I just thought about Dregers? comment on Pulju maybe getting send to AHL after this trip.
My question to Chia.
What was the point to keep Pulju up& sit him these games to burn his RFA instead of sending him to AHL before the trip to avoid burning a year yet.
He likely would have still ended up burning that year but you never know and atleast it would have made sense then.
Burning ELC likely makes him cheaper to re-sign which should help with McDavid& Drai contracts.
Me too. Hopefully he spends an entire off season in Edmonton.
Again, I understand the frustration from many Finns. Lots of us are frustrated too, but Pulju also is playing for a team that is 2nd in our division and in a playoff spot. We've rushed prospects in the past and Pulju is coming off a season where he had surgery. Not to mention that he barely speaks English.
We tend to forget, Pulju is the youngest player in the NHL. He's just a kid. I've got plenty of time to be patient with him, I only speak for myself but I'm sure others have lots of time to be patient with him too.
An entire summer in Edmonton hanging out with McDavid, Nurse, and Draisaitl could do wonders for him. Joe Thornton turned out alright and he went through something similar as a rookie and he didn't have the same cultural barriers/language issues.
Either way, yeah I'd like to see him play more or go to Bakersfield, but I understand why they want to keep him around the team rather than send him to California all by himself.
Puljus weakness is his puck handling, McDavid is one of the best if not the best puck handlers, definitely the best at full speed.
Summer with McDavid could do wonders for Pulju and if he gets his puck handling to another level Edmonton has a helluva player in Pulju.
That size+speed+ skill is such a nice combo to have on a player.
My frustration is that Pulju hasn't been the worst forward on this team, but he's the youngest so he doesn't get any favours over vets.
I want to see him play now, develop, work his weaknesses and find his confidence again, was it then NHL or AHL as long as he can play.
He could be a top6 winger for this team this year, he showed that potential before the 3 game benching but I doubt he will like that.
Gaining a free top6 winger would be a huge help for the team on their playoff run and run in the playoffs.