Player Discussion Jesse Puljujarvi Part 3: Hard times

[IAGTTAYM]

Stauffer sounds pretty certain that 98 will be on the plane to EDM monday, and that he will start out on the wing with 93.

 

[Digger12]

Stauffer sounds pretty certain that 98 will be on the plane to EDM monday, and that he will start out on the wing with 93.

Yeah, I heard the same segment.

Stauffer also confirmed that both Chiarelli and Keith Gretzky would be attending the 2 Condors games this weekend.

 

[BudBundy]

Todd only likes gum pizza.

Or eucalyptus.

 

[Aerrol]

Stauffer sounds pretty certain that 98 will be on the plane to EDM monday, and that he will start out on the wing with 93.

Eugh. I really don't like it. I think it'd be better for all parties to give it at least a week or two more before calling him up. Let Pulju get into a real groove and build solid confidence. Let Hitchcock feel more comfortable with the overall team before he turns his attention to hopefully getting the team's most important prospect by far back on track. Rushing things just complicates the matter for everyone IMO.

 

[McTonyBrar]

Eugh. I really don't like it. I think it'd be better for all parties to give it at least a week or two more before calling him up. Let Pulju get into a real groove and build solid confidence. Let Hitchcock feel more comfortable with the overall team before he turns his attention to hopefully getting the team's most important prospect by far back on track. Rushing things just complicates the matter for everyone IMO.

Should see him play down there though. He's too good for it. He should have 8 points right now. Just got unlucky

 

[The Safe Play]

I think this is a good chance to have Hitch develop Puljujarvi. Type of player I bet he wants on the roster and would do a great job fine tuning.

 

[Aerrol]

Should see him play down there though. He's too good for it. He should have 8 points right now. Just got unlucky

He looks good but given how quickly he seemed to lose confidence in the NHL, dunking on weaker teams is exactly what he needs imo.

 

[Digger12]

If the Oilers call back Puljujarvi, one possible reason for it would be for management to see what Hitchcock thinks of the kid, get his .02 on the situation. It does seem like at minimum there was some disagreement between Chiarelli and McLellan on how Pulju should be made use of, and with a fresh and unbiased set of eyes in Hitch (who also has the rep of not taking long in figuring out what makes a player tick and how to best utilize that player) maybe it's not a bad play.

There's nothing stopping them from sending him back down for the year to marinate if Hitch doesn't think after a game or two that he's worth keeping around for 18/19.

 

[McTonyBrar]

He looks good but given how quickly he seemed to lose confidence in the NHL, dunking on weaker teams is exactly what he needs imo.

But he may be different under Hitchcock

 

[McTonyBrar]

I think this is a good chance to have Hitch develop Puljujarvi. Type of player I bet he wants on the roster and would do a great job fine tuning.

Jere Lehtinen

 

[Frank the Tank]

Jere Lehtinen

I'd take that development result for Puljujarvi in a heartbeat.

 

[Aerrol]

But he may be different under Hitchcock

Sure, but if he's different under Hitchcock a week or two later, what's the downside? I just don't see the risk-reward here. Best case scenario for bringing him up now, we see Jesse blossom in a top 6 role immediately (unlikely). Worst case scenario, he flounders just as hard as he did under McLellan and he gets trapped for scraps to rebound elsewhere. Waiting a week or two mitigates the latter while increasing the chance of the former. The upside of doing it NOW is what - we get maybe a win or two extra? I don't see it as being season making/breaking, and would much rather be careful with Jesse.

 

[Arpeggio]

Sure, but if he's different under Hitchcock a week or two later, what's the downside? I just don't see the risk-reward here. Best case scenario for bringing him up now, we see Jesse blossom in a top 6 role immediately (unlikely). Worst case scenario, he flounders just as hard as he did under McLellan and he gets trapped for scraps to rebound elsewhere. Waiting a week or two mitigates the latter while increasing the chance of the former. The upside of doing it NOW is what - we get maybe a win or two extra? I don't see it as being season making/breaking, and would much rather be careful with Jesse.

I think Chiarelli believes that Puljujarvi is ready to play now, and given how desperate the Oilers are for secondary scoring, he'll want to see what Hitchcock can get out Puljujarvi asap.

It would be a godsend if Puljujarvi could figure out how to play at a 40 point pace in the NHL.

 

[Aerrol]

I think Chiarelli believes that Puljujarvi is ready to play now, and given how desperate the Oilers are for secondary scoring, he'll want to see what Hitchcock can get out Puljujarvi asap.

It would be a godsend if Puljujarvi could figure out how to play at a 40 point pace in the NHL.

Nothing to do but hope for the best if it's true anyways. Just voicing my two cents. I think it's too early. Time will tell.

 

[Panda Bear]

It would be a godsend if Puljujarvi could figure out how to play at a 40 point pace in the NHL.

...I feel like he did figure that out last season, but got shafted hard by Todd before being submarined by him this season.

Puljujarvi's a player, but he's raw in both play and maturity. He needs an arm around the shoulder with the occasional swat upside the head, not a cold shoulder and being hit for every mistake..

 

[FlameChampion]

Nothing to do but hope for the best if it's true anyways. Just voicing my two cents. I think it's too early. Time will tell.

I think we will probably have to see. I agree that it seems like its a bit too early to bring JP up. It does seem that Chiarelli feels pretty strong about this one, when generally speaking we dont hear too much from him through the media. We dont really know how McLellan treated him or tried to coach him. I think we have to see how it plays out. I guess at this point, hes already burned a year off his contract. I just wouldnt want to see him being pingponged around if hes not ready.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

I think Chiarelli believes that Puljujarvi is ready to play now, and given how desperate the Oilers are for secondary scoring, he'll want to see what Hitchcock can get out Puljujarvi asap.

It would be a godsend if Puljujarvi could figure out how to play at a 40 point pace in the NHL.

I was skimming through Hitchcock's long coaching history and he has had many young players succeed under him and many of those individuals he coached for a while developed into consistent pros with great work ethic habits, but I couldn't pick out anyone I'd compare directly to where Pulju is at right now who turned into a success story under Hitch.

Many of the young players already had their initial offensive break-out pre-Hitch and he successfully rounded their games out e.g. Rick Nash, Mike Modano, had top shelf work ethic (Mike Richards, Brendan Morrow, Jamie Langenbrunner), were superior talents (Jeff Carter, Vladimir Tarasenko), or had high hockey IQ (Jere Lehtinen). What are the examples of him turning around a young raw talented player who is inconsistent in his effort level and who's hockey IQ is questionable? Closest comparables I seen for Pulju were Gilbert Brule and Nikolai Zherdev, neither ended up being smashing successes. He also had cracks at Paajarvi and Yakupov and turned neither one around, although I have more faith in Pulju than either one of those two, while I'm saying that with the benefit of hindsight I think at similar stages of development I'd still say that (although I was a big fan of 19 year old Paajarvi at 20 I started losing confidence in him quickly).

 

[fuswald]

Bring him back and pump and dump if not what Hitch wants.

 

[Spawn]

But he may be different under Hitchcock

Or he might be the same crapo player he was when he was up earlier. Hitch isn't some miracle working god. As Burnt Biscuits pointed out, Hitch couldn't get Paajarvi or Yakupov going either. And they were similarly touted prospects.

What's the rush? Hitchcock can get a look at him in a month or twos time just as easily as he can get a look at him next week. Stop jerking around with this kid. Leave him down there and let him properly find his game and maybe gain a bit of consistency.

 

[Del Preston]

It does seem like at minimum there was some disagreement between Chiarelli and McLellan on how Pulju should be made use of

 

[TheNumber4]

Stauffer sounds pretty certain that 98 will be on the plane to EDM monday, and that he will start out on the wing with 93.

Yeh he asked Spec today what his opinion on him coming up was? Reading between the lines I think Stauffer was hinting it's coming.

 

[elmaco]

Todd you piece of shit

 

[elmaco]

Hitchcock seems like a sympathetic guy aka NOT McLellan, hope he gets the best out of Jesse.

 

[Lay Z Boy GM]

Todd you piece of ****

I think after we made the playoffs Todd and maybe Chia decided we’re contenders now and were not able to patient with Pulju. He’s too important not to develop and be patient with though.

In his very brief glimpses with McDavid he was pretty productive. I really hoped he’d get a good honest stint on the top line and just be an offensive player and not worry so much about playing perfectly. Shoot the puck, drive the net with that big body.

I also think Hitch might understand Pulju more than others. I didn’t know this but Hitch lost both of his parents when he was young and I suspect he’ll understand a kid that’s lived alone since he was 14. They just might have an understanding and click.

 

[oobga]

Hitchcock seems like a sympathetic guy aka NOT McLellan, hope he gets the best out of Jesse.

The most annoying thing with McLellan and Pulju was how you could clearly see Pulju was making an honest effort in his own zone right from the start of his NHL career. I really thought this kid was gonna be able to win the coach over with that attitude at 18. But, Todd just kept jerking him around until his confidence dropped, and then that made it even easier for Todd to just cast him aside.

Just painful to watch over and over as soon as the kid got a little confidence, Todd found a way to push Pulju's patience and make him feel like nothing he did would matter until Todd finally managed to break him again. It was like he took some sick pleasure from it or something. No one else on this team got treated that way. So many guys accomplishing nothing, some even making brutal errors, that got endless opportunities.

I'll probably never understand it, but maybe the whole reason was that someone else was telling him he should try to play Pulju higher. That is a good was to trigger the stubbornness, and it just turns into an obsession with proving the guys telling you to do something are wrong.

Todd, can you try Strome with McDavid?
Todd: NEVER!!

Todd, can you please make an effort to work with Pulju and try to get him higher in the lineup?
Todd: NEVER!!! He's on the 4th line now! HA!!!

Todd, you should really wipe after you go #2
Todd: I always did before, BUT NOW I'M NOT GONNA! SUCK IT!