Jesse Puljujarvi Possible Breakout Season.

[ESH]

Dunno, playing 9 minutes per night in a checking role while nobody on the team gives a crap about him probably has some effect.

He plays a lot closer to 13 minutes a night than 9. His most common line this year by far is Lucic - McDavid - Puljujarvi.

 

[BullLund]

It's over for him, I think. I suppose there's still a chance that he will develop into a decent hand. But he will never fulfill the potential of the "top 3 guy" that he was projected to be.

It's actually unfortunate that he wasn't picked by Columbus, because he would've been in better hands there. Dubois has been decent, but I don't think Pulju would've done any worse if he had been given the opportunities that Dubois has had. I reckon you could squeeze 30-40 points and a dozen goals out of him, if you actually tried.

In Oilers he's just never going to be anything more than some guy that they're stuck with. They've picked so many top draft picks, and will continue to, to the point where they don't really care if a couple of them end up being busts. To another franchise, failing to develop a top prospect would be seen as a crucial failure for the management. To Oilers, it's just business as usual.

I bet they will get another top 3-5 pick this year, and Pulju will be yesterday's news.

 

[BullLund]

He plays a lot closer to 13 minutes a night than 9. His most common line this year by far is Lucic - McDavid - Puljujarvi.

He did score when he played with that line, didn't he?

 

[Rebels57]

It's over for him, I think. I suppose there's still a chance that he will develop into a decent hand. But he will never fulfill the potential of the "top 3 guy" that he was projected to be.

It's actually unfortunate that he wasn't picked by Columbus, because he would've been in better hands there. Dubois has been decent, but I don't think Pulju would've done any worse if he had been given the opportunities that Dubois has had. I reckon you could squeeze 30-40 points and a dozen goals out of him, if you actually tried.

In Oilers he's just never going to be anything more than some guy that they're stuck with. They've picked so many top draft picks, and will continue to, to the point where they don't really care if a couple of them end up being busts. To another franchise, failing to develop a top prospect would be seen as a crucial failure for the management. To Oilers, it's just business as usual.

I bet they will get another top 3-5 pick this year, and Pulju will be yesterday's news.

This is vicious

 

[GOilers88]

It's over for him, I think. I suppose there's still a chance that he will develop into a decent hand. But he will never fulfill the potential of the "top 3 guy" that he was projected to be.

It's actually unfortunate that he wasn't picked by Columbus, because he would've been in better hands there. Dubois has been decent, but I don't think Pulju would've done any worse if he had been given the opportunities that Dubois has had. I reckon you could squeeze 30-40 points and a dozen goals out of him, if you actually tried.

In Oilers he's just never going to be anything more than some guy that they're stuck with. They've picked so many top draft picks, and will continue to, to the point where they don't really care if a couple of them end up being busts. To another franchise, failing to develop a top prospect would be seen as a crucial failure for the management. To Oilers, it's just business as usual.

I bet they will get another top 3-5 pick this year, and Pulju will be yesterday's news.

Yeah. 19 years old? He's definitely done.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Yeah. 19 years old? He's definitely done.

He's not done. He'll just struggle on Edmonton enough to get traded for pennies and then break out

 

[BullLund]

Yeah. 19 years old? He's definitely done.

He's not done. It's just that his projection as a top player is probably done.

He'll be a good hand, possibly, but a good hand is not really what people projected him to be. He has fallen so far behind Matthews and Laine, that people have forgotten that he once belonged in the same conversation with those guys.

Obviously, things didn't turn out like that.

 

[MMANumminen]

I really hope the Oilers move him

 

[KarmaPolice]

McLellan is well known to play favorites (Letestu or Lucic, anyone?) and vets typically over younger guys. Playing Letestu that long on the 1st unit PP and not giving Jesse (or anyone else for that matter) a chance was just plain stubborn and idiotic. Hope we have a new coach next season and see what the new coaching staff can do. There's still potential there; I think it's too early to say one way or the other what he'll be.

 

[Smartguy]

He's not done. It's just that his projection as a top player is probably done.

He'll be a good hand, possibly, but a good hand is not really what people projected him to be. He has fallen so far behind Matthews and Laine, that people have forgotten that he once belonged in the same conversation with those guys.

Obviously, things didn't turn out like that.

You realize this is borderline his NHL rookie season right? And like someone before mentioned, he’s not even 20 yet. Yikes. I’m not saying he is going to be superstar status like them, but wouldn’t surprise me at all if after the next few seasons he’s an elite winger. Has the things you can’t teach like size and speed. He’s been virtually given no pp time, and playing third line minutes, unlike the rest of our wingers. Those who think he plays with Mcdavid often need to tune into Oiler games, he produced well with Mcdavid and hasn’t played on his wing since, an odd thing that Mclellan does

 

[BB88]

I really hope the Oilers move him

I really hope Todd gets fired, his handling of Pulju in these 2 years has been pretty damm bad.

 

[haveandare]

You realize this is borderline his NHL rookie season right? And like someone before mentioned, he’s not even 20 yet. Yikes. I’m not saying he is going to be superstar status like them, but wouldn’t surprise me at all if after the next few seasons he’s an elite winger. Has the things you can’t teach like size and speed. He’s been virtually given no pp time, and playing third line minutes, unlike the rest of our wingers. Those who think he plays with Mcdavid often need to tune into Oiler games, he produced well with Mcdavid and hasn’t played on his wing since, an odd thing that Mclellan does

Anythings possible, but the vast majority of elite wingers are pretty great right out of the gate

 

[BullLund]

You realize this is borderline his NHL rookie season right? And like someone before mentioned, he’s not even 20 yet. Yikes. I’m not saying he is going to be superstar status like them, but wouldn’t surprise me at all if after the next few seasons he’s an elite winger. Has the things you can’t teach like size and speed. He’s been virtually given no pp time, and playing third line minutes, unlike the rest of our wingers. Those who think he plays with Mcdavid often need to tune into Oiler games, he produced well with Mcdavid and hasn’t played on his wing since, an odd thing that Mclellan does

I'm not saying he doesn't have the potential, but I just don't think he will fulfill any of it with the Oilers franchise.

I reckon they'll get another top pick this year, and will focus on developing him. Pulju's going to be cast aside, because at the end of the day, he's a "high maintenance" prospect with his inability to speak English and accommodate to American style of play. It's going to be a whole lot easier to bring up a Canadian/American player who can already communicate, integrate into the lockerroom and naturally become a part of the team, playing a style of play that he's already familiar with.

On a franchise where developing a top prospect would be seen as crucial to the future of the franchise, maybe there'd be a chance for Pulju. But that chance is not with the Oilers. They've got McDavid, and that's really all they care about. They don't care to go to lengths, to accommodate Puljujärvi, when they've already got a designated top guy that they're building around.

If you put Puljujärvi with a franchise that lacks star players, a team that's really "all-in" on the rebuild, maybe they would be more willing to invest time and effort into him.

 

[haveandare]

I'm not saying he doesn't have the potential, but I just don't think he will fulfill any of it with the Oilers franchise.

I reckon they'll get another top pick this year, and will focus on developing him. Pulju's going to be cast aside, because at the end of the day, he's a "high maintenance" prospect with his inability to speak English and accommodate to American style of play. It's going to be a whole lot easier to bring up a Canadian/American player who can already communicate, integrate into the lockerroom and naturally become a part of the team, playing a style of play that he's already familiar with.

On a franchise where developing a top prospect would be seen as crucial to the future of the franchise, maybe there'd be a chance for Pulju. But that chance is not with the Oilers. They've got McDavid, and that's really all they care about. They don't care to go to lengths, to accommodate Puljujärvi, when they've already got a designated top guy that they're building around.

If you put Puljujärvi with a franchise that lacks star players, a team that's really "all-in" on the rebuild, maybe they would be more willing to invest time and effort into him.

Sounds like a Ranger to me.

 

[wabagee]

If I remember correctly there was quite a few people using Wheeler as comparisons before the draft. It took him a while to get going!

 

[Slap]

This reminds me of the time when the Oilers ruined Leon Draisatl.

 

[KarmaPolice]

If you put Puljujärvi with a franchise that lacks star players, a team that's really "all-in" on the rebuild, maybe they would be more willing to invest time and effort into him.

What really ticked me off, is that if you're going to staple anyone of our current forwards with McDavid after the season was obviously in the gutter you stick Puljujarvi there and just let them play, and hopefully McDavid helps Jesse develop his game and some chemistry develops between the two and hope that carries over. But no, Todd puts Lucic on that line up until recently. Why??? We need to pad Lucic's stats to make Chia not look so bad for signing him? Shouldn't we be aiming to develop for next season? What the hell is wrong with this front office and coaching staff? Lucic is a big boy. If he can't deal with having a bad offensive season then too damn bad for him.

If they keep this coaching staff then yeah, hope he goes to a team with a coach that will actually know how to develop him.

 

[KarmaPolice]

This reminds me of the time when the Oilers ruined Leon Draisatl.

Well, he's no Sam Bennett, that's for sure.

To a more important point: Has McLellan actually developed anyone who needed it? Vlasic, Burns, Couture didn't need it in San Jose. McDavid, Drai didn't need it. I think all these guys had enough talent to mostly develop themselves and improve upon their games, as was especially the case with Drai coming into camp prior to last season with an extra step, laser focus and playing better 200' hockey.

I really don't know, so I'm asking. Is there a compelling or obvious example of a young player whom Todd took from raw talent to a refined NHL impact player? Did he develop Burns maybe more than I give him credit for? He seems too have too much talent to make a case for that, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[BullLund]

What really ticked me off, is that if you're going to staple anyone of our current forwards with McDavid after the season was obviously in the gutter you stick Puljujarvi there and just let them play, and hopefully McDavid helps Jesse develop his game and some chemistry develops between the two and hope that carries over. But no, Todd puts Lucic on that line up until recently. Why??? We need to pad Lucic's stats to make Chia not look so bad for signing him? Shouldn't we be aiming to develop for next season? What the hell is wrong with this front office and coaching staff? Lucic is a big boy. If he can't deal with having a bad offensive season then too damn bad for him.

If they keep this coaching staff then yeah, hope he goes to a team with a coach that will actually know how to develop him.

I got the feeling that the coaching staff sees Lucic as a more important piece for Oilers future than Puljujärvi. With that contract they signed for Lucic, the management would lose face if he doesn't get going. It's not just Lucic's career they're trying to salvage, but also their own.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Pulju traded in the coming years. They can't get rid of Lucic, though. They're stuck with him, so they want to make the best of the situation.

 

[Cubs2024WSChamps]

Pool party is being outplayed by DeBrincat.

Pool party is a bust at 19 as a player worth a top five selection. He shouldn't even be wasting his time in the NHL.

Yet another failure by the Oilers. A ton of potential wasted. Hopefully with his size he can turn into a third liner or he's traded to a team that will actually develop his game.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I got the feeling that the coaching staff sees Lucic as a more important piece for Oilers future than Puljujärvi. With that contract they signed for Lucic, the management would lose face if he doesn't get going. It's not just Lucic's career they're trying to salvage, but also their own.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Pulju traded in the coming years. They can't get rid of Lucic, though. They're stuck with him, so they want to make the best of the situation.

That's all fair enough. But is it too much for Lucic to take to tell him 'listen, we need to play you on the 2nd/3rd line for the rest of this season so we see what we have in some of our young players' (eg. Puljujarvi)? Again, I think Lucic is a big enough boy to be able to take that. If the front office truly want to salvage their future they should be thinking how to get young players like Puljujarvi contributing to the team winning games as that's what will matter more in short order; we already know what we have in Lucic. I can see both sides, but I think just riding Lucic is short-sighted and it hasn't been working out anyway. It's continuing to try to force a square peg into a round hole. Desperation I suppose. At least they're finally trying RNH there, but far too little far too late. I can only hope Chia and the entire coaching staff are history sooner than later.

 

[Slap]

Well, he's no Sam Bennett, that's for sure.

To a more important point: Has McLellan actually developed anyone who needed it? Vlasic, Burns, Couture didn't need it in San Jose. McDavid, Drai didn't need it. I think all these guys had enough talent to mostly develop themselves and improve upon their games, as was especially the case with Drai coming into camp last prior to last season with an extra step and playing better 200' hockey.

I really don't know, so I'm asking. Is there a compelling of obvious example of a young player whom Todd took from raw talent to a refined NHL impact player? Did he develop Burns maybe more than I give him credit for? He seems too have too much talent to make a case for that, but maybe I'm wrong.

Draisatl had the same development trajectory Pulju is on right now.
Everyone were so worried we were destroying Drai. Same deal with Pulju, watch him next season. Kids his age are very rarely impact players

 

[Paperbagofglory]

We we please be mercifully relegated to the AHL already so that at least we can finish 8th place and actually make the playoffs as a wild card?

Take Mcdavid and Draisaitl off the team and this is basically a run of the mill AHL squad.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Draisatl had the same development trajectory Pulju is on right now.
Everyone were so worried we were destroying Drai. Same deal with Pulju, watch him next season. Kids his age are very rarely impact players

Certainly outside the top-2 picks in most drafts I think that's true. Hopefully you're right.

 

[Slap]

Certainly outside the top-2 picks in most drafts I think that's true. Hopefully you're right.

If yoU watch him, it's clear he is going to be a player. His hands just need to catch up with his feet.
Perhaps changing that long ass stick to a regular hockey stick would help too.