Category Archives: Prospects

Bob McKenzie on Jesse Puljujarvi Being Sent to the AHL for a Second Consecutive Season

Below is a clip from Bob McKenzie’s Bobcast (his bi-monthly podcast) and in it he’s asked a question about the Oilers’ Jesse Puljujarvi and the Blue Jackets’ Pierre-Luc Dubois.

As we know, Columbus passed over Puljujarvi to select Dubois 3rd overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and this was a YUGE shock to many in the hockey world for the obvious reasons, Puljujarvi is from Finland, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen is also from Finland… But as it was told after the draft, Columbus was after a big centre and thus Dubois became a member of the Columbus organization.

Now, last night Jesse Puljujarvi got his first point of the year for the Bakersfield Condors and PL Dubois scored his first NHL goal for Columbus but there are already some CBJ fans out there taking this opportunity to get on Puljujarvi’s case… Savages they are!

https://twitter.com/307x/status/916686596732223488

I can’t really say who’ll be the better player between Dubois and Puljujarvi. I like the Finn if I’m being honest. I think that Dubois looks a bit like RJ Umberger and there’s nothing wrong with that because he had a great career but Umberger never really appealed to me as a player. On the other hand, I have different fingers… No! I mean, On the other hand, Puljujarvi’s skating, attention to the defensive side of the puck, his shot, it’s all very distinctly his and I can’t really put a comparison to him. Maybe Sasha Barkov?…

On the other hand, I have different fingers… (A little Steven Wright for you there)

No! I mean, On the other hand, Puljujarvi’s skating, attention to the defensive side of the puck, his shot, it’s all very distinctly his and I can’t really put a comparison to him. Maybe Sasha Barkov?… Long term, he’ll be the better player IF he can gain the trust of the coaching staff and add to that some perfect English (I’m being sarcastic with the language comment FYI).

Anyways, Please take a listen, it’s only about two and a half minutes and then carry on below to get my thoughts on the subject. Just a warning, this is audio only. The visuals are basically random Oilers pics I have on the computer and t-shirts from our Teepublic Shop.

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McKenzie says he was expecting Puljujarvi to come over and be an everyday player for the Oilers and was surprised when he wasn’t.

I had a feeling that Puljujarvi would take some time as when I’d done my research on him for the draft I thought that the spotlight really shone on him during the Karpat/Tappara playoff series where he and Laine when head-to-head. Ultimately, Laine’s team won and moved on.

Also, a lot of what I was seeing last season during Puljujarvi’s time with the Oilers reminded me of Leon Draisaitl’s first year and also with how Kailer Yamamoto is dealing with the new aspects of the NHL. That said, Pulju can play in the NHL just due to his massive frame and he has a team that’ll take care of him on the ice whereas Yamamoto isn’t quite there yet physically and Draisaitl came in at the tail-end of the DoD when nobody was sticking up for each other.

But if you’d have watched the World Juniors that year you would’ve thought that the Oilers were getting the next Teemu Selanne because he was destroying his peers but little do you know, that’s what he does. Once Puljujarvi is on the same page as everybody else, it’s go time. Watch this year as he plays in the AHL. He’s going to be a PPG or more player.

“Here’s the bottom line with 19-year-olds in the National Hockey League, It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” – Bob McKenzie

McKenzie goes on to say that the real testament regarding these players ultimately comes 2-3 years down the road and that’s when we’ll make the determination.

I’m with him on this one, gone are the days of the Edmonton Oilers feeling the need to rush a teenager into the lineup, right? Or will that continue due to the constraints of having some big tickets on their payroll?… I don’t think so but I’ve also been of the belief that unless a player is as good as Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews, he should be sent back to junior or his European club or NCAA for at least one more year.

Check out Puljujarvi’s assist from last night. What poise and control. The confidence oozed on this play. He’ll be back up in an Oilers jersey sooner than later. Book it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wMS1kHxajg&feature=youtu.be

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Oilers Going to a Poolparty?

I don’t know about you but I am still grinning like a butcher’s dog from Jesse Puljujarvi’s game against the Jets. When he scored that second goal I tossed my son into the air (gently of course) and yelled, “JEEEESSSSEEEEE!!!!!” and as I looked up at my boy, he had a huge smile on his face too! He knew

He knew.

Now, that game was exactly what that doctor ordered after all of the hoopla from the game previous to where Kailer Yamamoto took care of the Vancouver Canucks’ ECHL team on his own.

I’ll be honest, I felt a bit vindicated in my support for Pulju after that game not because I don’t like Yamamoto but because I think Puljujarvi is getting a raw deal from some fans and Edmonton media. I don’t believe that group of fans/media know what the team really has in Jesse. He’s a special player in my opinion and if that’s how it’s going to be when he plays alongside Connor McDavid, I’ll have more of that.

Normally, I don’t advocate putting kids up in the top 6 because I think it’s throwing them to the lions and Lord knows we’ve seen enough of that in the last 20 years. I’d prefer we not go through that again.

But I want to pump the brakes a bit here. The Jets team wasn’t that much better than the roster Vancouver sent to play the Oilers the night before. I think it’s important that we establish that point but the reason I put more weight into that for Pulju is because he was the one getting shit on this pre-season (After one game… How’s that for small sample sizes?) and Yamamoto, who’d scored in every game to date, was getting all of the praise but it almost sounded like encouragement at the expense of Puljujarvi.

As I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of times if you read Oilers blogs or listen to Oilers radio, these young players DO NOT develop in a straight line and each player develops at his own pace. The WORST thing the Oilers can do is make a definitive decision on a player(s) based on a handful of exhibition games lest we end up spoiling them because they weren’t ready after all.

There’s a helluva race going on for one of the RW spots.

Strome – 2pts/2gp
Puljujarvi – 3pts/2gp
Caggiula – 4pts/2gp
Yamamoto – 5pts/3gp
Kassian –  1pt/3gp
Pakarinen – 3pts/3gp
*Slepyshev – 0pts/0gp (Injured but skating)

If the season is starting today and I have to pick the roster, I reckon it looks something like this:

Maroon-McDavid-Strome
Lucic-Draisaitl-Slepyshev
Jokinen-RNH-Caggiula
Khaira-Letestu-Kassian
Pakarinen

Yamamoto goes back to Spokane, Puljujarvi goes to Bakersfield, and Pakarinen is the 13th fwd. It’s amazing how fluent that RW is. That’ll come in handy this season for sure.

Klefbom/Larsson
Russell/Benning
Nurse/Gryba
Auvitu

The Frenchman (Auvitu) is on a one-way deal, so I’m not risking him on waivers plus I reckon he’ll draw in vs. teams who might give Eric Gryba a bit of hassle.

Tonight, the Oilers are going to play the Hurricanes and both teams should be icing solid line-ups. I’d love to see both Yammo and Pulju go tonight but I doubt that’ll be the case. I imagine Draisaitl’s group draws in as well as Klefbom and Larsson. I would like to get a good look at Nick Ellis as well. I’m seeing him better than Brossoit this year so far. Keep your eye on the ‘Canes defense. Some smooth operators on that blueline they’ve got.

As for Carolina, they’ve got some smooth operators on that blueline in Noah Hanifin and Justin Faulk but also wicked skill if Jeff Skinner, Martin Necas (if he hasn’t been cut yet), Teuvo Teravainen, and Elias Lindholm are playing.

Should be a solid test for the players on the bubble tonight!

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Calm Your Tits on Puljujarvi, It’s Not Yamamoto’s Time… Yet.

We’re a prospects tournament and 2 pre-season games in and there’s a growing feeling amongst the Oilogosphere that maybe Kailer Yamamoto is on the road to Edmonton Oilers superstardom and Jesse Puljujarvi will be joining the Hall of Shame alongside Jason Bonsignore and Nail Yakupov…

I mean Ray Ferraro said on his podcast this week that Puljujarvi isn’t having a good camp at all… Emphasising the “at all” part…

I’m not sure who told Ferraro that but I think it’s a bunch of horse shizzle.

I might be in the minority but I don’t think that Kailer Yamamoto has been all that impressive during the pre-season games. Maybe I’m expecting more Gaudreau/St.Louis though. I mean apart from that goal where he gobbled up the pizza Giordano sent up the middle and breaking Dougie Hamilton’s ankles going around him, he’s looked like a very green wide-eyed 18-year-old.

Stauffer seems to think that his “moxie” might earn him a few regular season games but I don’t see it. I think that my definition of moxie might be different that Stauff’s though. ‘Moto might be fearless but Brendan Gallagher he is not and that guy has enough moxie for the both of us.

Whereas Jesse Puljujarvi’s skating has looked much improved. Last season he looked like Bambi on ice and now he’s starting to look much more confident and powerful. He looks like he’s growing into his body now. I’ll admit he’s still trying to find his game on the offensive side of the puck but he’s been far more helpful to the team due to his defensive acumen and you know what? That might just be where he holds the most value to the team. I mean, when’s the last time you could say that that Oilers have one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL?

 

Simply put, Jesse Puljujarvi is already a leg up on Yamamoto because he knows the other side of the game. All he has to do is figure out the offense and how to get the trust of Todd McLellan (Therein lies the rub, no?). Yamamoto, I say, has both sides to sort out and he shouldn’t have to be figuring that out as a teenager in the NHL. He’s got one more year of eligibility in the WHL and he’s on the verge of becoming a legend for the Spokane Chiefs as well as the World Juniors are going to be his show.

Yamamoto, I say, has both sides to sort out and he shouldn’t have to be figuring that out as a teenager in the NHL. He’s got one more year of eligibility in the WHL and he’s on the verge of becoming a legend for the Spokane Chiefs as well as the World Juniors are going to be his show.

It’s imperative that the Oilers take the Mark Scheifele/Mitch Marner/Alex Debrincat route with Yamamoto. There’s really no rush to get him into the lineup this year or next for that matter.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Yamamoto. I dig his style of play and I’m really impressed with his attitude but I want the team to do him right and let’s avoid another Sam Gagner incident.

‘Moto is going to be a good Edmonton Oiler, I just don’t believe it should be this year no matter how good he looks in training camp.

Now let’s dig into Pulju a bit here.

Last year Jesse had 8pts in 28 games for about a .286 PPG. Prorated, that’s about 23 pts which puts him beside other such 18-year-old rookies as:

  • Nathan Horton – 55gp/22pts
  • Tyler Seguin – 74gp/22pts
  • Gordie Howe – 58gp/22pts (No word on how many elbows he threw that year though)
  • Owen Nolan – 59gp/13pts
  • Joe Thornton – 55gp/7pts

If you just go by PPG, he fits right in with:

  • Tyler Seguin – .297 (2010/2011)
  • Scott Hartnell – .213 (2000/2001)
  • Joe Thornton – .127 (1997/1998)
  • Radek Bonk – .262 (1994/1995
  • Owen Nolan – .220 (1990/1991)

Stats from Quanthockey.com

I heard Woodguy talking about this sort of thing on Lowetide’s show yesterday and if I’m not mistaken they were chatting about this upcoming season and it being his 19-year-old year and where we should start our projections at. Woodguy said Leon, so we go Leon.

Dr.Drai had 9 pts in 37 games. I think that Puljujarvi can beat that easily, don’t you? That’s a .243 PPG, Jesse already had .286 as an 18-year-old and now he’s being lined up with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and fellow countryman Jussi Jokinen, who both have looked marvelous this pre-season. Not only that but Puljujarvi is going to get some looks on the PP.

Lowetide has his reasonable expectation for Puljujarvi sitting at 28 pts (14g 14a) and I think that’s about right. I believe I said he should be good for 30-35 pts this upcoming season IF he gets deployed in the correct manner.

More has been published recently on The Athletic and this from Reddit on Puljujarvi and other 18-year-old players in the AHL, so he’s a bit of a hot topic right now but only because the media has created it.

 

Now, the great thing about this year is that there’s competition on that RW beside Leon and it’s a shame that Anton Slepyshev is out at the moment but the brass might just send Jesse down to Bakersfield for another 25 or 30 games and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s similar to the route that Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen took.

In Rantanen’s 19-year-old season he played 9 games for Colorado and had ZERO points, the Avalanche sent him down to the AHL and he put up 60 pts in 52 games. Last year, Rantanen’s 20-year-old season, he played 75 games for the Avs and had 38pts (20g and 18a).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgYx3HIRLq4

So if Pulju spends some time in the AHL, that shouldn’t be a surprise or a disappointment because he’s just a kid and he dominates when he’s at the right level of competition. It’s the right thing to do if he’s not ready for 3rd line minutes.

I guess what I’m really saying is there’s a distinct possibility that BOTH Puljujarvi and Yamamoto could play elsewhere this season and that I’d be okay with that but don’t tell me that Jesse Puljujarvi is a bust and don’t try to convince me that it’d be a good idea for Kailer Yamamoto to develop in the NHL this season.

I mean, how’d Ryan Smyth do in his first year? How about his second?

 

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Button’s and McKenzie’s Pre-Season 2018 Draft Rankings Released!

It’s the beginning of hockey season folks!!! Bob McKenzie and Craig Button have released their pre-season 2018 draft rankings and you can watch the videos below. In the past this has been a very important time of the year for Oilers fans but since we’ve drafted McDavid, the draft and its prospects have found themselves on the backburner a bit for some folks.

I admit last season, I couldn’t be bothered following it. There simply wasn’t the hype to be honest but this year’s crop of kids is going to be outstanding and even though the Oilers are expected to be picking 31st (hehe) in June, some players drop that shouldn’t (I’m talking to you Eeli Tolvanen and Timothy Liljegren) and some players rise.

My comments on the prospects, my own top ten, and the links to McKenzie’s and Button’s write-ups follow the videos below!

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I think that we’re getting two VERY special players in 2018/19 in Dahlin and Svechnikov. This 2000-born draft class is going to be hailed as one of the best ever in my opinion because the talent doesn’t drop off after the first two.

If you simply want to read the rankings, click on the two links below!

What you’ll find is a pretty even keel list with Bob McKenzie and then something almost the opposite with Craig Button. Button usually has some players ridiculously low because he’s projecting how they’ll be in 3-5 years I believe whereas McKenzie is ranking in the now.

McKenzie’s 2018 Pre-Season Draft Rankings

Button’s 2018 Pre-Season Craig’s List

My rankings go as such:

  1. Rasmus Dahlin – D
  2. Andrei Svechnikov – RW
  3. Brady Tkachuk – LW
  4. Rasmus Kupari – C
  5. Adam Boqvist – D
  6. Joe Veleno – C
  7. Quinn Hughes – D
  8. Ryan Merkley – D
  9. Bode Wilde – D
  10. Filip Zadina – C

I didn’t put too much into these rankings, just a bit of personal opinion and from what I’ve been gleaned upon by others in the know. I value right-handers quite a bit. I like high-end offensive dmen and skilled power forwards. I’m not a fan of players who don’t offer a bit of dynamicism or entertainment value be that highly skilled goals/passes or big time hits. Steady Eddies are good for your team but bore this shite out of me.

I’m a little disappointed that Tkachuk and Wilde aren’t playing in the CHL, as I’d love to have seen them up against it in Canada. Filip Zadina is going to be an interesting case this year as he’ll be playing with two other first round projected players in Jared McIsaac and Benoit-Olivier Groulx. Ryan Merkley getting comparisons to Ryan Murphy is a little disconcerting and Quinn Hughes will be one to watch at the World Juniors because if you like puck-rushing dmen, he’s your guy.

Boqvist will have to work on his shooting accoring to Steve Kournianos as The Draft Analyst said on a recent podcast that he wasn’t impressed with how many times Boqvist missed the net with his shot. Of course, McKenzie has Boqvist being compared to Erik Karlsson… So there’s that.

Lastly, Joe Veleno will be playing alongside Oilers prospect Ostap Safin and given what I saw during the prospects tourney and the rookie game vs. the NAIT/MacEwan All-Stars, I really have no idea how that is going to pan out. Safin is pretty laid back and Veleno is a game breaker for Saint John.

This video was done at the beginning of September, so the top ten here will be a tad different!

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2017 Youngstars Classic Rosters Released! Who to Watch Out For!

I love it! The NHL season is drawing closer each and every day and things are really starting to roll now that each team’s players are starting to arrive for early on-ice sessions.

Add to that the release of each team’s rosters for the 2017 Youngstars Classic in Penticton, BC.

Teams taking part are as usual the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Winnipeg Jets.

Remember the Classic from a couple seasons ago?

That being said, let’s take a look at some of the notable players that will be strutting their stuff on the weekend! I’ve got the players sorted from forwards to defense to goalies.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Brock Boeser
Jonah Gadjovich
Kole Lind

These three forwards will be causing havoc for their opponents, no doubt about that. Boeser might be the best sniper in the tournament. Gadjovich, to me, is like a Pat Maroon type. Big guy who can move and has hands. Kole Lind was on the Oilers radar this summer and was the pick a lot of pundits had their eyes on for Edmonton but he can skate quite well, he’ll muck it up, and he can score.

Olli Juolevi

Juolevi might be the best dman in this tourny. He’s very much in the Olli Maatta mold. Cerebral Professor X-type who plays in all situations. A smooth skater with high-end puck moving skills. Look for him to be the man getting the puck up to Boeser or Lind on the break and zipping it in from the point on the man advantage.

Thatcher Demko
Michael Dipietro

A couple of high-potential goalies here folks. Might just save the Canucks asses on an occasion or two on the weekend. The two goalies couldn’t be more different in terms of physical stature, Demko is 6’4″ and Dipietro is 6’0″, and goaltending style, Demko uses his huge frame more while Dipietro is very athletic and more chaotic, but both are excellent prospects for a team that will be in dire need of a goalie who can back stop their rebuild.

Full roster here.

EDMONTON OILERS

Kailer Yamamoto
Joe Gambardella
Kirill Maksimov
Ostap Safin

I’m very curious to see how Yamamoto does in this tournament. There’s no doubt that he should be one of the better forwards along with Boeser, Jankowski, and Harkins. I’m more looking forward to watching Gambardella, Maksimov, and Safin because I don’t know as much about these guys apart from what the Youtube scouting has brought me.

Safe to say that Gambardella is your Bryan Rust/Conor Sheary type whilst Kirill Maksimov is definitely the Syril Snipes of the group. The puck follows him around and he pops ‘er in. Ostap Safin… Well, he does quite a few things well but nothing amazing. I’ve seen highlights of him hitting guys, dangling them, passing through them, and sniping on them but I’m just not sure what kind of player Safin truly is. Hopefully we’ll have a better idea after the weekend.

That said, I wouldn’t be surprised of Gambardella stands out the most given he’s probably the oldest player at the tournament at 24 years old.

Dmitri Samorukov
Ethan Bear
Caleb Jones
William Lagesson
Ryan Mantha
Ziyat Paigin
Sahvan Khaira

The defence is where it’s at for this year’s Youngstars roster. None of the other teams possess the same amount of high-end defensive prospects this year and that’s a credit to Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli and his scouting staff. Finally, the Oilers have some defense coming up through the pipeline.

No Darnell Nurses this year, so I’m not sure who’ll be fighting Hunter Smith when Edmonton plays Calgary but there are some boys with some BIG clappers here. Paigin, Mantha, Bear, and Samorukov can all fire the biscuit while Jones and Khaira are VERY good skaters. Surprised Lagesson is there given other Swedes like Dahlen and Petterson for Vancouver are skipping it but he’s your Hjalmarsson. Stay at home, blocks shots and plays a physical game.

Dylan Wells
Stuart Skinner

Edmonton’s goaltending depth is finally taking shape and these two beauties should represent the Oilers for a long time if everything goes to plan. Also, we might be seeing them both playing for Team Canada at the World Juniors this Christmas. Skinner falls into that Dubnyk range though, so he might take a while to get there. Whereas Wells has shown enough progression so far that it leads one to believe he’s going to be a pro sooner than later. I’m not saying Matt Murray fast but within the next 4 years isn’t out of the question.

Full roster here.

CALGARY FLAMES

Spencer Foo
Dillion Dube
Mark Jankowski
D’Artagnan Joly
Andrew Mangiapane
Matthew Phillips

It’ll be speed and skill this year for Calgary. All of the players listed above are highly skilled and can move like the wind. Foo was up for the Hobey Baker award this past season and had Oilers fans all up in a rage when he signed in Calgary instead of his home town. This is a slippery group that’s for sure.

At 34 years of age, it’s nice to finally see Mark Jankowski getting a shot 😉

But more seriously, this Calgary team should be very entertaining to watch from a pure skill perspective.

Rasmus Andersson
Josh Healey
Jusso Valimaki

I’m telling you now, Valimaki is a player you’ll want to keep an eye out for because he’s the new shiny toy for Calgary but Josh Healey will be the guy that draws you. He’s a bonafide maniac out there. I was hoping the Oilers would sign him because he’s a predator and I’d rather have him on my team than have my team play against him. Skillers better keep their heads up when he’s on the ice.

Tyler Parsons

If Parsons isn’t the best goalie at this tournament, I’m not sure who will be. Maybe Demko? The Flames have a good one here in Tyler Parsons. He’s ridiculously solid between the pipes and he definitely gives his team a chance to win just by showing up every night.

Full roster here.

WINNIPEG JETS

https://twitter.com/GarretHohl/status/902235069959479296

Jansen Harkins
Michal Spacek
Kristian Reichel

Ummmm. What happened here? I thought the Jets had one of the best prospect collections in the NHL. None of them are coming? Well at leasts Jets fans will get to see a very hard working Jansen Harkins. A very blue collar type he is.

Logan Stanley

Hello up there! Standing at a massive 6’7″, Logan Stanley shouldn’t be hard to find on the ice. Maybe he is Hunter Smith’s dance partner this year? A couple of near 7-footers dropping the mitts is something I’d watch.

Mikhail Berdin

Can’t say I know a lot about this fella but from what I have read, he’s been performing well in the USHL and is a long-term project for the Jets.

Some notable absences:

Jonathan Dahlen, Elias Petterson, Jesse Puljujarvi, Tyler Benson, Kyle Connor and Kristian Vesalainen will not be playing for a variety of reasons.

Young Stars Classic Schedule
Penticton, BC – September 8-11, 2017

GAME TEAMS DATE TIME
Game 1 Edmonton vs. Calgary Sept. 8 4:00pm
Game 2 Vancouver vs. Winnipeg Sept. 8 7:30pm
Game 3 Winnipeg vs. Edmonton Sept. 9 7:30pm
Game 4 Calgary vs. Vancouver Sept. 10 2:00pm
Game 5 Winnipeg vs. Calgary Sept. 11 10:30am
Game 6 Vancouver vs. Edmonton Sept. 11 2:00pm

Have I missed anybody? Let me know in the comments below!

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