man's Wheeler, his playing is very reminiscent of him. And speaking of Wheeler, it took a very long time for him to become a player he is now.

I hope you are right. It is easy to like Puljujärvi as a person. So happy and full of energy.