STAUFFER ON PULJUJARVI
Well it’s simple for Puljujarvi, if he doesn’t gain some traction at some point, he may be finding himself having a new address.
What happened to the Blake Wheeler comparison Bob? Is Puljujarvi not “popping” quick enough? I thought it was a “take it slow” approach with Jesse…
Are you going to tell me that the Oilers have done all they can to put Puljujarvi in a position to succeed? I mean just go look at all that time he’s spent on the PP, right?
Because I think the Oilers are going to have to make a decision with him. ’cause I think that Yamamoto, and you saw Yamamoto the other night in the dev. camp, I mean he dominated and he has the confidence of the other players and that was evident last year when he was up in the NHL as well.
So Mr.Stauffer, are you simply parroting what you’ve heard from other players/staff within the organization. Do the players not want to play with Puljujarvi because he hasn’t developed as quickly as some of his draft class? You’re telling us that because Kailer has an outgoing and confident personality that the players would prefer to play with him even though he might not be ready to play at the NHL level?
To me, IF this is true, it’s a crying shame. The Oilers have basically done nothing to help Pulju out. From his deployment on the ice to getting the team to embrace him as one of their own. It’s no wonder he’s accepting rides from fans. Reminds me a bit of what happened with Yakupov except Jesse can play without the puck and his shots hit the net.
I don’t really buy the language problem. I never have. Yes, any help is good help when it comes to acquiring new language but as someone who’s been in that industry and living overseas for over 10 years, I can tell you that one of the best things for his English development is 100% immersion in an English environment. He’s forced to use his communication skills be they verbal or physical or written or otherwise and in the end that’ll be great for him because on the ice/bench you don’t always use verbiage to communicate.
Check out this interview from back in January of 2016. It starts in Finnish but it’s conducted by an Englishman. It’s hard enough to try and understand English from a Canadian or an American but when you toss a Brit in there, that’s a whole new ball of yarn kids.
His English has never been that bad, it just hasn’t been at the level of Patrik Laine’s. Get off Jesse’s case and probably get off of the Oilers’ case (read: Chiarelli’s case). Shit, I still don’t understand what Esa Tikkanen is saying. Never affected his game. Kurri learnt English watching TV shows. Pulju is going to be fine.
I’ll be furious if the Oilers (read: Todd McLellan) fuck(s) this kid’s development up. I mean from all the people I’ve talked to who are close to Jesse, he’s working very hard this off-season. Not only on the physical aspects but also the mental ones. I guarantee you he will be much better equipped for a full season in the NHL in 2018/19 and we’re going to start to see him realize his potential.
Jesse Puljujarvi is a very bright hockey player but he’s shy until you get to know him. I wonder if his teammates are making an effort to get to know him…
ON LUCIC
“It’s a “what have you done for me lately” business and when you have that lack of production and those sort of challenges, you’re not being a leader in the dressing room. It’s just the way it is. You can’t because it’s about the production on the ice.”
So Milan simply mailed it in for the last 41 games? Is that it? This is bullshit from Stauffer. Of course you can be a leader in the dressing room if you’re not producing. You cannot sit there and tell me that Lucic just coasted for the rest of the schedule after Christmas. I mean this is coming from a guy employed by the Oilers who watched every game for the last 40 years.
Tell me, how many goals did Henrik Sedin have last year? Two? Three? Did anybody question his leadership because he wasn’t scoring? Hell no they didn’t!
How many goals did Matt Hendricks score while he was an Oiler? He doesn’t get any flack for not being a leader in the dressing room due to lack of production on the ice, does he?
So many people forget that Lucic was working his balls off to try and score or to help the team during that slump. The puck didn’t bounce his way a lot of times and other times he gave it away, sure. He was squeezing his stick too hard and for every game he didn’t score, he squeezed it that much tighter. Here are to clips from after Christmas that tell me there’s a player here that’s going to come back and show everyone how wrong they are about him
I love this shift by Lucic/Khaira/Pulju. Shows exactly how hard working and game-changing Lucic can be. Mind you the Oilers lost this game in February, it wasn't due to lack of effort on Lucic's part. Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/5Ug96UdaGI
— BLH (@BeerLeagueHeroe) June 29, 2018
LANCE BOUMA?
Stauffer suggested the Oilers go out and get Lance Bouma because he had a good run with Lucic back in their days together with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL.
Lance Bouma? Couldn’t stick with the playoff-less Chicago Blackhawks so they sent him to the AHL. His career high for points is 34 with the Flames back in 2014/15 and had 9pts last year in 53 games. Hockey Reference has him listed as a centre but his career FO% is 34%.
But he hits and offers grit, experience, leadership, all of which I like. His secret weapon must be an amazing shoulder to cry on though..
If you have to go get a player’s junior teammate to get him motivated to play better, you’ve got a far bigger problem on your hands than you think.
WILL THE YAK COME BACK?
#Avs UFA Nail Yakupov signs with SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)
— Brennan Klak (@nhlupdate) July 3, 2018
Well too bad it didn’t work out for Nail. I really liked his personality and energy and had the Oilers done by him a bit better and had his agent not interfered like he did, I think he would’ve worked out. Good luck to him in the KHL, he’s going to a good team.
FREE AGENT ADDITIONS SO FAR
I Love what Peter Chiarelli has done so far. He’s had to go shopping under a self-inflicted budget but he’s done a fine job of adding players who will help in areas of need.
I still think there’s a trade coming down the pipe perhaps including Zack Kassian or Pontus Aberg or both. Kassian’s contract is holding back another move IMO and Aberg has zero credit with the team after last season’s antics. The have to sign Nurse and Strome too…
Tobias Rieder is a player I didn’t think would join the team but I’m really impressed that he forwent more money and term to link up with his countrymate and put what happened between him and the team earlier in his career behind him. His speed and technical skills are going to be a pleasure to watch next season.
Kyle Brodziak’s experience and veteran leadership is something this team desperately lacks. He’s not amazing on the dot nor is he a great fighter but he doesn’t care. I watched a ton of his fights on YouTube and they’re all basically him sticking up for teammates which I respect. His value will come on the PK and in the playoffs.
Kevin Gravel is someone who I don’t know very much about. As far as I can tell, he’ll be a tweener for the club. He’s not very physical but he’ll scrap if need be. He’s a lefty with a really nice shot. Check out this compilation video from another great Oilers YouTube account, Edmonton Future Watch.
