Player Discussion Jesse Puljujärvi 4th Overall 2016 Draft. Part V: Called Up 11/10/17

[Da McBomb]

Not a bad idea. The Canucks did it with Juolevi and he's immediately lighting it up and playing much better.

I'm not sure if lighting it up back in Finland where the game is much different will be of any benefit to him succeeding in the NHL. It might be good for his confidence but that's about it.

 

[Zaddy]

I'm not sure if lighting it up back in Finland where the game is much different will be of any benefit to him succeeding in the NHL. It might be good for his confidence but that's about it.

Confidence is not an aspect you want to overlook though. So much in sports has to do with confidence and it has a crucial role in development. Doesn't seem like Jesse has very much of it right now and grinding it out in Bakersfield may not be the best option for him if he is uncomfortable there. Confidence is priority #1. If he has to go back and play out the season in Finland for him to get back in it, then so be it. Better that than wasting an entire season. However, I'd like to see him called up when Yamamoto gets sent down just to see what he can do. Just because he isn't producing that well in AHL doesn't mean he can't do well in NHL if given another chance.

 

[GameChanger]

Confidence is not an aspect you want to overlook though. So much in sports has to do with confidence and it has a crucial role in development. Doesn't seem like Jesse has very much of it right now and grinding it out in Bakersfield may not be the best option for him if he is uncomfortable there. Confidence is priority #1. If he has to go back and play out the season in Finland for him to get back in it, then so be it. Better that than wasting an entire season. However, I'd like to see him called up when Yamamoto gets sent down just to see what he can do. Just because he isn't producing that well in AHL doesn't mean he can't do well in NHL if given another chance.

There hasn't been too many AHL games, and I'm sure he's had to deal with some mental issues too, so I hope they don't base the desicion about calling him up on merely the points. They should watch his game and recall the preseason games and then estimate if he could be better than some other players (Caggiula, Strome, Slepy, JJ...) or bring enough new to the team (skating, shot, PP, promising chemistry with McDavid). Well I'm sure this is what they're actually doing all the time.

You wrote very well about confidence. In my opinion this is where the Oilers have made many questionable moves. Last year there were some bad moves right after his succesful period. This preseason it seemed he was just getting it going, having a couple of good games and having clearly more confidence (based on what I read here) in the last game. I found it strange they decided to send him down keeping some other players with worse preseason games instead and call Slepy up so fast.

 

[Risingwind]

I found it strange they decided to send him down keeping some other players with worse preseason games instead and call Slepy up so fast.

It seems to me like that happened for contract reasons. Jesse doesn't have to clear waivers so sending him down was the obvious choice. TMac's interviews regarding Kailer seem like he's trying to avoid saying that they'll keep him for 9 games and then send him back to juniors, which also happens to be the only sane choice regarding him. Maybe if he does a hat trick or something, I don't know. It's like being forced to make a bad decision at that point. Considering the cap situation the only real choice is to send him down, and giving him a year to beef up will do wonders for his long-term durability.

Btw, does anyone know which Oilers players are waiver-exempt in the big team right now? I'm not sure about the statuses of some of the younger players. Jesse will only have this season and 18-19 as exempt, if I'm not mistaken. Him having so many games last year looks like a bad management choice, no matter how you look at it. Even if you consider him as mere trade bait, these sort of things don't look very appetizing to the other team.

Edit: Slepy, Caggs, Benning, Nurse. Are they the only waiver-exempt players after Yamamoto? I suppose McDavid qualifies as one until the summer... Looking at the roster, the only interesting names considering Pulju's situation are Slepy and Cagg.

 

[shoop]

You look for whats best for the player and the team. He won't help us and bringing him up won't help his development.

With Yamamoto back in the dub Puljujarvi won't help the team? That's a bit much.

 

[Staghorn]

With Yamamoto back in the dub Puljujarvi won't help the team? That's a bit much.

Send Yama to the WHL now so he's not sitting in press boxes so that someone can play games with contract rules. THEN tell Pulju in Finnish so he understands that he gets FIVE games on McDavids wing to prove he belongs in the NHL. He's not a baby, time for the big boy pants. Maybe he pulls a Drai and produces after playing with scrubs in the AHL. If he doesn't produce POINTS and somewhat responsible and intelligent play. see you at camp next year buddy. The Oilers need a spark.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

Send Yama to the WHL now so he's not sitting in press boxes so that someone can play games with contract rules. THEN tell Pulju in Finnish so he understands that he gets FIVE games on McDavids wing to prove he belongs in the NHL. He's not a baby, time for the big boy pants. Maybe he pulls a Drai and produces after playing with scrubs in the AHL. If he doesn't produce POINTS and somewhat responsible and intelligent play. see you at camp next year buddy. The Oilers need a spark.

What am i reading? You say he's not a baby, but you want them to treat him like a kindergartner. Oh boy, let's give a 19 year old prospect with low confidence a ultimatum.

Like Chiarelli said, Jesse will be called up when he is ready.

 

[GameChanger]

Send Yama to the WHL now so he's not sitting in press boxes so that someone can play games with contract rules. THEN tell Pulju in Finnish so he understands that he gets FIVE games on McDavids wing to prove he belongs in the NHL. He's not a baby, time for the big boy pants. Maybe he pulls a Drai and produces after playing with scrubs in the AHL. If he doesn't produce POINTS and somewhat responsible and intelligent play. see you at camp next year buddy. The Oilers need a spark.

If they want to give Pulju some ultimate pressure they will tell him what you suggested. I don't quite understand why e.g. Caggiula, Slepy and Strome would be safe, but a rookie who has much more potential and who is developing constantly would have just five games this year. I have nothing against those players, but IMO there are two many players who can just be there without having to worry about being benched or sent down.

 

[Da McBomb]

Confidence is not an aspect you want to overlook though. So much in sports has to do with confidence and it has a crucial role in development. Doesn't seem like Jesse has very much of it right now and grinding it out in Bakersfield may not be the best option for him if he is uncomfortable there. Confidence is priority #1. If he has to go back and play out the season in Finland for him to get back in it, then so be it. Better that than wasting an entire season. However, I'd like to see him called up when Yamamoto gets sent down just to see what he can do. Just because he isn't producing that well in AHL doesn't mean he can't do well in NHL if given another chance.

Of course, confidence is good in any profession. Having strong belief in yourself can go a long ways. But when you're talking about Pulju gaining confidence by going back to Finland, I don't believe that confidence would automatically transfer over here when he comes back. Its such a different game over there - bigger ice, so much more time to make plays, etc etc. As soon as he gets back to North American hockey, he has to adapt to everything again. I think its better for him to just grind it out over here until it hopefully clicks for him and he figures it out.

 

[Dempsey]

14 shots in the last two games inluding 9 last night. I haven't been able to watch, but he's due for a breakout if that continues.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

14 shots in the last two games inluding 9 last night. I haven't been able to watch, but he's due for a breakout if that continues.

Agreed, the big club needs a shooter in the worst way and Jesse can be that guy. Hopefully if we call him up we give him top unit PP time to get his confidence going.

 

[Soundwave]

14 shots in the last two games inluding 9 last night. I haven't been able to watch, but he's due for a breakout if that continues.

9 shots in a game? Crazy. Kid is pushing hard at least.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Remember when some said that Pulju was almost on par with Laine during their draft year? Man... it's kind of concerning that this pick might turn out to be like a Yakupov or sam Bennett pick.

Laine hasn't been good this season, he could still surpass him.

 

[GameChanger]

Laine hasn't been good this season, he could still surpass him.

Last year I wrote (along with a lot of compliments) that so far Laine has needed the best possible players (Scheiffele) around to succeed, but I got attacked by some enthusastic Laine supporters. Some of those same writers are now admitting it's true Laine isn't ready to drive a line and actually demanding constantly for him to be put with Scheiffele. He's a young player with an amazing shot and he'll will be fine, also during this season, but I'm hoping he could be used as an example that it's not always such a terrible or unusual thing if a young talent needs good players around at this stage.

Puljujarvi has had about five games in the 1st line, in which he's scored seven points with almost no PP time. In addition to that there were two clear points more he'd deserved. At some point the Oilers should think if it's really best to keep Jesse in the AHL or if giving him a chance with McDavid could mean they might be able to use Drai to fix the 2nd line. After all they are paying a salary of a terrific 2C. However, if they don't believe in Jesse this could be a good time to trade him.

 

[Ippenator]

Last year I wrote (along with a lot of compliments) that so far Laine has needed the best possible players (Scheiffele) around to succeed, but I got attacked by some enthusastic Laine supporters. Some of those same writers are now admitting it's true Laine isn't ready to drive a line and actually demanding constantly for him to be put with Scheiffele. He's a young player with an amazing shot and he'll will be fine, also during this season, but I'm hoping he could be used as an example that it's not always such a terrible or unusual thing if a young talent needs good players around at this stage.

Puljujarvi has had about five games in the 1st line, in which he's scored seven points with almost no PP time. In addition to that there were two clear points more he'd deserved. At some point the Oilers should think if it's really best to keep Jesse in the AHL or if giving him a chance with McDavid could mean they might be able to use Drai to fix the 2nd line. After all they are paying a salary of a terrific 2C. However, if they don't believe in Jesse this could be a good time to trade him.

I guess you are referring to my posts about Laine lately? Well however it is, I have to point out that Laine is not a good comparable even now when he has had by his own standards a bit rough start to the season. Even in that situation and with linemates that truly don’t have good chemistry together, he has managed to produce 4+2=6 points in 10 games in the NHL, while Pulju has 0+3=3 points in 7 games in a much worse league.

Also Pulju was 0+0 in the WHC last spring, and in fact the last time when his point point production has been on a pretty impressive level was 2016 in FEL and in the U18 WJC.

I don’t know why on earth you keep comparing Pulju to Laine, as Laine is in a completely different class as a player and a talent. Laine has so much better shot and hockey IQ that there is absolutely no point to compare them as young talents.

At best I see Pulju as a good NHL player in the future, but there is a really long way for that to happen. Laine on the other hand is already a good NHL player and he has very good chances of becoming a real superstar in the future. I don’t see unfortunately much of chances of this happening with Pulju, although I do definitely like him, and I hope that he can still prove me wrong. I just don’t see it realistic unfortunately.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

I don't think they are too worried about his lack of production in the AHL, especially on a team that doesn't have much in the way of offensive skill up front. Many times players in that position don't put up a ton of production in that league like you'd expect them but when they get called up and they are playing with skilled guys, who make plays and do their jobs then things start to click.

My guess is that they wanna see Jesse improving the areas they felt he needed to work on (shooting the puck more being one of them) they likely send Yamamoto back soon and once the team gains some traction and the pucks start going in I'd bet JP is called up and likely gets some time with McDavid or Draisaitl.

 

[GameChanger]

I don’t know why on earth you keep comparing Pulju to Laine, as Laine is in a completely different class as a player and a talent. Laine has so much better shot and hockey IQ that there is absolutely no point to compare them as young talents.

I know there's no point in talking with you, as you know you are always right in everything. However, it's almost funny that every time Laine is mentioned you see it as comparing the players. If you think about it, maybe you would agree that you can mention two names without it meaning comparing players. I'm also getting tired that just about every time I mention Laine's name here you take it as a chance to say what a great player Laine is and what a terrible player Jesse is. You can keep doing that freely at the Jets forum.

 

[GameChanger]

My guess is that they wanna see Jesse improving the areas they felt he needed to work on (shooting the puck more being one of them) they likely send Yamamoto back soon and once the team gains some traction and the pucks start going in I'd bet JP is called up and likely gets some time with McDavid or Draisaitl.

I believe you're right with this. Basically there should be no hurry, but right now it just seems the Oilers would really need someone with speed and a good shot. I haven't seen the AHL games but it's probably a good sign Jesse has shot so much lately, and the assist in the last game was a great effort. I also read one positive report (from a game where he didn't score points) so it's not too bad though of course there could always be more points.

 

[joestevens29]

I don't think they are too worried about his lack of production in the AHL, especially on a team that doesn't have much in the way of offensive skill up front. Many times players in that position don't put up a ton of production in that league like you'd expect them but when they get called up and they are playing with skilled guys, who make plays and do their jobs then things start to click.

My guess is that they wanna see Jesse improving the areas they felt he needed to work on (shooting the puck more being one of them) they likely send Yamamoto back soon and once the team gains some traction and the pucks start going in I'd bet JP is called up and likely gets some time with McDavid or Draisaitl.

I was worried about his production because truthfully I don't care who he is playing with. He is a guy that had 28 points in 39 games last year and should be able to drive a line himself. We should be saying man is Malone sure reaping the benefits of playing with JP, but we aren't.

With that being said the guy had 9 shots last game so that took quite a bit of my worry away. Although next week at this time if I see he played 10 games and only has 4 points I'll have some concern.

 

[GMofOilers]

Fleming yesterday onOilers now, said JP had his most complete game the other night as a pro. If he can keep that up for a couple games I think we will see him soon

 

[Canovin]

Kid needs to stay down and keep firing 10 shots a night. Don't care if it goes in or not.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Scheifele is definitely one of the best (arguably THE best) all-around 2 way C in the NHL... so any rookie gets a definite boost playing on his line.

I don't doubt Puljujarvi would also have a solid boost playing with him and obviously McDavid isn't chopped liver as well.

Last season Puljujarvi had very, very solid GA/60 stats while he was on the ice compared to his teammates. In his small sample of NHL games I was actually very impressed that he wasn't a defensive liability out there which is often the case with younger players.

Unfortunately the GF/60 stats weren't as good and his personal pts/60 wasn't as high as it could have been given that he had a strong offensive push while he was on the ice.

The net effect though was that he WAS definitely a positive out there when he was on the ice. Hockey is a two way game which I think far too many forget and they end up looking at just boxcars and adjudicating talent based on that alone.

Based on what I saw last season he is essentially already a decent top 6 talent (again considering his play at both ends of the ice)... and more play will determine how well he improves (or possibly regresses) when he gets more ice time and expectations for more offense are put upon him.

 

[Jumptheshark]

I'm not sure if lighting it up back in Finland where the game is much different will be of any benefit to him succeeding in the NHL. It might be good for his confidence but that's about it.

Without starting a war--I think MANY people in North America down play leagues here in Europe not based on what they have seen but on what other have told them. Both the top leagues in Sweden and Finland are too knotch. It usually takes fins a year or two more in Europe to hone their craft before they head over. I personally think him back in Europe for a year would not be a bad thing

 

[Albatros]

Probably he should go back, but if he does I'm not sure that he will ever return.