That's the thing with JP. He isn't out there coasting, or doing the yak thing and refuses to work on his game outside of his shot, or the paajarvi issue where he seemed to naturally be repelled from the corners/front of the net.
This kid is giving it his all on and off the ice. He's been in the media a few times already for being so popular with fans, he's clearly absolutely gutted when he makes mistakes based on his reactions, and doesn't take shifts off, he just doesn't always accomplish what he should. Then there's stuff like this that comes out, and just reinforces how badly he wants to succeed and be a contributing member of the team.
Jesse is going to be a successful NHLer, I'm sure of it, and I still believe he will be a top 6 guy in time.
Think about it, this kid probably hit a growing spurt and was getting used to his new height his draft year, only to come over to the NHL the year following. This means he was learning how to use his new found size, combined with trying to adjust to a completely different ice surface, language, playstyle, system etc, all while playing at most, 12 minutes a game and clearly not grasping the English language.
Eventually he gets sent to the AHL and gets some traction, and comes in after 10 games in the AHL the following season and scores 12 goals in 65 games while playing minimal pp time.
This season has been a write off for many, but Jesse if one of the ones I have a ton of patience for.
He has shown some promise in small doses despite what appears to be a pretty rough transition.I have complete faith he will be a classic late bloomer.
The way I see it now, he is an acceptable third liner who's development needed a reset, and hopefully got it with the hitch hire.
Now if chia can find us some scoring wingers, and people show some patience with JP, I think we still have a gem. I give it 2 seasons before he's a 20 goal 20-30 assist guy, and he'll keep getting better from there. The trick is going to be not running him out of town for not stepping into the NHL and immediately having success.