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

[GameChanger]

Great post, I always enjoy your insights.

I've stood by Pulju but you've been really loyal and have had some excellent analysis of his play showing it was much better than the raw stats.

Him and McDavid look so confident together, you can tell Pulju is getting comfortable and the chemistry is real. Those two will be the best or among the best combos in the NHL.

Thank you for your kind words! I know I've been annoying too, and sometimes I could've found better use for the time, but I do have a feeling at some points the things I persistently brought up were noticed and maybe did help the situation a bit.

The situation at your team was very different from most other teams. You already had McDavid and Drai was coming fast, too, so you didn't need a new young superstar as much. IMO that clearly affected the situation compared to teams that desperately needed someone like Mathhews, Laine or even Aho to give hope and start helping the team immediately.

 

[harpoon]

However, I've been worried about the treatment TM has given him, but it seems to be going to right direction.

For what its worth, coach M had some very kind words for JP tonight in his post game comments.
Now go to bed you crazy guy !!

 

[snipes]

Get some sleep GC. It's early morning in Suomi, we admire the loyalty but some rest is good before the next game.

Even with your Finnish sisu you need rest.

 

[MessierII]

I’m very excited about Jesse’s game coming together. Him and Connor clicking the way they have been is a great sign of things to come. This has the potential to be the deadliest duo in the league. Jesse is playing with confidence right now I love it.

 

[The Bored Man]

I'm amazed at how quickly the tentativeness disappeared. It's like he woke up one morning and realized that he's stronger and faster than his opponents -- which gives him confidence to use his hands and shot.

 

[GodPucker]

I'm amazed at how quickly the tentativeness disappeared. It's like he woke up one morning and realized that he's stronger and faster than his opponents -- which gives him confidence to use his hands and shot.

A lot of NHL'ers say that the biggest hurdle is realizing that you belong with everybody in the NHL. Once you have that then you can really take off.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Tip of the cap to McLellan for not benching him after a less than stellar 1st. The coach having confidence in him will continue to grow his game. Now if only he could sneak onto the ice for some PP time

 

[McFlyingV]

Alright, time for a maybe unpopular opinion. Puljujarvi will out goal score, and out point per game Matthew Tkachuk by the end of the season. I just have a feeling. I think its even more likely if Jesse ever gets put on the top PP unit.

 

[5 14 6 1]

Very happy with his development !

 

[walktheboulavard]

Alright, time for a maybe unpopular opinion. Puljujarvi will out goal score, and out point per game Matthew Tkachuk by the end of the season. I just have a feeling. I think its even more likely if Jesse ever gets put on the top PP unit.

The media is in love with Tkachuk and force feeds us to believe he's the 3rd best player after Mathews and Laine in the 2015 draft. Spector published an article as recent as Dec 7th claiming he's a more proven commodity than Keller, Sergachev and Puljujarvi at this point.

Maybe that's why it's an "unpopular" opinion but I can't see how anybody that watches Puljujarvi comes out thinking that Tkachuk should have been selected a head of him, Puljujarvi looks like he's in a completely different stratosphere. But hey anything is possible as I recall Ryan Whitney claiming Tkachuk was a better skater than Pulju last year.

If JP remains healthy and on a line with McDavid through out the rest of the season, I expect him to score more goals and produce at a better PPG clip than Tkachuk.

 

[McFlyingV]

The media is in love with Tkachuk and force feeds us to believe he's the 3rd best player after Mathews and Laine in the 2015 draft. Spector published an article as recent as Dec 7th claiming he's a more proven commodity than Keller, Sergachev and Puljujarvi at this point.

Maybe that's why it's an "unpopular" opinion but I can't see how anybody that watches Puljujarvi comes out thinking that Tkachuk should have been selected a head of him, Puljujarvi looks like he's in a completely different stratosphere. But hey anything is possible as I recall Ryan Whitney claiming Tkachuk was a better skater than Pulju last year.

If JP remains healthy and on a line with McDavid through out the rest of the season, I expect him to score more goals and produce at a better PPG clip than Tkachuk.

I personally think Tkachuk is a good player, but I don't see his ceiling being all that high. Meanwhile, I think Jesse is just scratching the surface at this point because he just has better tools. I do recall that Whitney comment, which is laughable because Tkachuk is quite slow and Puljujarvi is an elite skater.

 

[oobga]

Read a story on the athletic about what Columbus was thinking when he passed on Pulju. It was a little insulting to Pulju I thought, the way it talked about how they knew him inside and out and may have had him way down their list, not even close to top 4.

Glad Pulju got to show them up tonight

Still think Dubois projects to be a 40-50 point 2nd line C at best.

 

[walktheboulavard]

I personally think Tkachuk is a good player, but I don't see his ceiling being all that high. Meanwhile, I think Jesse is just scratching the surface at this point because he just has better tools. I do recall that Whitney comment, which is laughable because Tkachuk is quite slow and Puljujarvi is an elite skater.

Don't get me wrong, I don't discredit Tkachuk as a good player, but I certainly don't think he is better than players like Keller, Sergachev, Puljujarvi and McAvoy who if memory serves me correct are all from that same draft.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Tip of the cap to McLellan for not benching him after a less than stellar 1st. The coach having confidence in him will continue to grow his game. Now if only he could sneak onto the ice for some PP time

One of the biggest things I took away from the game, earlier this year and last year he would of been demoted after that turnover in the first.

How does puljujarvi go from looking like bambi on ice, to being able to hold his own in battles, and even mucking it up

 

[McFlyingV]

One of the biggest things I took away from the game, earlier this year and last year he would of been demoted after that turnover in the first.

How does puljujarvi go from looking like bambi on ice, to being able to hold his own in battles, and even mucking it up

Because he's 19 and still growing into his body while learning to use it against grown men. It can take years for a person with Jesse's height and wingspan to build his coordination. Your body has to re-learn or fine tune a lot of motor patterns when your body suddenly has a much larger scale to work with.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

One of the biggest things I took away from the game, earlier this year and last year he would of been demoted after that turnover in the first.

How does puljujarvi go from looking like bambi on ice, to being able to hold his own in battles, and even mucking it up

Getting older, stronger, more experienced and confident.

 

[urho]

One thing everyone should know is that by some reports by Finnish fans/newspapers JP grew up to 5cm in his draft year. That's quite a growth spurt and for sure affects the way he coordinates his body movements. He didn't have any troubles handling the puck before that and it seems he's getting over it now once he's getting used to his new frame. And boy does he look like a different player lately.

The truth is that his physical tools are out of this world. He's 193cm (6'4) tall and fast with heavy shot and underrated hockey iq. He has all the tools to become an elite first line winger if he manages to put it all together.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

He's well and truly seen the last of the AHL, he's been very good since his recall and he's really carving out his spot on this team.

 

[BB88]

Feels so good to see him play like this.

 

[CupofOil]

Kid is really starting to feel comfortable.

What goes largely unnoticed is the subtle passes he makes that usually don't show up in the highlight package. For instance, there was one sequence last night when he was flying down the wing and instead of trying to beat the defender one on one, he slowed the play down and made a deft little drop pass to McDavid which led to a scoring chance by Nurse I believe. It was a sign of maturity in his game.
Another play was a beautiful little touch pass to McDavid which led to the Auvitu goal in the Montreal game. These are plays that display his growing confidence and trusting his talent instead of forcing it.

Now the key is consistency. Don't be content with simply "making it", keep working every day on and off the ice to continually get better and let the talent do its thing.

I know that Letestu has been playing better lately but they really need to get Pulju on the PP somehow but in the same token, maybe they would prefer to keep his numbers modest before signing the 2nd contract.

 

[soothsayer]

Pulju is 10 times the player Tkatchuk is--always has been, always will be.

I really figured that Pulju would be a regular 30 to 40 goal scorer, without question. But based on his recent play, he may be even more than that. He is turning into a dominating force. I hope McDavid can keep up . . .

 

[TaroTsujimoto]

His smile has a humorous quality

 

[Kolja]

So happy to see Jesse find his place! Rooting for him every game.

I know +/- is unimportant. But he has the best +/- on the team.

 

[Da McBomb]

So when does he get rewarded with some PP time Todd? His goal last night kind of makes me believe he could be a great net presence on the PP.. if not a good one-time option on the right side.

 

[oXo Cube]

One of the biggest things I took away from the game, earlier this year and last year he would of been demoted after that turnover in the first.

How does puljujarvi go from looking like bambi on ice, to being able to hold his own in battles, and even mucking it up

Two things:

1) He has learned that you can't take a shift off in the NHL(this sounds bad at face value, but almost every player goes through this)
2) He has played enough games on small ice to have an actual understanding of how much time he has to make a decision. This was his biggest problem by a lot.