Player Discussion Jesse Puljujarvi '18-19 Season Part 5, Jesse Bumped Up the Line-up

[frag2]

Yup, exactly. That tournament is basically where my skepticism started with Pulju. He looks really good at first glance but when you look deeper into it you realize that him not getting a goal wasn't a coincidence. The guy just doesn't have much finish. His release, hands and puck skills are just not there. And it's the same stuff we see today and that's limiting him at the NHL level.

Eerily similar to people talking about MPS way back. Looks good on the ice; little to no finish.

 

[onetweasy]

I just posted elsewhere but again got thinking, what the hell happened, he looked such a beast with beautiful skating at 16y.

I hate that video...........it makes me sad.......he looks like a sure fire superstar in the making........6 months with the Oilers and he starts skating like bambi and handling the puck like a grenade.

That said.......I hope this organization has extreme patience with this kid. He is not Yakupov.

 

[russ99]

Eerily similar to people talking about MPS way back. Looks good on the ice; little to no finish.

LOL. I just posted that comparison on the rumors board.

It's criminal that Chia/Hitch are forcing him into the NHL lineup, he could learn a lot playing a top line role in Bakersfield for 40-50 more games.

 

[frag2]

LOL. I just posted that comparison on the rumors board.

It's criminal that Chia/Hitch are forcing him into the NHL lineup, he could learn a lot playing a top line role in Bakersfield for 40-50 more games.

I recall some outsiders, I think Euro posters, way way back mentioning MPS being someone that just 'looks' good but has really really really poor finishing ability. A lot of us doubted it because, hey, that's all we got lol. MPS was supposed to be a 'savior' but alas, they were right. Didn't help that he played like he was afraid of his own shadow either.

JP I think realizes the game is physical, at least now compared to his first 2 years, but that inability to process the game well enough is causing him issues.

He should've just stayed in the AHL.

 

[joestevens29]

I recall some outsiders, I think Euro posters, way way back mentioning MPS being someone that just 'looks' good but has really really really poor finishing ability. A lot of us doubted it because, hey, that's all we got lol. MPS was supposed to be a 'savior' but alas, they were right. Didn't help that he played like he was afraid of his own shadow either.

JP I think realizes the game is physical, at least now compared to his first 2 years, but that inability to process the game well enough is causing him issues.

He should've just stayed in the AHL.

Part of what made MPS good was his speed and ability to cut in. However once he came to the NHL defenders figured out his move quickly and made him pay for trying this. MPS was just a boy and simply didn't have the strength to do it once the book was out on him. Unfortunately none of his other tools were enough to really keep him around.

 

[oobga]

I just posted elsewhere but again got thinking, what the hell happened, he looked such a beast with beautiful skating at 16y.

Kinda sad watching that, because he looks exactly the same there as he does for us. The wide skating stride in every situation, kinda chaotic with the puck.

That was when he was a year early in the tourney though.

He looks much better in the 2016 tournament:



Feet look quicker and skating is tighter. More heads up, moving with more purpose, way more confident in everything he does.

He looks like the 16 year old in the tourney for us instead of the 17 year old. May have been a short run in his 1st Oilers season where he looked confident. Little run playing with McDavid. But, that confidence slowly left him.

 

[replacement]

Yup, exactly. That tournament is basically where my skepticism started with Pulju. He looks really good at first glance but when you look deeper into it you realize that him not getting a goal wasn't a coincidence. The guy just doesn't have much finish. His release, hands and puck skills are just not there. And it's the same stuff we see today and that's limiting him at the NHL level.

I think the idea that he doesn't have NHL level puck skills is just as dubious as the idea that the video presented shows some kind of special talent. He's already shown some very good bursts.

Puljujarvi is a raw, raw player. His vision is good, his shot is good, his skills are good. He will improve physically, get better, and find his place in the NHL. Give the kid some time.

 

[ijuka]

I think the idea that he doesn't have NHL level puck skills is just as dubious as the idea that the video presented shows some kind of special talent. He's already shown some very good bursts.

This video aired pre-draft:


It is what gave me some serious concerns regarding his puck skills. Plays in real matches are one thing, but if that's the best he could come up with for a stickhandling / trick video, then I was confident his lack of skill with the puck would give him trouble at the NHL level.

 

[nabob]

I recall some outsiders, I think Euro posters, way way back mentioning MPS being someone that just 'looks' good but has really really really poor finishing ability. A lot of us doubted it because, hey, that's all we got lol. MPS was supposed to be a 'savior' but alas, they were right. Didn't help that he played like he was afraid of his own shadow either.

JP I think realizes the game is physical, at least now compared to his first 2 years, but that inability to process the game well enough is causing him issues.

He should've just stayed in the AHL.

Was he going to learn how to play in the NHL by playing more in the AHL? By all reports he was dominant there.

 

[bobbythebrain]

Was he going to learn how to play in the NHL by playing more in the AHL? By all reports he was dominant there.

According to who? He wasn't even a ppg player.

If JP is dominant in the AHL, I guess Ty Rattie must be generational then

 

[tellermine]

According to who? He wasn't even a ppg player.

If JP is dominant in the AHL, I guess Ty Rattie must be generational then

Ok. Lolled Hard. Thanks!

 

[BarDownBobo]

Was he going to learn how to play in the NHL by playing more in the AHL? By all reports he was dominant there.

According to who? He wasn't even a ppg player.

If JP is dominant in the AHL, I guess Ty Rattie must be generational then

I've said that a few times and I stand by it. I watched 3 of his 4 games in the AHL this year and he was the best player on the ice(and the game I missed he was named 1st star). He might've only been PPG in that sample size but he easily could've had double the points, made a ton of plays that linemates just couldn't cash in on.

 

[CycloneSweep]

Played 6 minutes 5v5 tonight.

Don't think Hitchcock likes him as much as he thought he would. We need to send him to the AHL. Kids not close to an NHL player

 

[CycloneSweep]

I've said that a few times and I stand by it. I watched 3 of his 4 games in the AHL this year and he was the best player on the ice(and the game I missed he was named 1st star). He might've only been PPG in that sample size but he easily could've had double the points, made a ton of plays that linemates just couldn't cash in on.

With how Pulju was prior and in the NHL, I need to see a large sample size of that from him.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

Disappointed in his game tonight, this was a big boy game with the intensity level ratcheted up and I can't recall a single good play he made not even a mildly good play, like in good puck supporting position or a strong forechecking shift or anything, played the game like his head was stuck in the clouds. Hitch must of noticed this as well early cause this was the lowest his ice-time has been at any time this season.

Young players can have bad games and that's fine and it's bound to happen on occassion, but in an all hands on deck kind of game and just be mentally checked out is the kind of thing that won't sit well with the coach or management.

 

[BudBundy]

Yamamoto is three months younger than Jesse and look at the difference in how they are perceived. Calm your teats, JP haters.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Pulju with another embarrassingly invisible performance tonight. So that we got two supposed hot shot wingers, Pulju and Yama out there doing absolutely nothing. The result being is we need a shootout and incredible luck to get a W against the Petersson-less Canucks.

 

[Spawn]

Yamamoto is three months younger than Jesse and look at the difference in how they are perceived. Calm your teats, JP haters.

They both suck at this point in their respective careers.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Yamamoto is three months younger than Jesse and look at the difference in how they are perceived. Calm your teats, JP haters.

Not sure what this means. Pulju at least has size which is a usable attribute and when he uses it he's at least creating chaos and chances around the net. Kailer is not even a valid option as an NHL player right now. Maybe never. I seriously can't even remember the last time Kailer made any good play of note. He's a complete nothing in the lineup. A guy that almost makes one prefer Spooner in the lineup..

 

[space321]

Both Jesse and Yamamoto should be in the AHL getting quality ice time and PPTOI on top of that.

I know early on in the season I didn't feel TMac gave Jesse a fair chance up here, so when he got send down I was glad. Then Hitchcock came in and calls him up like he's gonna personally teach Jesse how to play in the NHL. f*** sake man, they're just jerking this kid around not helping him at all. Now that we picked up some waiver players and still have Spooner/Rattie sitting, can they just send both 56 and 98 down to the AHL.

Out of those four players I'd rank them:

Rattie
Yamamoto/Jesse
Spooner

but for the sake of two 20 year olds' development, i'd be okay with Spooner taking those 10 minutes/game instead

 

[Paralyzer008]

Is there another team who took their top 5 pick and gave them less than 12 minutes a night?

Bueller?

 

[Soundwave]

The thing that stuck out to me is Yamamoto was out for a ton of time and is immediately put onto the second PP unit.

Jesse must have some real problems on the PP if Hitch is not putting him there. I recall when Hitch first got here they said they were going to practice with him on PP1 and put him there, but that never happened.

He must be stinking it up in practice or not understanding what is being told to him.

I agree, send him down to the AHL and let him play down there for the rest of the year. His game needs a lot of teaching and the NHL is not a development league.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

Is there another team who took their top 5 pick and gave them less than 12 minutes a night?

Bueller?

Pulju's average ice-time is just barely above 12 mins, for your question of recent memory Dal Colle & Niederreiter fit the bill for your criteria and R. Johansen and Galchenyuk were pretty close. Pulju being so low after his 3 season being pro is fairly unique though for a top 5 pick, although it should be stated that in most of the recent years the top 2 picks were generally quite good and more often than not were ready to play in the NHL straight off the hop so often you are just evaluating picks 3, 4, & 5.

I'd say there are a combination of factors though that have contributed to his low ice-time, one I think the GM was responsible for trying to push him on McLellan claiming he was ready where as the coach thought he needed some AHL polish. Two early on when he wasn't speaking english very well he wasn't learning from his mistakes, coaches in general are a lot more willing to continue putting players out there and letting them fail when they feel they are learning lessons from those failures and improving cause of them. Three when Jesse is off his game like he was tonight, it's just readily apparent and he doesn't seem to be able to fight his way back into a game, an off-night just tends to stay an off-night so there is no point in not shutting him down early.

 

[BL92]

Just trade him and let him have a fresh start. At this point it's pretty likely that he'll never be a top 6 winger anyway.

 

[I am the Liquor]

Just trade him and let him have a fresh start. At this point it's pretty likely that he'll never be a top 6 winger anyway.

That boat has sailed. He would return a third round pick at this point. Or he could be packaged with our first for an established but likely flawed player who would drive us further into cap purgatory.

Nothing grows in our AHL ‘system’ either, so sending him there won’t help. Hitch knows this.

Turning Pulju into a player is 5-1 and sinking fast.