I'll try to be at least as impartial as I can and open the situation the way I see it. It's a very long post so I understand if nobody reads this, but I try to make this the last post from myself until Pulju gets back and I hope to open some issues with my words.
This season Pulju's performance has varied enough to feed all kinds of opinions. The expectations after last season and the preseason were ridiculous. After signing the contract he often looked like he could be leaving more to the ice. Kind of pushing and skating, flashing several times in a game, but having those weak moments and in some games taking weakish penalties, and as the fans of Kärpät are used to success and the team didn't start as well as usually it was again Pulju who started to get crtitique from some fans. It was kind of funny as he kept creating more chances than anyone else in almost every game and there were players that actually sucked in the team. But that's what happens when people expect one guy to turn the ship alone and when they felt he could, but he just wouldn't.
After the total break due to covid in the team Pulju had some weaker games, but he usually kept attacking relentlessly, organising chances and creating ones. What was different was that he had some clearly worse shifts, he wasn't finishing chances and most importantly, his linemates were constantly wasting chances he kept creating. There were signs of him being maybe out of shape, which is very unusual with him so maybe the virus or at least the long training break had some effect.
Now the negative stuff: I hoped to see more on the PP. It was partly due to the terrible PP the team had, but Pulju was a part of that. I still think he'll be a good PP player in the Oilers, he has all the tools and he was pretty good last year and looked good in the national team, but Kärpät got very little PP time and the PP often sucked so I didn't see enough from Pulju to demand him a place on the 1st unit in the Oilers.
Another negative thing is those 90% shifts, which brought him just enough lows to grab attention of some fans. He can't afford to have those in the Oilers and I'm sure he knows that. It'll be crucial that his game looks like it did last year, he's leaving it all to the ice in every shift.
Then to good things: His highs were incredibly high. From what I saw on even strength his highs were clearly above other NHL players like Kotkaniemi and Suomela. His speed and maybe also acceleration is phenominal. He gives quick and accurate passes. He forechecks extremely well. His shot is tough but unfortunately could still be more accurate. Last spring he played great hockey and shined in the national team against very tough opponents.
As I wrote earlier Kotkaniemi had a hard time on even strength, I didn't see much of his last games so maybe those were better, but if that's the case it isn't seen in his stats. He scored only 2 ES points and neither of those had much to do with directly creating a great scoring chance. Suomela, who's scored at a 0.3 ppg rate in the NHL in his limited games during the last two seasons also scored only 2 ES points (one primary, one 2nd assist). I believe the reason for all these is the NHL contract in the pocket.
Last season Pulju's corsi was the best of the league and this season it's been even a bit higher. He's pushing the game to the offensive zone all the time. That's were I believe he's world class. He actually did that pretty well in the Oilers at first, but towards the end he was losing that among many other things. He's currently quite far from the league leaders in scoring, so many understandably use that as a way to see him as a disappointment. However, he's still on pace for terrific 28 goals per full season.
I dare to say some of his highs are something you don't see often in the FEL even like this season with several NHL players or lockout seasons. The big question is if the mediocre or even weak shifts are signs he isn't quite as ready as it looked after last season or if the NHL contract plays a big part behind them.
I'm not saying what is the right way to see it, but I believe as firmly as ever that he'll become a very important player for the Oilers. For sure there's been some issues (like his frustration when the others kept failing to score and wasting his own chances) that remind me of potential problems, but then I think about the developement I've seen with my own eyes, paint the picture of him flying past others and think about how much more mature he seems and yes - I feel positive about his return.
