Player Discussion Jesse Puljujarvi Part 10: Connor's RW

[HockeyHistorian]

He is a gem of a person.

 

[North]

It WaSnT a SlEwFoOt BaCkLuNd IsNt A DiRtY PlAyEr!!! - HF Flames/CP probably

On Twitter some people were calling it a dive.

 

[SwedishFire]

Jesse is looking good, and I'm loving his progression. But with him starting to carry and handle the puck more, what is RNH's role on that line?

Imo Neal would be a better fit there, as he's far better at slipping into gaps in defensive coverage or going to the dirty areas.

Even Turris could likely fill the role of "3rd man high" RNH is playing right now.


I don't see why this isn't a good time to revisit the RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto combo.
I don't expect them to fully re-create the magic of last year, but they have been this team's only consistently 5on5 line over the last two years.


Imo there's two ways you can approach it. Either have a lineup that features a 7th defenceman, with Neal on the McDavid line.

RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Neal-McDavid-Puljujarvi
Kassian-Haas-Archibald
Kahun-Turris-#7defenceman

... Or one that feature Turris with McDavid and a cycle happy 4th line.

RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Turris-McDavid-Pulju
Ennis/Kahun-Haas-Archibald
Neal-Khaira-Kassian

In either case the Haas-Archibald combo is your defensive anchor.

I lined Nygård Nd Archibald last year.

I like the thought of Neal just circling around the ner while Jesse and McDavid deking around the defence.

Neal McD Jesse
Rnh/Kahun Drai Yam - I like Kahun is getting time to get chemistry here so why break that up?
Kahun/RNH Turris Ennis
Nygård Haas Archibald


But everyone knows that Chiasson is Tippets. calling card. wont change

 

[joestevens29]

Ref probably had pizza sauce on his face

 

[fuswald]

Draisitl wasn't very good so they sent him to a WHL instead of minors and he became a stud.
Same for Puljujarvi sent to a lesser league now its his turn to get studly.

6ft4 and full of muscle. I said do you speak of my language. So I gave him a piece of my sandwich. He comes from a land over yonder. Coaches roar and refs thunder.

How Swede it is!

 

[oljimmy]

I'm inclined to say that at this point all the Holland haters have to face the fact that Kenny obviously came in and made it his mission to get JP back on the team. I have no direct evidence of this but it was apparent from the get go that the organization was going to start trying with him again. And it is obviously paying off huge dividends. I imagine Holland coming in and saying behind closed doors: "OK, idiots, here's what successful NHL teams never do, they never let a 4th OA pick just vanish into thin air. We are getting this guy back."

 

[Aerchon]

I'm inclined to say that at this point all the Holland haters have to face the fact that Kenny obviously came in and made it his mission to get JP back on the team. I have no direct evidence of this but it was apparent from the get go that the organization was going to start trying with him again. And it is obviously paying off huge dividends. I imagine Holland coming in and saying behind closed doors: "OK, idiots, here's what successful NHL teams never do, they never let a 4th OA pick just vanish into thin air. We are getting this guy back."

I can safely say Holland, when he first came in, did not have Puljujarvi as a big priority.

But it is awesome he got him back.

 

[LTIR]

I think Pulju would be better with Drai instead of McD.
Pulju and McD both like to receive passes on the fly. McDavid seems to have adjusted his game to fit Pulju where this comes naturally to Drai.

Kahun-Drai-Pulju
RNH-McD-Yama

 

[Canovin]

I think Pulju would be better with Drai instead of McD.
Pulju and McD both like to receive passes on the fly. McDavid seems to have adjusted his game to fit Pulju where this comes naturally to Drai.

Kahun-Drai-Pulju
RNH-McD-Yama

One of the reason players have trouble playing with McDavid is that they are adjusting to play with him when all they had to do was play their own game and McDavid can adjust to them

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I think Pulju would be better with Drai instead of McD.
Pulju and McD both like to receive passes on the fly. McDavid seems to have adjusted his game to fit Pulju where this comes naturally to Drai.

Kahun-Drai-Pulju
RNH-McD-Yama

Tbf, I think McDavid probably likes having someone else on his line who is willing (and has the speed) to drive the puck to the net.

Normally it's always him, and it's one of the few situation where he really puts his body at risk of major injury.

Gives McDavid a better chance at avoiding injury, and it's not like Pulju is ineffective with his bull rushes.

 

[bobbythebrain]

I think Pulju would be better with Drai instead of McD.
Pulju and McD both like to receive passes on the fly. McDavid seems to have adjusted his game to fit Pulju where this comes naturally to Drai.

Kahun-Drai-Pulju
RNH-McD-Yama

I would have agreed more a week ago, but JP has become pretty good at making smart early passes in the neutral zone
He's also shown he can carry it when he needs to.

Honestly, a little bit of what has hurt that line imo is that both RNH and McD have looked him off in the ozone several times.
Hopefully that trust will come

 

[JayE]

I can safely say Holland, when he first came in, did not have Puljujarvi as a big priority.

But it is awesome he got him back.

The handling of Puljujarvi, either as a trade asset or a player that could be brought back into the fold, was undoubtedly one of his main focuses when he was brought in.

 

[gordonhught]

JP getting better and better. Love to see it.

 

[JayE]

I would have agreed more a week ago, but JP has become pretty good at making smart early passes in the neutral zone
He's also shown he can carry it when he needs to.

Honestly, a little bit of what has hurt that line imo is that both RNH and McD have looked him off in the ozone several times.
Hopefully that trust will come

It seems the dmen and his linemates (Draisaitl on the PP, especially) are beginning to look for him much more regularly on the rush. The underlying stats heavily suggest that first line is suffering a run of bad luck and is due for a break out, so I think we're going to start seeing Puljujarvi rewarded a bit on the stat sheet over the next little while.

 

[gordonhught]

I would have agreed more a week ago, but JP has become pretty good at making smart early passes in the neutral zone
He's also shown he can carry it when he needs to.

Honestly, a little bit of what has hurt that line imo is that both RNH and McD have looked him off in the ozone several times.
Hopefully that trust will come

they pass it more to him now than when they first started playing together as a line - trust is slowly being built

 

[Aerchon]

The handling of Puljujarvi, either as a trade asset or a player that could be brought back into the fold, was undoubtedly one of his main focuses when he was brought in.

If so, then Holland handled it extremely poorly off the hop.

Usage and ice/game time were reportedly at the top of Puljujarvi list of reasons for malcontent. I think it was shortly after having a meeting with Puljujarvi that Holland in a presser confirmed his intent to run Puljujarvi on the third line. It was the next day Puljujarvi publicly stated he was returning to Finland and the new management wasn't any different than the old...

I don't have any of the information and what was said or what the intent of anyone was but there was a pretty clear path to follow why Puljujarvi left despite a new GM.

After that "blunder"? Holland handled the situation brilliantly. Perfectly. It's also unlikely that Holland could have kept Puljujarvi from bailing so I'm not blaming him. Just stating the optics did not appear that Holland was particularly concerned with Puljujarvi off the hop.

 

[Oilhawks]

If so, then Holland handled it extremely poorly off the hop.

Usage and ice/game time were reportedly at the top of Puljujarvi list of reasons for malcontent. I think it was shortly after having a meeting with Puljujarvi that Holland in a presser confirmed his intent to run Puljujarvi on the third line. It was the next day Puljujarvi publicly stated he was returning to Finland and the new management wasn't any different than the old...

I don't have any of the information and what was said or what the intent of anyone was but there was a pretty clear path to follow why Puljujarvi left despite a new GM.

After that "blunder"? Holland handled the situation brilliantly. Perfectly. It's also unlikely that Holland could have kept Puljujarvi from bailing so I'm not blaming him. Just stating the optics did not appear that Holland was particularly concerned with Puljujarvi off the hop.

I don't remember the exact timeline shaking out like that (it might have, I honestly don't remember). I would argue though that Holland was setting expectations. It would have been more damaging to be vague or dishonest about where Pulju would start when he returns, in the long run at least. Perhaps he would have come back last year with a promise of a spot in the top 6, failed to keep that spot and would have been traded as a continued malcontent.

 

[gordonhught]

Bear in mind that JP got a lot of blame for blowing it his first time here. He should get most of the credit for turning things around.

Edit - if he continues to improve everyone is going to want to play with him

 

[Aerchon]

I don't remember the exact timeline shaking out like that (it might have, I honestly don't remember). I would argue though that Holland was setting expectations. It would have been more damaging to be vague or dishonest about where Pulju would start when he returns, in the long run at least. Perhaps he would have come back last year with a promise of a spot in the top 6, failed to keep that spot and would have been traded as a continued malcontent.

It was long ago and of course I could be wrong but I remember it being very obvious for those following the situation.

Most were shocked that after Holland reached out Puljujarvi didn't at least give it a chance, but those that caught Holland's presser and read that Puljujarvi wanted more opportunity were not surprised. If I remember Holland's wording was pretty damning as well. Something like finding him consistent linemates on the third line for the year...

Puljujarvi was convinced his career would be better served by sitting out for a trade, where he believed any other team would obviously give him more ice time and very obviously more PP time.

It's great he is being used on the top line and showing well. Plus getting some top PP as well. He legitimately earned his way up the line up and is earning the chance to stay there.

 

[HockeyHistorian]

Last night's Ottawa game was a snooze fest. Thankfully it was against the Oilers. Seemed like Jesse got bored of nothing happening in the third and started to take more responsibility and got a few scoring chances to show for it.



Even though Nuge actually ends the rush with a quality shot, I have a feeling that Jesse's speed could be utilized better here. You have to remember, this play was like this by design. They won the face-off, retreated behind the net for a control breakout. I'm not saying it was bad, I'm saying that it might not be optimal.

 

[Gordian Knot]

In that example above it is clear JP creates room for McDavid.
Ottawa is in the middle of line change, but they still should not lose #97 coverage like they did.
From my viewpoint that's crucial in the long run. Either JP scores when he is rushing or creates rebounds or #97 / #93 are left uncovered. He will draw lots of penalties too, like tonight behind the cage.

 

[mattihp]

He still looks a bit nervous at the time with the puck, handling it very oddly compared to in the Liiga. Even when he has time it looks a bit like hot potato. Hopefully it will get better! He is a good puckhandler, I promise!

 

[HockeyHistorian]

He still looks a bit nervous at the time with the puck, handling it very oddly compared to in the Liiga. Even when he has time it looks a bit like hot potato. Hopefully it will get better! He is a good puckhandler, I promise!

He really is, but, and I'll keep on repeating this ad nauseam, he should a) change to a lower lie or b) cut his stick or c) skate more upright. The last thing is absurd, as he is a great straight line skater and no need to mess up his mechanics, so it has to be either a or b.

I'm a proponent of solution a. Change the lie on his stick. The tweet I posted shows why. He fumbles that puck while skating alone with no pressure, because the puck goes under the toe of his blade. That blade should be parallel to the ice, but as you can see, only the heel of his blade actually touches the ice. Obviously changing the lie on your stick messes up with your shooting and passing, but there's no reason why he wouldn't make that change during the offseason at the least.

Perhaps one day I will see if I was right or wrong.

 

[mattihp]

He really is, but, and I'll keep on repeating this ad nauseam, he should a) change to a lower lie or b) cut his stick or c) skate more upright. The last thing is absurd, as he is a great straight line skater and no need to mess up his mechanics, so it has to be either a or b.

I'm a proponent of solution a. Change the lie on his stick. The tweet I posted shows why. He fumbles that puck while skating alone with no pressure, because the puck goes under the toe of his stick. That blade should be parallel to the ice, but as you can see, only the heel of his blade actually touches the ice. Obviously changing the lie on your stick messes up with your shooting and passing, but there's no reason why he wouldn't make that change during the offseason at the least.

Perhaps one day I will see if I was right or wrong.

I think you might be on to something. Even though Liiga has smaller rinks than most of Europe, the skating style is different and for some players that could mean that their favourite stick is a bad match.

When he gets the puck it seems he is a bit unsure where on the blade it is, which would be a sign of your theory having some traction.

 

[tellermine]

He really is, but, and I'll keep on repeating this ad nauseam, he should a) change to a lower lie or b) cut his stick or c) skate more upright. The last thing is absurd, as he is a great straight line skater and no need to mess up his mechanics, so it has to be either a or b.

I'm a proponent of solution a. Change the lie on his stick. The tweet I posted shows why. He fumbles that puck while skating alone with no pressure, because the puck goes under the toe of his blade. That blade should be parallel to the ice, but as you can see, only the heel of his blade actually touches the ice. Obviously changing the lie on your stick messes up with your shooting and passing, but there's no reason why he wouldn't make that change during the offseason at the least.

Perhaps one day I will see if I was right or wrong.

He might be fast but he does not use his upper body correct and wastes quite a mutch energy that way. By doing that his skating in almost all done with legs.
Also his hip tend to be to high and that affects balance etc. .

But yes. He is fast but there is loads to improve in this also.

Ok. You all can hate me now. I know the system.