Jesse Puljujärvi
| Jesse Puljujärvi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Puljujärvi with Finland in 2016 | |||
| Born |
May 7, 1998 Älvkarleby, Sweden | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Edmonton Oilers Oulun Kärpät | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL draft |
4th overall, 2016 Edmonton Oilers | ||
| Playing career | 2014–present | ||
Jesse Puljujärvi (/ˈjɛsə ˌpuːliˈɑːrviː/ YES-ə POO-lee-AR-vee, Finnish: [ˈjesːe ˈpuljuˌjærʋi]; born May 7, 1998) is a Swedish-born Finnish professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Edmonton Oilers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Rated as a top prospect, Puljujärvi was drafted fourth overall by the Oilers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.[1]
Playing career
Kärpät
Puljujärvi played in the 2011 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Finland Selects youth team.[2]
Puljujärvi began his hockey career and Fin-Jr. league debut in 2013–14 with the Kärpät Jr. hockey team. In the two seasons he participated in, Puljujärvi recorded 23 points in 18 games and 18 points in 11 games.
Puljujärvi made his Liiga debut playing with Kärpät during the 2014–15 Liiga season. Leading up the NHL draft, he was ranked as the number three European skater. He was described as a big, mobile, skilled, an all-around winger who can score and pass.[3]
Puljujärvi was sent down mid-season and made his Mestis debut in 2014–15 with Kärpät affiliate Kajaanin Hokki. He finished the season with 13 points in 15 games. During the season, Puljujärvi was considered good enough again, that he was sent to the Kärpät hockey team to continue his career there. Kärpät would be his final team before he would be drafted into the NHL.
In 2015–16, his first full season with Kärpät, Puljujärvi played in 50 Liiga games, scoring 28 points (13 goals and 15 assists), as well as in ten playoff games with four goals and five assists. He also competed in the Champions Hockey League (CHL) with the club, recording 2 assists in 13 games but remained goalless.[4]
Puljujärvi would then leave the team and European hockey altogether, as he would be drafted into the NHL as the fourth overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers.
Edmonton Oilers
Puljujärvi signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers on 13 July 2016.[5] He opted to wear sweater #98 with the team, making him the first NHL player to do so since 1985, when Brian Lawton wore the number in a regular season game. After making the Oilers opening night roster for the 2016–17 season, he made his NHL debut on opening night with the Oilers in which he scored his first career NHL goal on 12 October 2016.
After just 28 games, Puljujärvi was sent down to the Oilers' American Hockey League (AHL), the affiliate Bakersfield Condors, for more development time. During his tenure at the AHL, Puljujärvi scored 12 goals and 16 assists in 39 games.
Puljujärvi returned to the Oilers in the 2016–17 NHL season but ultimately bounced between the NHL and AHL squads.[6][7][8] On 20 January 2018, Puljujärvi registered a career-high three-point game, recording one goal and two assists against the Vancouver Canucks. This would also mark the first time Puljujärvi received a first star for a game.[9][10]
He returned to Oulun Kärpät in August 2019, signing an initial one-year contract, though the Edmonton Oilers would maintain to hold his NHL rights.[11]
On 7 October 2020, after a year of holding out from the Oilers organization, Puljujärvi was signed to a two-year, $2.35 million contract with the Oilers. He remained with Kärpät on loan until the commencement of the delayed 2020–21 NHL season. He has shown great Defensive play and been an elite forechecker using his long stick to hound pucks, Although its still early he appears to be the next Mark Stone.[12]
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Finland
| ||
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| IIHF World U18 Championship | ||
 |
2015 Switzerland | |
 |
2016 United States | |
| World Junior Championship | ||
|
2016 Finland | |
Puljujärvi helped team Finland win silver medal at the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships in Switzerland.
Puljujärvi played for Finland at the 2016 World Junior Championships, where they won gold on 5 January 2016. In seven games, he scored 5 goals and 12 assists for 17 points, placing him second in all-time points for an under-18 player behind only Jaromír Jágr, and tying Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros.[13] He was subsequently declared Best Forward and Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Later that year, Puljujärvi was also a part of the national team at the 2016 World U18 Championships, winning another gold medal, becoming the first and so far the only European player to win a U20 and U18 gold medal in the same year.[citation needed]
Personal life
Puljujärvi was born to Finnish parents in Sweden and lived there until he was four, though culturally, he identifies as Finnish. He holds both Finnish and Swedish citizenship.[14] In his free time, he also likes playing ice hockey with neighbourhood kids.[15]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2013–14 | Oulun Kärpät | Jr. A | 18 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Oulun Kärpät | Jr. A | 11 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 21 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Hokki | Mestis | 15 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 50 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 28 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | 39 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 65 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 46 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 56 | 24 | 29 | 53 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Oulun Kärpät | Liiga | 16 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 55 | 15 | 10 | 25 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Liiga totals | 143 | 48 | 56 | 104 | 127 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | ||||
| NHL totals | 194 | 32 | 30 | 62 | 56 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Finland | IH18 | 5th | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2015 | Finland | WJC18 | 
|
7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | |
| 2015 | Finland | WJC | 7th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | Finland | WJC18 | 
|
4 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2016 | Finland | WJC |
|
7 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 0 | |
| 2017 | Finland | WC | 4th | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 27 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 10 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| International | |
| IIHF World U18 Championship silver medal | 2015 |
| IIHF World U18 Championship gold medal | 2016 |
| IIHF World U18 Championship All-Star Team | 2016 |
| IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal | 2016 |
| IIHF World Junior Championship All-Star Team | 2016 |
| IIHF World Junior Championship Best Forward | 2016 |
| IIHF World Junior Championship Most Valuable Player | 2016 |
References
- ^ "ISS Hockey releases top 30 for January". isshockey.com. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ "Matthews tops Central Scouting international rankings". NHL.com. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ "Statistics | Champions Hockey League". www.championshockeyleague.net. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ "Oilers sign Puljujarvi". Edmonton Oilers. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ "Oilers send Puljujarvi to Condors and put Fayne on waivers". Global News. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ "Edmonton Oilers send Jesse Puljujarvi to AHL, smart move for player and team". Edmonton Journal. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ "Oilers recall Jesse Puljujarvi, place Anton Slepyshev on IR - Sportsnet.ca". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ "Sportsnet.ca Live Tracker". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ Van Diest, Derek (21 January 2018). "Puljujarvi propels Oilers past Canucks". NHL.com. Edmonton. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ Staples, David (27 August 2019). "Jesse Puljujarvi does best thing for Oilers and himself, signing for year in Finland". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- ^ "Oilers sign Puljujarvi to two-year contract". Edmonton Oilers. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Puljujärvi jagar storheter som Jagr och Gretzky | yle". yle.fi. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
- ^ "Jesse Puljujärven passiasiat hämmentävät NHL:ssä - Ruotsin vai Suomen kansalainen?". Iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- ^ CBC news (Jan 18, 2018) article online
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database