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

[TheFinnishTrap]

I see so much Wheeler in him, but he just can't seem to put it all together consistently. When I watched him in the preseason, I was impressed by his better backchecking and solid defense overall, but his weakness on boardplay is a bit disappointing. However, Laine suffered a bit from the same thing, as he was tied up to the boards fairly easily and stripped off the puck. This year, he looks a lot better in that regard, so I believe that's something Jesse can do as well, and it would go a long way to help Jesse find his spot on an NHL roster. That way he could play a more straightforward game more effectively, which could help him break into the NHL roster in a bit smaller role.

His puck handling problems are still quite puzzling to me. I would describe his puck handling kind of off-balance. It just looks like he isn't comfortable and struggles to keep his balance while he has the puck. Comparing to his 2015 Liiga videos, his stance looks a bit lower and he's leaning in more. Hard to say what has caused that.

 

[TheFinnishTrap]

Yeah 2016 Draft looking real bad for us now. 2017 is more promising.

Eh, Juolevi and Puljujärvi are the only major prospects heading towards bust territory at the moment. From the 2016 draft we still have Laine, Borgström and Kuokkanen along with some minor prospects. In fact, it looks like picking a Finn in the 1st round is a fairly safe thing to do.

 

[FinPanda]

Eh, Juolevi and Puljujärvi are the only major prospects heading towards bust territory at the moment. From the 2016 draft we still have Laine, Borgström and Kuokkanen along with some minor prospects. In fact, it looks like picking a Finn in the 1st round is a fairly safe thing to do.

True, I knew that and I meant Puljujärvi and Juolevi. Forgot about Kuokkanen. But still I feel 2017 draft looks a bit better for us than 2016. More depth.

 

[KlefDown]

Our Bakersfield team is terrible and I don't think it's a good place for him to develop.
I'm sure his point totals would be very different if he were on Marlies or a good AHL team

 

[Szechwan]

Eh, Juolevi and Puljujärvi are the only major prospects heading towards bust territory at the moment. From the 2016 draft we still have Laine, Borgström and Kuokkanen along with some minor prospects. In fact, it looks like picking a Finn in the 1st round is a fairly safe thing to do.

Juolevi is playing 20min a night and has 6pts in 9 games in Liiga thus far. Had a tough last year but he's looking pretty good of late.

Seems like change of scenery is what was needed (although he's certainly not currently the surefire top pairing D he was drafted to be)

 

[TheFinnishTrap]

Juolevi is playing 20min a night and has 6pts in 9 games in Liiga thus far. Had a tough last year but he's looking pretty good of late.

Seems like change of scenery is what was needed (although he's certainly not currently the surefire top pairing D he was drafted to be)

Yeah, I'm not actually all that worried about Juolevi. He is heading in the right direction currently. I will have to watch a Bakersfield game to see how Pulju is actually playing at the moment, though.

 

[JustaFinnishGuy]

Our Bakersfield team is terrible and I don't think it's a good place for him to develop.
I'm sure his point totals would be very different if he were on Marlies or a good AHL team

Anyone can benefit from good linemates.. It's not like the AHL is on NHL level..
If Pulju isn't going to bust, he's going to do it his way and he is going to be responsible for the revival of his career at this point.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

Anyone can benefit from good linemates.. It's not like the AHL is on NHL level..
If Pulju isn't going to bust, he's going to do it his way and he is going to be responsible for the revival of his career at this point.

He is f***ing nineteen. His career hasn't even begun.

 

[JustaFinnishGuy]

He is ****ing nineteen. His career hasn't even begun.

That's true. But he's busting to the expectations set to him. He can become a serviceable NHL'er but I doubt it at this point.

He is 19. Much can change in a course of a year.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Its funny to see how when certain players are drafted from different areas and are taking a different path can cause people to feel they are busting if they aren't top players ASAP. Like he is only 19 years old but is in his second year in the AHL. Guys like Barzal, Domi, Petro, and the list goes on and on over the years and on all were returned to Junior hockey at 19 years old but everyone still considered them extremely top prospects because they tore it up with insane points and all became top young NHLers at 20+. Pujujarvi gets to develop with older players in professional hockey. If he was a player drafted out of the CHL and was returned to junior hockey again this season, im sure he would be tearing up the league and fans would be drooling over his game.

I realize a lot of kids nowadays are making immediate impact in the NHL, but there are still a crap load that aren't until 20+

 

[Jumptheshark]

He is ****ing nineteen. His career hasn't even begun.

yep

if Pizza boy is a bust then 95% of that draft is also heading into bust catagory

for me it is partly hatred of all things oilers that goes unchecked and that players who have not gotten anywhere near the nhl and are out of site and out of mind --suddenly have more value

 

[Cowumbus]

They didn't have that good of an idea apparently. Dubois isn't exactly a world beater either with his 3 in 15. That's worse ppg than Pulj last season. If they had an idea they would've taken Keller.

Dubois is playing on the 3/4 line. Hes been okay.

 

[ponder]

I see so much Wheeler in him, but he just can't seem to put it all together consistently. When I watched him in the preseason, I was impressed by his better backchecking and solid defense overall, but his weakness on boardplay is a bit disappointing. However, Laine suffered a bit from the same thing, as he was tied up to the boards fairly easily and stripped off the puck. This year, he looks a lot better in that regard, so I believe that's something Jesse can do as well, and it would go a long way to help Jesse find his spot on an NHL roster. That way he could play a more straightforward game more effectively, which could help him break into the NHL roster in a bit smaller role.

His puck handling problems are still quite puzzling to me. I would describe his puck handling kind of off-balance. It just looks like he isn't comfortable and struggles to keep his balance while he has the puck. Comparing to his 2015 Liiga videos, his stance looks a bit lower and he's leaning in more. Hard to say what has caused that.

I think Wheeler is a pretty good "if things go right" comparable. Similar to young Wheeler, JP is a top 5 pick with great size, great athleticism, intriguing tools, but a bit of a raw game. Wheeler spent 4 full post-draft seasons in the USHL/NCAA, then had an up-and-down first 3 NHL seasons before really breaking out in his 4th. He's a good example of why it's good to be patient with guys who have great tools, as it really did take until his draft+8 season before he became a real impact NHLer.

I think JP's board play is likely to improve a lot with age. Hockey IQ and puck handling are tougher to improve, but certainly not impossible, and he doesn't need to be elite in either area, just solid. I think there's significant bust-risk with Pulju, but significant upside too, if he can work on his weaknesses and learn to make the most of his strengths then Wheeler-esque upside isn't out of the question. The Oilers will certainly have to be patient though, he's got lots of work to do, these improvements won't happen overnight.

 

[JJTT]

It's crazy how he is suddenly a bust at age of 19. Other than Barkov, Laine and Aho, every other Finnish prospect was still playing in Liiga at the same age. Let's wait until he is 22 at least.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Y’all saying “Player X wasn’t in the NHL at age 19 and no one called him a bust!!” are missing the point completely. It’s not that Puljujarvi isn’t in the NHL. It’s that he’s underwhelming in the AHL.

 

[ijuka]

Y’all saying “Player X wasn’t in the NHL at age 19 and no one called him a bust!!” are missing the point completely. It’s not that Puljujarvi isn’t in the NHL. It’s that he’s underwhelming in the AHL.

To me, it's not even that. It's that he's shown no visible improvement or willingness to work on his weaknesses at all. His game looks the same as last year and he's not improved essentially at all. Actually, you could argue he's even regressed.

 

[JetsFan815]

I think Wheeler is a pretty good "if things go right" comparable. Similar to young Wheeler, JP is a top 5 pick with great size, great athleticism, intriguing tools, but a bit of a raw game. Wheeler spent 4 full post-draft seasons in the USHL/NCAA, then had an up-and-down first 3 NHL seasons before really breaking out in his 4th. He's a good example of why it's good to be patient with guys who have great tools, as it really did take until his draft+8 season before he became a real impact NHLer.

I think JP's board play is likely to improve a lot with age. Hockey IQ and puck handling are tougher to improve, but certainly not impossible, and he doesn't need to be elite in either area, just solid. I think there's significant bust-risk with Pulju, but significant upside too, if he can work on his weaknesses and learn to make the most of his strengths then Wheeler-esque upside isn't out of the question. The Oilers will certainly have to be patient though, he's got lots of work to do, these improvements won't happen overnight.

Exactly those comparing him to Wheeler and then decrying a lack of consistency from him should be the first to realize that at this age Wheeler had accomplished much much less than what Puljujarvi has.

I don't even think he is a bust-risk. He is doing pretty well in the AHL and has excellent pedigree of playing against men in the Liiga and succeeding.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

How i felt about Pulju was pretty telling when Jarmo passed on him and istead of the "whaat" reaction, i remember thinking something like "yeah i get that". If he was Canadian and i had seen him play less, i would've been shocked based on the hype.

Lol patting yourself on the back.

The hype came from him actually being really good prior to playing with men because he's so physically dominant and was always really fast for his size (and seems to have started to pick the speed back up recently).

If you watch his last appearance in the U18s he demolished his opposition. Hindsight is 20/20, anyone can say "I saw it coming", also he's only 19 still; Blake Wheeler wasn't anywhere near touching the NHL at that age

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Lol patting yourself on the back.

The hype came from him actually being really good prior to playing with men because he's so physically dominant and was always really fast for his size (and seems to have started to pick the speed back up recently).

If you watch his last appearance in the U18s he demolished his opposition. Hindsight is 20/20, anyone can say "I saw it coming", also he's only 19 still; Blake Wheeler wasn't anywhere near touching the NHL at that age

Nobody is patting anyone on the back, i would rather see Pulju break out already.

And that wasn't based on hindsight, you go back to the countless Laine vs Pulju discussions and you'll find me talking about him in the same light like i talked about him now. I got enough crap at the time, i don't need another round of it.

As far as the U18's go, you can put the bolded parts together.

But yeah im not sure what the problem is, here lately i've mentioned i think once he's ready he's going to come out with a bang, i think he's got potential for 60 points, i think he's got great tools. What else do you want me to say?

 

[Maukkis]

A nineteen-year-old bust is not a thing, but not showing signs of progression at that age is pretty f***ing worrying.

 

[93LEAFS]

The one thing that should be noted about Wheeler though, is that his development path for a player is truly an outlier and he wasn't even really considered a high-pick (it was off the board). I'm not saying Puljujarvi is going to bust or anything along those lines, but picking a player whose development path was such an outlier isn't a realistic way to project anyone. A more apt comparison in regard to development arch's might be someone like JVR who was a highly skilled big guy, but he didn't wow the world in his two years in the NCAA.

Wheeler was a very raw player coming out of high-school hockey, that's a very different development curve than a 16 year old who was at the WJC and played in a top Euro league.

 

[Juxtaposer]

A nineteen-year-old bust is not a thing, but not showing signs of progression at that age is pretty ****ing worrying.

This. Puljujarvi is nowhere near a bust but people are right to be concerned.

 

[Albatros]

JetsFan815 wrote:

I don't even think he is a bust-risk. He is doing pretty well in the AHL and has excellent pedigree of playing against men in the Liiga and succeeding.

Having everything taken care of by the organization near home in his native language. I don't think his bust risk is related to his skill set as a hockey player, but as a youngster far from his personal comfort zone.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

Nobody is patting anyone on the back, i would rather see Pulju break out already.

And that wasn't based on hindsight, you go back to the countless Laine vs Pulju discussions and you'll find me talking about him in the same light like i talked about him now. I got enough crap at the time, i don't need another round of it.

As far as the U18's go, you can put the bolded parts together.

But yeah im not sure what the problem is, here lately i've mentioned i think once he's ready he's going to come out with a bang, i think he's got potential for 60 points, i think he's got great tools. What else do you want me to say?

Maybe it's just the way you phrased it that came off pretentious to me, my bad.

 

[Canovin]

Y’all saying “Player X wasn’t in the NHL at age 19 and no one called him a bust!!” are missing the point completely. It’s not that Puljujarvi isn’t in the NHL. It’s that he’s underwhelming in the AHL.

5 points in 10 games is underwhelming but he's not there to put up points. He's there to work on other area of his game. It's been reported that his game is a lot cleaner now. The points will eventually come