Is Teemu Pulkkinen really that bad, that he is just not good enough for the NHL?

[Hatter of the Beach]

Poor Pulks. If he was born 30 years earlier he’d probably be a 500 goal scorer. Just isn’t a good enough skater for today’s game though

Still, I think there are worse players playing. I preferred him to Martin Frk who got semi serious time on the Wings this year

 

[King In The North]

How is it unreal? Vegas is killing it this season, they don't need him. And Pulk has had multiple callups with multiple teams and coaches. Something tells me it's not about him finding the perfect team. He needs to work harder and quicker on releasing his shot in the NHL.

 

[Kuhta]

Pulkkinen truly is pure 90´s player. Massive shot, too much muscle on legs & lack of dynamism in the game.

 

[Vohaul]

There was a stretch when he looked really good with Red Wings until he got injured. After that it's just been disappointment after disappointment for Pulkkinen on NHL level.. in AHL he's been consistently an excellent goal scorer. Kinda wish some NHL team would still give him a chance and a proper good look not just a less than a handful of games, pretty much lost faith in him ever making it on the NHL level now..

 

[Hagged]

Yes, the Finns are desperately in need of a young Top 6 scoring winger so we don't have to rely on 18-21 year old career AHLers like Laine, Rantanen, Tolvanen, Teravainen or Aho.

Aho is a center, btw. Cheeks at his wings.

 

[Hatter of the Beach]

There was a stretch when he looked really good with Red Wings until he got injured. After that it's just been disappointment after disappointment for Pulkkinen on NHL level.. in AHL he's been consistently an excellent goal scorer. Kinda wish some NHL team would still give him a chance and a proper good look not just a less than a handful of games, pretty much lost faith in him ever making it on the NHL level now..

Not really applicable to reality, but if the NHL ever allows for more players to be dressed in a game, he’s be great as a cheap PP onl specialist

 

[teravaineSAROS]

Aho is a center, btw. Cheeks at his wings.

Is he officially a center now? I thought it was temporary

 

[Vohaul]

Not really applicable to reality, but if the NHL ever allows for more players to be dressed in a game, he’s be great as a cheap PP onl specialist

Yes I could see him excelling in a role like that. Just a good shooting threat at least..

To be fair I haven't seen him play much in a while so I dont know how he looks out there.. I thought he did score in some of the practice games Vegas had? But if his I.Q and speed just aren't enough on this level then fair enough. Maybe returning to europe would be the best choice for him. Could see him being a really strong player in KHL.. maybe a return to Jokerit would be the way forward.

 

[axecrew]

The Wolves this year are full of these borderline great Ahl scorers but their offensive and full ice games lack speed and quick smart plays to do that in the nhl. Though they can fill well if the team needed a 2nd line scoring winger type to not worry about their full ice game

Thank you for this, just curious how many Wolves games you've seen this year?

 

[Canuck Luck]

Because he is a dime a dozen player. There’s better players with similar skillsets that have tough times cracking nhl lineups. Look at vatrano, Boucher and pirri off the top of my head with similar size and skill traits. Pirri has proven he can score 20 from the 4th line in the nhl yet he can’t stick.

Pulkkinen is too soft first of all. if he can’t make a top 6 role he does not suite a bottom 6 role as many said. 2 he is below average defensively. Look at any top prospect. Every nhl coach doesn’t care how touted a player is if he can’t be adequate on d. They play them on the 4th line to shelter them and help them learn and adjust until they show they can defend well enough to be given a chance with a better role.

2nd he’s not fast enough. Being soft and average at skating is almost always a death spell if you’re trying to make the nhl. You don’t have the time and space to use your best traits anymore like you do in the ahl. Pulkinnen tends to shoot high and wide or crest snipe at the nhl level as he does not get the same time and space he does in the A. Add to the fact you’re a liability on d, there’s no chance you move up the lineup.

 

[Minnesota]

Plenty of teams tried to give this guy a shot at the NHL level. Unfortunately, he never stuck.

It’s been mentioned before in this thread - His shot is his only above-average trait. Skating, size, IQ aren’t NHL caliber.

 

[Hockeyisl1fe]

He couldn't make it to the WHC lineup in 2016 over the likes of Mika Pyörälä and Antti Pihlström... you are wondering why he isn't playing in the NHL? He isn't good enough.

 

[Dicky113]

I think he gives it 110% every time he’s out there. He’s a good Canadian kid that plays the game the right way.

Also, who the f*** is teemu pulkkinen?

 

[Chainshot]

There have always been "AAAA" players in the AHL, guys who are just fabulous in the minors who can't translate their success to the pros. Some if it may be perception - once a guy gets to a certain age, front office minds may be set against the player. It's also possible he doesn't have enough of a specific other skill or ability to fit what he does well into an NHL lineup. *shrug*

 

[Hockeyisl1fe]

I think he gives it 110% every time he’s out there. He’s a good Canadian kid that plays the game the right way.

Also, who the **** is teemu pulkkinen?

A guy with a thunderous slapshot and who was hyped af back in the day due to being so dominant in the WJCs. His play didn't translate to the NHL.

 

[Pavels Dog]

The problem with saying ”he hasn’t gotten the chance he deserves” is that no one in the NHL owes it to Teemu Pulkkinen to give him some special opportunity. He got 60+ games for the Wings, with plenty of opportunities on the PP and even some looks on the wing of some really good players (Datsyuk). That would have been a good time to TAKE the opportunity.

He kinda seems to have declined a bit since then too. Not as dominant in the AHL as he used to be. If he could have improved his skating he might have had a shot, like Marty Frk.

 

[sr edler]

Pulkkinen truly is pure 90´s player. Massive shot, too much muscle on legs & lack of dynamism in the game.

90s hockey was dynamic. At least early and mid 90s.

 

[Ippenator]

Many people have made good points about Pulkkinen. As a Red Wings Fan, I have probably seen him play the most. (several years).

Pulkkinen is a star AHL player. He puts up massive amounts of points, so why he has not made it in the NHL can be confusing. However some skills just do not transfer well to the NHL.

Pulkkinen's #1 skill is Shot Power. He has an Ovechkin power slapshot.
there is one problem though, he does not have Ovechkin level Accuracy. Missing the net on a PP, ringing it around the boards and out of the zone, is a PP killer. You pretty much have to hit the net for a rebound. Pulks shoots high, and misses often. He is also shooting too hard for people to tip his shot. And too high for people to tip his shot.

Pulkkinen is a small player. this is a problem for all small players. But if you are going to be small, you need a great talent to overcome that: Great Speed, Great PuckHandling, or Great Hockey IQ.

Pulkkinen is OK in these categories, but not good enough to not get hit. And when he gets hit, he is completely seperated from the puck. Pulkkinen basically cannot forecheck at all. It makes him an ineffective 4th liner.

the other main key is Pulkkinen doesn't make his decisions fast enough. NHL defenders are destroying him (deflecting all his shots, or forcing him into the corner etc). AHL defenders just are not good enough to stop pulks from winding up for a slapshot... which is decidedly deadly. NHL defenders can deflect it. It neutralizes his 1 superpower. Without, pulks is not an NHL player.

If NHL teams created 4th lines of small scoring forwards, than Pulks would be in the NHL, but sadly Size is an issue... its his main issue. And Quite frankly, if you want to play NHL hockey and be 5 foot something, you better think / skate or pass at an elite level.

Pulks is an AHL star, but he just can't transfer that to the NHL.

All this, and then there are still some other important reasons that I would like to add. When a player is smallish and is not a really great skater, they need to have real intensity in their game. He definitely doesn’t have enough of it. You just need to be relentless and very active if you are small and don’t have really great skating.

Also like some people already mentioned here, he can’t get his shot to go off quickly enough, and anyway his shot is pretty much just about a great (but quite inaccurate) slapshot and a pretty good onetimer. His wrister is not even close to the class of his slapper, and he has serious problems of getting his wrister to go in traffic.

When comparing his shot to the great Finnish shooter Laine, Pulks’s shot is not even close in the same league, as he lacks the accuracy and the versatility with his shooting skills. A hard slapper just does not take you very far at the top level in hockey if you lack accuracy and have no other elite qualities after all.

 

[McShogun99]

There are so many players that light it up in the AHL but do nothing in the NHL and it's usually do to lack of speed. Just for the Oilers I can think of Giroux, Lander and Schremp for players that looked like all stars until they played in the NHL.

 

[Patrik Barkov]

To put it simply. The only thing above average about him is his shot, which is not accurate enough, nor does he get it off quick enough to alone make him an effective player in the NHL.

 

[BullLund]

Seems that the problem is that his role would slot him into top 6, but he doesn't have the skill level that is expected of a top 6 player. He has bottom 6 level talent, but plays the game in a way which won't get you a chance in most teams' bottom 6. If he shifted to a more defensively-oriented style, he'd be more likely to get a shot.

It's just that teams aren't really looking for offensively-oriented shooters, for their 3rd and 4th lines. They want mostly players that are not going to be scored on, who can kill penalties, and play other necessary roles, not so much players that look for scoring opportunities and play on PP.

 

[ricky0034]

he's just not good enough

his skating has always been subpar and even his shot is incredibly overrated(yeah it's hard but that isn't everything,his release is lacking and the accuracy on it is poor)

 

[1865]

If he is not playing in the NHL right now, he is not good enough to be in the NHL. Does that answer your question?

 

[HanSolo]

Small
Soft
Below average skater
Doesn’t get his shot off as much when playing in the nhl
His IQ and defensive play are nothing special
His shot misses the net way too much

Have to agree with this. He does great in the AHL, but any time he saw ice with Vegas he was not good at all.

 

[HanSolo]

If he is not playing in the NHL right now, he is not good enough to be in the NHL. Does that answer your question?

What would we do without your hot takes?