HockeyHistorian
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- Mar 17, 2015
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I still believe in Puljujärvi as evidenced by me choosing him to captain my fantasy league team today.
this is why laine has passed him in scouts minds...cus this big kid, who skates elitely fast with those huge powerful strides, he skates down the rink with the puck like a superstar nhl wing but then he actually has pretty bad finishing abilities at the moment
the puck skills just arent all there yet, he either loses it at net or gets little on it...theres so much flair to his game cus of that size and speed but little finish...laine on the other hand, not as fast or explosive, but dam he has finish
5'10", average skating-Granlund scored 13 goals in 43 games as a 17 yr old.
Pulju has 8 goals in 42 games.
Granlund has 22 goals in 211 NHL games.
Now no one needs to step out and tell me how this is pointless because i know it is, and im not saying Pulju won't be the better goalscorer in the NHL. I guess i just keep reminding myself not to expect these guys to become elite scorers in the NHL, rather hope for it.
Fact is it doesn't matter much that he is 17. He's got the speed and size to compete well enough to get himself into scoring areas. Players don't change as much as people think from draft year onwards, years go by really fast. I used to think this way and every single time the prospect didn't meet my expectations down the road.
Not going to start anything here, and again im not comparing Pulju to Granlund. Just pointing out that just because he's only 17 it doesn't mean he's going to come out and explode for 30 goals next year assuming he stays in Finland.
Barkov is a damn good comparison as far as offensive potential goes because he's the recent guy to be in this position. He scored 48 points in 53 games in his draft year. For a 2-way center these numbers are huge. And now in his 3rd NHL season he's going to put up around 65 points.
I feel like if we truly had an elite offensive prospect he'd tear the FEL apart in his draft year. This is why i think Laine projects as a 35+30 kind of guy and Pulju 20+35 type of guy. Just because they're in the top 3 doesn't mean we're going to have ourselves high-end elite NHL point producers.
The WJC's have clouded a lot of people's views on these two guys i feel like. They had one hell of a tournament, and everything seemed to click. But there have been a lot of no-name NHL guys who have gone on a tear in junior tournaments over the years. I still think what you do in the league you're playing in is the best measurement stick.
Now if we had a player of Puljus speed and Laines shot, along with all the other good offensive qualities these guys have, THAT's an elite prospect. Then it would be fair to compare this Lainejärvi to guys like Kovalchuk. But as it stands i think both of these guys miss out on the elite department. (altho i think Laine has a shot at it, just not as sure-bet as people think)
5'10", average skating-Granlund scored 13 goals in 43 games as a 17 yr old.
Pulju has 8 goals in 42 games.
Granlund has 22 goals in 211 NHL games.
Now no one needs to step out and tell me how this is pointless because i know it is, and im not saying Pulju won't be the better goalscorer in the NHL. I guess i just keep reminding myself not to expect these guys to become elite scorers in the NHL, rather hope for it.
Fact is it doesn't matter much that he is 17. He's got the speed and size to compete well enough to get himself into scoring areas. Players don't change as much as people think from draft year onwards, years go by really fast. I used to think this way and every single time the prospect didn't meet my expectations down the road.
Not going to start anything here, and again im not comparing Pulju to Granlund. Just pointing out that just because he's only 17 it doesn't mean he's going to come out and explode for 30 goals next year assuming he stays in Finland.
Barkov is a damn good comparison as far as offensive potential goes because he's the recent guy to be in this position. He scored 48 points in 53 games in his draft year. For a 2-way center these numbers are huge. And now in his 3rd NHL season he's going to put up around 65 points.
I feel like if we truly had an elite offensive prospect he'd tear the FEL apart in his draft year. This is why i think Laine projects as a 35+30 kind of guy and Pulju 20+35 type of guy. Just because they're in the top 3 doesn't mean we're going to have ourselves high-end elite NHL point producers.
The WJC's have clouded a lot of people's views on these two guys i feel like. They had one hell of a tournament, and everything seemed to click. But there have been a lot of no-name NHL guys who have gone on a tear in junior tournaments over the years. I still think what you do in the league you're playing in is the best measurement stick.
Now if we had a player of Puljus speed and Laines shot, along with all the other good offensive qualities these guys have, THAT's an elite prospect. Then it would be fair to compare this Lainejärvi to guys like Kovalchuk. But as it stands i think both of these guys miss out on the elite department. (altho i think Laine has a shot at it, just not as sure-bet as people think)
6'2 Mikko Koivu scored 0 goals in 21 games in his draft year and 4 goals in 48 games in the post-draft season.
In the NHL, he reached the total of 22 goals in less than 147 games, the feat that took Granlund a full additional season to accomplish, despite being clearly the more productive player in his teens.
What gives?
Saying players don't develop much from the draft and beyond is a big fat lie. Players take huge strides in development after they're drafted and put in a proper development framework, committing to an intense training scheme tailored for their respective needs. I can't believe anyone would seriously suggest otherwise. Your typical 17 year-old is not nearly matured enough to be at the end of his development path (or even near to the end of it), most of them aren't even fully grown into their bodies at that point. Laine and Pulju are no different. Remains to be seen whether they ever adjust to the life of an NHL pro or the style of play that is played in the NHL, but they certainly will learn to play simply better hockey given that they commit to it enough.
Koivu was always a long-term project. He took an unique path and his dad made sure of this. He didn't play big minutes right away in FEL or train the same way as Pulju & Laine. They had a plan to take it slow from the get-go.
I think you misunderstood me. Obviously players develop a lot down the road compared to their teens. What i meant is players don't change much over time style-wise, what their tendencies are and how they like to play/what their strenghts are. Pulju and Laine are going to play mostly the same type of style down the road they do now. Most puck skills, shot etc. are learned in your youth and then it's just a matter of getting comfortable vs your competition (=physique) so you have more confidence to use them. If you're not an explosive skater in your draft year more often than not you'll never be one. If you don't have an elite shot you most likely will never have one. If you don't have great hands you won't have them later. You get my drift.
These guys have developed at a rapid rate and will continue to develop. But because of this they're not raw prospects anymore. Jumps in development will get smaller and smaller.
The goal is to be able to play the way they're now against the best competition in the world. And that's already a big challenge. It's rare for players to develop further than that and be something that wasn't expected in the first place.
5'10", average skating-Granlund scored 13 goals in 43 games as a 17 yr old.
Pulju has 8 goals in 42 games.
Granlund has 22 goals in 211 NHL games.
Now no one needs to step out and tell me how this is pointless because i know it is, and im not saying Pulju won't be the better goalscorer in the NHL. I guess i just keep reminding myself not to expect these guys to become elite scorers in the NHL, rather hope for it.
Fact is it doesn't matter much that he is 17. He's got the speed and size to compete well enough to get himself into scoring areas. Players don't change as much as people think from draft year onwards, years go by really fast. I used to think this way and every single time the prospect didn't meet my expectations down the road.
Not going to start anything here, and again im not comparing Pulju to Granlund. Just pointing out that just because he's only 17 it doesn't mean he's going to come out and explode for 30 goals next year assuming he stays in Finland.
Barkov is a damn good comparison as far as offensive potential goes because he's the recent guy to be in this position. He scored 48 points in 53 games in his draft year. For a 2-way center these numbers are huge. And now in his 3rd NHL season he's going to put up around 65 points.
I feel like if we truly had an elite offensive prospect he'd tear the FEL apart in his draft year. This is why i think Laine projects as a 35+30 kind of guy and Pulju 20+35 type of guy. Just because they're in the top 3 doesn't mean we're going to have ourselves high-end elite NHL point producers.
The WJC's have clouded a lot of people's views on these two guys i feel like. They had one hell of a tournament, and everything seemed to click. But there have been a lot of no-name NHL guys who have gone on a tear in junior tournaments over the years. I still think what you do in the league you're playing in is the best measurement stick.
Now if we had a player of Puljus speed and Laines shot, along with all the other good offensive qualities these guys have, THAT's an elite prospect. Then it would be fair to compare this Lainejärvi to guys like Kovalchuk. But as it stands i think both of these guys miss out on the elite department. (altho i think Laine has a shot at it, just not as sure-bet as people think)
The level of the FEL has dropped too though.
What a blaster.
The level of the FEL has dropped too though.
But about Puljujärvi.. he got puck near the eye earlier in the game and then he scored.
Want to see your arguments about this statement.
Not the best or the only argument that can be said about leagues quality but this season there is not a line in FEL that is even close in quality to Granlunds or Barkovs line.
Nieminen-Barkov-Hansen, tho this was lockout season. Nieminen is Stanley cup winner and still pretty close to his prime. Hansen was NHL lockout player
Peltonen-Granlund-Pesonen. Everyone in that line was Skodacup offensive line material that year.
Puljujarvi's pass to Pyorala's goal was nice too.
2) Both Barkov and Granlund played in SUPERELITE line. Both Pulju and Laine are playing in 2nd line with much less skilled linesmen. Barkov played with Ville Nieminen and Jannik Hansen. Granlund with Peltonen and Pesonen.