Jesse Puljujärvi has 4th most goals among Oilers players and has a 40 pt pace

[missinthejets]

Decent player but McDrai have a history of making decent players look better than they are.

like who? Maroon perhaps is one, kassian for a short time but that was short lived... who else have they made look better than they are?

Puljujarvi is getting rave reviews not because he is getting cheap points from someone else doing the work but because he is using his size and skating ability to recover pucks on the forehead, play solid defense and help transition the puck up the ice. Really he just learned how to play in the nhl. He is a big strong guy, he is playing like it now where he didn't in the past.

 

[KCC]

Happy for Jesse. I'm a little surprised he's come in and turned things around so quickly esp after the first time he was with the team. But that time away really allowed him to mature and figure things out and we are seeing it. People can be negative all they want but they aren't the one's playing with him so who cares what they think.

 

[Aceboogie]

JP looks very good this year (especially considering everyone wrote him off previously) , but not sure he deserves multiple threads on mainboard

 

[TheNumber4]

The Points production isn’t even why most Oilers fans are excited about Pulju, nor is it why Pulju is one of Tippets favorites. He never takes a second off, he’s always hard on the forecheck, always hard on the back check, has a great poke check, is a beast physically that is near impossible to push around, works his ass off, always in the right position, and seems to be everywhere on the ice.

The points are now coming for him with more regularity (talking like last 2 weeks versus just this year) and it’s only the tip of the iceberg with this player. There’s huge potential for him and McDavid to be dominating linemates for years to come.

 

[coopooter]

JP is actually a matchup nightmare and really good defensively
His offensive game is definitely behind the rest of his game

 

[Eltuna]

Reminds me a lot of Nichushkin this year. Former high pick that reinvents his game to be more forecheck and back check heavy rather than a focal point of a teams offence. Very valuable player for the Oilers that has really turned it around.

 

[solidaritypucks]

Kid was always obviously talented and passionate. PROPS

 

[Satire]

All players develop differently. It took the Sedins 5 seasons to score more than 50 points and it wasn't until their 4th season that they had more than 40. Most Oilers fans aren't excited because of his production (though that is coming), they enjoy his ability to forecheck and cause chaos because of his size and hardwork.

He is primed to take another step forward next year. We will see if he does it. I have personally always thought he was going to be a late bloomer so hope I am correct.

 

[thaman8765678]

Any NHL player could put up decent numbers on a line with McDavid or Draisatl.

 

[Saltcreek]

Any NHL player could put up decent numbers on a line with McDavid or Draisatl.

It is amazing that so many posters like you come in here and hate on the kid and yet at the same time completely miss the point of the original poster. How about you take a few deep breaths, re-read the OP, and then come back instead of instantly seeing red because it is an Oilers thread.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

It is amazing that so many posters like you come in here and hate on the kid and yet at the same time completely miss the point of the original poster. How about you take a few deep breaths, re-read the OP, and then come back instead of instantly seeing red because it is an Oilers thread.

There are lots of headline/thread title watchers here.
- instead of reading the OP, they just watch the thread title, click and post

 

[McFlyingV]

Very happy with his progression this season. His contributions go far beyond goals and points. Teh kid is an excellent forechecker, goes to the dirty areas and gets Connor the puck so that Connor can work his magic.

Agreed. His defensive impact and forechecking provide far more impact than his stats suggest. There have been a lot of goals this year that McDavid has either scored or set up that have come directly off turnovers that Puljujarvi created, but did not record a point on.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Any NHL player could put up decent numbers on a line with McDavid or Draisatl.

Ty Rattie, Tyler Ennis, Dominik Kahun, like these guys?
oh wait...they didn't..

 

[CherryToke]

Whoopty freakin doo... not even .5 ppg playing with McDrai and he gets a main board thread? OK

Edit: I see this was created by a Leafs fan though.

 

[thaman8765678]

Ty Rattie, Tyler Ennis, Dominik Kahun, like these guys?
oh wait...they didn't..

I said NHL level players.

 

[Oregano]

Pulju scored his 14th goal of the season (its his bd today by the way)
14 goals is 4th most among Oilers players; Nurse 16, Draisaitl 28, McDavid 31

Pulju also having his best season, point wisely, full 82 game pace; 40 points.

But what's ive been reading of late, his game, not goal and point scoring,
actually been the dominant one on the ice.

That's been good to read, all these positive things been said about Puju,
even McJeesus himself, is saying high praising words about him.
- good stuff

Dude is still very young and finally it seems his body is maturing to the NHL level hockey,
still has lots to improve, so i'm guessing that's what he'll do in the summer and next season;
keep improving.

Can't wait what happens to Pulju next season!

That's spicy.

 

[chauron]

I’ve watched him a lot this year and while he has definitely improved he’s also benefitted a lot from the McDavid and Drai effect.
Decent player but McDrai have a history of making decent players look better than they are.
Having said that it’s been a big improvement over the last time he played in the NHL. Just need to see more consistency from him for a larger sample size.

This is not fantasy hockey, it's real life. Oilers have rotated a LOT of players but not many are actually compatible with McDavid style of play and actually complement him – McD can gets the puck and is cleared the space.

 

[gwh]

Amusingly JP is outplaying Kailer "the next marner" Yamamoto.

 

[missinthejets]

I said NHL level players.

sure rattie is an NHL level player, but you saying kahun and ennis aren't either? Don't burn yourself with such a hot take.

 

[ovythegiraffe]

Think people forget it's only been a half of a season of his comeback. Took a big step as he's now a legit nhl player which he definitely wasn't on the first stint. He's still just getting used to being able to play nhl speed. Next step is to fine tune those offensive instincts and I think it's very likely that his point totals will continue to grow. Already made progress this season, as he has 6+5=11 points in the last 15 games of including only one pp point and one empty netter.

 

[bossram]

I didn’t say there is something wrong with it.

But matter of the fact is that so far only players he has complimented are players who’re some of the best of their respective leagues, and been a total non-factor with lesser players. I personally wouldn’t call a player that needs to be stapled to a superstars hip to have any impact; ”good”.

That’s why we need to see what he can do without McDavid so we can tell if he has actually proggressed and how much.

Considering many of McDavid's lesser running mates have managed to submarine his shot/chance metrics, while with Pulu they're higher than they've ever been in his career, is reason enough for me to believe that he's a very good complementary player.