Player Discussion Jesse Puljujärvi 4th Overall 2016 Draft. Part III On Loan To Finnish WHC Team

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Joe MacMillan

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The lack of ice time, questionable on ice usage and sitting in the press box a few times too many don't mean squat in the big picture. He'll be fine.

But at this point they need to send him to Bakersfield and maybe call him back up around the trade deadline (provided that he deserves the call up based on performance) and re-evaluate from there. At this point it's pointless to keep him in Edmonton since it's evident they aren't gonna play him enough if at all. He is an offensive minded player and he needs to start scoring to build up confidence and get into the groove. 1st line minutes and 1st unit PP time would be perfect for him to get going.
 

BB88

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Jan 19, 2015
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Wouldn't have guessed before the season that I would be dreaming of seeing a confirmed link with Pulju to AHL.

1-2 games to build his confidence up, then he hopefully dominates the AHL for January and gives Chia a better idea what the team needs and he gets called up in February to help to push for playoff spot with a role on the pp, no point to trade for Iginla who is useless just to use in on that spot when Pulju is flying and is better than Iginla.
 

snipes

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Dec 28, 2015
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Wouldn't have guessed before the season that I would be dreaming of seeing a confirmed link with Pulju to AHL.

1-2 games to build his confidence up, then he hopefully dominates the AHL for January and gives Chia a better idea what the team needs and he gets called up in February to help to push for playoff spot with a role on the pp, no point to trade for Iginla who is useless just to use in on that spot when Pulju is flying and is better than Iginla.

Pulju just got sent down. Slepyshev recalled.
 

Consultant

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Can't find a link. But surely it must be true. Thank goodness. Good luck down there, hope he remembers how to play more than 5 minutes a game.
 

oobga

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OK wimpy media. How about figuring out what the heck the Oilers were thinking with Pulju all this time.
 

oXo Cube

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Seems like it would have made a lot more sense to send him down before the road trip rather than after.

I wonder if it was another Draisaitl like situation where they kept him on the Oilers so that the organization takes the heat for him not playing for Finland at the World Juniors?

EDIT:

im VERY curious if there were some hockey politics on here, like not wanting Finland to get him for the WJHC.

Politics probably isn't the word I would use. Puljujarvi had/has nothing to prove at the junior hockey level so there really wasn't a lot of developmental upside for him to play there.
 

snipes

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So what if we burnt a year? Makes him cheaper to resign :).
 

awesomo

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EDIT:



Politics probably isn't the word I would use. Puljujarvi had/has nothing to prove at the junior hockey level so there really wasn't a lot of developmental upside for him to play there.

i dont disagree, i wouldnt have sent him down either. But there would've been a lot of media talking about how he should be loaned to finland since hes playing in the AHL i think
 

BB88

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Pulju just got sent down. Slepyshev recalled.

Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss :yo: :yo: :yo: :yo: :yo: :yo: :yo:
Positive news, I needed that after Laine concussion news.


Now let's see what happens, I expect it to take few games for him to star building his confidence up again and hopefully he dominates after that and earns a call up.

When does your AHL team have their next game?
 

Diamondillium

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Is it 40 games on the roster or 40 games played that takes a year of contract control??

I have no source on this or knowledge about whether I am correct, but I was working under the assumption that it didn't matter because he was still getting professional games in the AHL. I could very easily be wrong.
 
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snipes

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Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss :yo: :yo: :yo: :yo: :yo: :yo: :yo:
Positive news, I needed that after Laine concussion news.


Now let's see what happens, I expect it to take few games for him to star building his confidence up again and hopefully he dominates after that and earns a call up.

When does your AHL team have their next game?

The timing of it all is interesting. After the WJC and after the 40 game mark, like you mentioned before, burning a year makes Pulju cheaper to resign. That helps us with McDavid and Drai due for big pay raises.

Looks like Bakersfield has a game Tuesday. Pulju will see big minutes, I imagine he'll be up with the Oilers come time for a playoff push. The timing of it all is very interesting and almost seems like it was calculated.
 

Consultant

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Is it 40 games on the roster or 40 games played that takes a year of contract control??

Looks like it is 40 game on roster. !?!
Really really strange that the Oilers lose a year of control so that he could ride the pine for a few extra days. Chia needs to answer for this, it makes no sense at all. Perhaps there was a KHL threat otherwise this makes no sense.
 

BB88

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The timing of it all is interesting. After the WJC and after the 40 game mark, like you mentioned before, burning a year makes Pulju cheaper to resign. That helps us with McDavid and Drai due for big pay raises.

Looks like Bakersfield has a game Tuesday. Pulju will see big minutes, I imagine he'll be up with the Oilers come time for a playoff push. The timing of it all is very interesting and almost seems like it was calculated.

That's why it's so good they didn't keep him up and continue to play him like you play your teams worst 4th liners.
He could be a big addition to their playoff run and add depth for playoffs, but that won't happen unless he gets to play and work on his weaknesses.

Hopefully everything goes well for him.
 

snipes

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That's why it's so good they didn't keep him up and continue to play him like you play your teams worst 4th liners.
He could be a big addition to their playoff run and add depth for playoffs, but that won't happen unless he gets to play and work on his weaknesses.

Hopefully everything goes well for him.

The entire timing is interesting. Do you remember before the season started when you mentioned if we burnt a year of his ELC this year it wouldn't be the worst thing? A 20 year old Pulju is cheaper to resign than a 21 year old Pulju.

I'm not even concerned about burning a year, if anything it helps us. He'll come in much cheaper and be a mainstay as McDavids RWer down the road once Drai carries his own line.

Pulju needs to get some swagger back and really work on his stick handling/puck control. He's not a good stick handler right now. He's got good vision, work ethic, shot, passing ability, speed, and size. He's a perfect RWer for McDavid, but he needs to improve his stick handling and carrying the puck under control and not bobbling it.

Also, he needs to get stronger on his feet. He's kind of like Bambi right now, he hits the ice too easily. Once he grows into that 6'4 frame with his skating ability he'll be a force, he's just a baby right now.
 

BB88

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The entire timing is interesting. Do you remember before the season started when you mentioned if we burnt a year of his ELC this year it wouldn't be the worst thing? A 20 year old Pulju is cheaper to resign than a 21 year old Pulju.

I'm not even concerned about burning a year, if anything it helps us. He'll come in much cheaper and be a mainstay as McDavids RWer down the road once Drai carries his own line.

Pulju needs to get some swagger back and really work on his stick handling/puck control. He's not a good stick handler right now. He's got good vision, work ethic, shot, passing ability, speed, and size. He's a perfect RWer for McDavid, but he needs to improve his stick handling and carrying the puck under control and not bobbling it.

Also, he needs to get stronger on his feet. He's kind of like Bambi right now, he hits the ice too easily. Once he grows into that 6'4 frame with his skating ability he'll be a force, he's just a baby right now.

Burning a year of ELC makes sense, but that was done ages ago, burning RFA year makes his next cotnract a bit more expensive.

Pulju has things to work on his game, like almost every 18y rookie/prospects, for his weaknesses the best thing is to get him play as much as possible and play with the puck, be in the game, controll the game, which he has the chance to do now in the AHL.
Confidence is the biggest thing for him, if they can get his confidence to level sky high he's going to look like a completely different player.

I've watched Iginla& Stafford play this year, they make the line they play worse, they really don't add anything to the team yet those are the guys Gm's will go after. I'm hoping Pulju will stop that because he can actually help the team.
 

ChicagoBullsFan

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Jun 6, 2015
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Finally was about time.
Honestly said this move ( Puljujarvi's AHL assignment) should've been done 2 months ago.

Now let Jesse play in Bakersfield end of this season and release him to Team Finland's IIHF 2017 men's world championships evaluation camp in mid / late April
(When Bakersfield's regular season is over if they won't make AHL playoffs).
 

FlameChampion

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I dont think the burning of a ELC or year off of RFA even matters. As people have pointed out they will probably get to sign him off of his ELC cheaper based on the year he had. Whether hes a RFA/UFA at 25 or 26 doesnt really matter in my opinion. By that age they will know what they have or dont have. I think the NHL is changing. Younger players are becoming better at younger ages. They can also just manipulate their bridge contract to run out when hes still an RFA.

Take a look at someone like Draitsatl. He is 21 years old. JP projects to be a similar type of player in terms of production. After this year they will have to decide what kind of contract they want to give Drai. Will they do like a short term bridge contract or a longer contract? How will RFA/UFA status really affect Drai's next contract? Now replace Drai with JP. In the grand scheme of contracts I dont think it really matters, the Oilers have most of the leverage and have options to do whats best for the club.

I think the real issue comes from whether or not this has been good for JP's development? That is a tough question to answer. When GMPC picked JP he seemed very excited to draft him imo. I have a hard time suspecting that hes trying to ruin JP or do something not in his best interest. I think they are probably more things behind the scenes than fans see or realize. I think the Oilers kept him up to try and get him more comfortable in their environment and give him some context of what he needs to do to make the NHL. I dont think they wanted to send a kid from the oversees, who can barely speak english out the door into another new country (Bakersfield, USA). I think they are trying to ease him along in a new culture, treating him well (being supportive and giving him some extra money due to NHL time) and putting the persons interests above the hockey.

If the above is the case, than I think Oilers should be applauded that they are looking out for the person JP. I think the problem though is that especially the last month or so, giving the kid 3-8 mins a night isnt looking out for the player on the ice. They needed a better balance. Like its been pointed out to death, it would of been nice if he got some PP time on either unit, and put in a better position to succeed on the ice.

The coaches job is to coach and try to make the playoffs. For a team that hasnt made the playoffs for 10 years and has McDavid, I am sure there is a lot of pressure on TM to get them there. For a team thats been in the playoffs this year from Day 1, the fanbase expects the Oilers in the playoffs this year. Its pretty obvious that TM doesnt trust JP. In some ways you cant blame him, he fumbles the puck, he doesnt protect the puck well for someone his size, and he hasnt adapted to the speed of the NHL yet. I have to suspect that theres a bit of a disconnect between TM and PC which isnt all that surprising given the context of whats happened if true.

We all want JP to be the best Oilers he can be for the forseeable future. I think we all just need to sit back and hope that the Oilers are doing the best they can for the kid on and off the ice. Because what else can we do. Time will tell.
 

Trilliann

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May 12, 2016
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Hi all, Just keeping an eye on all the Finn kids, I'm happy to see he's finally out of limbo :)

Where should I look for people who watch Bakersfield games? I'd love to see what they think of his game and not just look at the points he's getting.
Here or somewhere else maybe?
Thanks in advance
 
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