Yesterday, Nov. 17th, 2020, the fellas over at TSN (Hayes, Noodles, and O-Dog) on their Overdrive show were talking about how detrimental having all seven Canadian teams in one division might be and I’d like to present that to you. So I’ve transcribed the video, which will be included in this post, and if it performs well, I may make “BLH Transcribed” a more regular thing. You can let me know if that’s something you’re interested in by contacting me on the socials or leaving a comment below!
For your reference: JM: Jamie McLennan (Noodles) BH: Bryan Hayes JO: Jeff O’Neill (O-Dog)
Where Do You stand on an All-Canadian Division?
JM: Obviously you’re hearing these stories about, well, if there’s going to be a Canadian division. I don’t know, I’m sure you guys talked about it last week. I’ve been off for two weeks but I don’t know where I stand having a Canadian division. I don’t think it’s good for the actual teams that are really good, which are six, there’s six Canadian teams that are really good!
BH: Right.
JM: Like, you’re gonna have if they~
BH: …scattered over three different divisions.
JM: Right. That’s what I’m saying. Like, if you have, for example, a western American division, which they’re probably going to have, you’re going to have LA, Anaheim and San Jose and Arizona playing against each other a bunch of times. All four of those teams aren’t projected to be playoff teams.
BH: No, they were terrible last year,
JM: Right.
JO: Vegas will dummy all the way
JM: Vegas and Colorado will absolutely rinse them. So it may be Dallas is in there depending on how things are are are laid out. If Dallas maybe is in the Central depending on you know, how the league looks at it. But I’m just thinking, you know, McDavid playing Matthews eight times and then you know Winnipeg playing Toronto, like, there’s gonna be points left on the table. So one of those California teams or Arizona is going to have technically as many points as one of these teams in Canada, who are much superior on paper to them.
BH: It’s going to be like the NFC East basically. Like if they do it like they generally do, they just realign but they stick with top three get in plus wild card, which they might change to just simply top four from each division maybe get rid of the wild cards because of the disparity in terms of scheduling and the lack of travel and all that kind of stuff. If you do that and you simply go top four, two teams are gonna miss that would have felt like they’d have a shot in the traditional format of top three and two wild cards in your usual divisions with crossover and schedules and 82 games and all that kind of stuff.
Yeah, you’re right, two teams are going to get burned. But I think it’s a little bit short-sighted because I think if they stick with that also and they continue with you play the first two rounds within your division, you’re gonna have two Canadian matchups and then a third before you even get into the conference finals, which I think would be remarkable tv and remarkable content.
I’m with you in terms of the balance and the competitive balance. It quite honestly might be the toughest division in the league, you know, and it will be an absolute grind and a couple of teams are going to miss out and who knows which two teams that might be you know, maybe it’s Toronto and Edmonton that miss and you’re like~
JO: How are they going to figure that out? There’s a Canada division? How many teams come out of there?
BH: Well,l that’s where they got to work on that right now
JM: It could be four of seven O(Dog). So we’re just throwing out the seventh because Ottawa’s in a rebuild.
BH: Ottawa is not making it interesting.
JM: We’re suggesting that Ottawa’s not in there. So, we’re looking at four of the six that we believe because we’ve had this debate on the show before. You could make a case for all six of these Canadian teams to be playoff-bound or be the best team in Canada based on x y or z. Whether it’s goaltending or depth or defenseman, like, you know, Calgary made a splash, and Vancouver, are they going to take a step back without Markstrom and Tanev? But then you add in Nate Schmidt yet and Braden Holtby, like, maybe they continue to take off. Edmonton, you know, Draisaitl and McDavid give them a chance every night.
BH: Well, I think the three Western teams are the ones that get jobbed the most because I think they would be the three favorites to finish top three in the division. The California teams aren’t any good and Arizona’s taking a massive step back and I guess vegas would be in there with them, I guess, to wrap that up.
But yeah, maybe vegas would be the favorite, but two of the other three are finishing second and third you would presume and because they probably beat up on the other four teams you’d have a really good shot at a wild card and that’s just not going to be the case if it’s an All-Canadian division exclusively.
And let’s say only four of seven get in, but that sure seems like where it’s going. I mean, there’s way too much smoke out. I mean, they’re saying it on the record now. Like Gary Bettman’s talking about it, owners are talking about it, it’s going to happen. It’s going to be a Canadian Division, it’s just a matter of whether or not they cross over by the end of the year and whether or not it’s top three and two wild cards in the east and in the west.
But I don’t know how you do in East and West when the Canadian Division is made up of East and West. Yeah, so how do you determine wild cards, you know? Unless you put them with another division and you mix it up based on that.
But these are all things that have to be worked out and it doesn’t seem like they’re that close to making an announcement. I mean, maybe we get caught off guard and before you know it two or three days down the road. boom! it’s been done, it’s been established, here’s where we’re playing, here’s how we’re playing, here’s what the schedule looks like. But the reports would not indicate it’s that close. We’re almost into December, so it better be sooner than later if they’re going to play come January 1 or the middle of January.
I know, it’s kind of shocking to only see one member of the Edmonton Oilers on TSN’s Trade Bait Board. Well, it’s not RNH, it’s not Oscar Klefbom, nor is it Jesse Puljujarvi. This season, the first Oiler up on Frank Seravalli’s Trade Bait Board is…
Zack Kassian!
He along with 14 other players highlight the board and will be amongst the rumors all season long until of course they are dealt.
Click the pic and grab this hilarious t-shirt!
Let’s take some time and comment on each of the players briefly in relation to the possibility of the Oilers picking them up.
William Nylander (TOR) – Can’t see it. No way no how. Forget what his old man did when Kevin Lowe was GM. Nylander is looking to get PAID and the Oilers are going to have enough trouble paying their own players after this season unless they make some moves.
Kevin Hayes (NYR) – The Rangers pivot would tempt Peter Chiarelli I’m sure due to his size but in my opinion, he doesn’t produce enough for how much he’s being paid. I wasn’t impressed with his performance earlier in the year when the Oilers beat his Rangers either.
Mats Zuccarello (NYR) – I like Zuccarello as a complimentary piece for the Oilers but only as a rental. I think the cost to acquire him would be dear and not worth it in the long run. He’s very much what I hope Kailer Yamamoto turns into because I feel they play a similar style.
Alec Martinez (LAK) – This is definitely a player I could see the Oilers getting in on. He’s a RHD who has championship experience and has played in a defensive system his entire career. I think he’d compliment Darnell Nurse on the 2nd pair fairly well and he’s only making $4M a year for this season and next.
Gustav Nyquist (DET) – He’ll be cashing in this summer but if there was any way he could be had on the long-term for $4M, he’d definitely be worth it. Not flashy by any means but he’s consistent and when paired with a good centre, effective.
Tanner Pearson (LAK) – I’m not a huge fan of Pearson and I can’t really put my thumb on it as to why. He seems to be a pretty consistent 35-45pt guy and the Oilers could definitely use that. Maybe he’s not flashy or physical enough to my taste.
Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ) – Nope. No goalies be coming Edmonton’s way. Especially when this one is looking for Carey Price money.
Brett Pesce (CAR) – I really can’t see Carolina messing with their team chemistry with how they’re playing to start the year. That said, would you trade Jesse Puljujarvi for Pesce? The defense would be set for the next 5 years in that scenario.
Tyler Myers (WPG) – I think Chiarelli would love to get his hands on another big man but Myers is going to be getting Chara-like money this summer and why would the Jets even look at moving him in-season? They’re more of a Cup contender with him than without him.
Artemi Panarin (CLB) – If Panarin didn’t have his heart set on playing for a coast team then I’d say Edmonton should go for him. Every time he plays the Oilers he sets them ablaze. He’s so good but alas, it’s not to be in this fairy tale.
Vlad Namestnikov (NYR) – This $4M Russian was 2 points away from 50 last season spent mostly with the Lightning of Tampa Bay but after being dealt in the Ryan McDonagh trade, he only managed 4 pts in 19 games… Enigmatic I think is the word that describes him best. The Rangers have put him on the block so he’ll more than likely join his third team in less than a calendar year and not often is that a sign of good things to come for a player in that scenario.
Charles Hudon (MTL) – I like this guy. A lot. He also fits the description of the Peter Chiarelli Special. A player who isn’t gaining traction with his current club, is cheap and is an RFA at season’s end. Hudon, to me, is a player who I’d describe as skilled sandpaper. He can play it any way you want to and that’s the kind of Swiss Army Knife Todd McLellan loves to deploy IF he has it.
Zack Kassian (EDM) – I don’t think the case needs to be made for keeping or trading him. It’s been done to death in the last week. I like him but if the Oilers could get from out of his contract and maybe use that space to upgrade the roster, I’m all for it.
Kyle Clifford (LA) – I’ve always had time for a guy like Kyle Clifford. He’s very much in the Matt Hendricks mold and I really value those kinds of players. I think he plays an honest brand of hockey but he’s not dirty. He knows where to draw the line. He’s a tad cheaper than Kassian but definitely slower than him too.
Wayne Simmonds (PHI) – Remember when there was a deal on the table that had Jordan Eberle being traded for Simmonds? Ah… Those were the days. The Flyers’ winger is on the back 9 of his career and I’m for certain that Edmonton wouldn’t be getting the Wayne Simmonds we remember if they traded for him. He’s also a UFA this summer and I could see him getting a healthy raise.
What are your thoughts? Do any of those players interest you and what would you be willing to pay to get them?
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I thought my previous post on the mainstream media’s comments on Jesse Puljujarvi was a lot. Yesterday I woke up to TWICE as much and now I’m going to bring that to you but I think today I’ll just post the most debatable points that the pundits made. I’ll save you (and me) some time.
Before I do that I just want to touch on Jesse and let you know what I’m thinking with regards to his situation at this very moment.
You’re not going to find a bigger supporter for Jesse Puljujarvi who doesn’t live in Canada or Finland than myself (and maybe another, I think she knows who she is) but I can see that this young man is struggling. He’s struggling with his teammates, his coaches, and a game he very dearly loves and that he’s SO so good at playing. I do not believe that he has the right support structure in Edmonton for him right now though.
As far as I know, he’s rooming with the Koskinens and if that is indeed true, it is a good place for him because he needs the camaraderie of a fellow countryman. Someone with whom he can relate to. Mikko Koskinen was also a touted young prospect that didn’t pan out at the pace he was expected but I’m not 100% certain that even big Mikko alone can help Jesse.
He needs the support of the Oilers leadership core. He needs Connor to go to bat for him. He needs Milan to sit beside him on the bench and offer words of encouragement or let him know where he could’ve done something better. Leon should be offering to set some time aside to work on some things with Jesse after practice and make an effort to work towards developing a potentially deadly partnership. Could Darnell take him out on the town and show some off-ice togetherness?
It’s so very apparent that the coach wants nothing to do with him and that he’s exhausted efforts in an attempt to communicate with Pulju and that makes me feel disappointed.
But on the other hand, it’s also incumbent on Jesse to take the first steps in asking for help. He’s a timid fellow which is fine but he still has to make that effort to go to his leadership group or his coaches and ask them to show him what he needs to do to make things easier for all and then work on those things.
I want the best for Jesse and I want the best for the Edmonton Oilers. That said, there’s something I’ve learned over my years following the team and that is that players will come and go and not to get too attached no matter how much you like the player. If Jesse or Leon or God forbid, Connor gets traded I will feel down but I’ll also feel relieved for him and I’ll wish him good luck on his new team. The same way I did with Nail Yakupov (or maybe the same way you did watching Ryan Smyth or Taylor Hall) and others who I’ve enjoyed watching play for the Oilers.
But if the Oilers were to meet an ex-Oiler that I really liked during his time in Edmonton in the playoffs or the Stanley Cup final, I’ll be cheering for the Oilers. No questions asked.
Let’s see what the pundits had to say about Pulju yesterday. I think you’ll be very interested in Brian Burke’s comments.
FRANK SERAVALLI (TSN)
That sound you hear is me banging my head off the desk repeatedly for the next hour trying to sort through this because I’ve said and I’ve been on record for time and time again with you (Lowetide) last week, Jesse Puljujarvi needs to play more not less. He needs to have more consistent shifts with upper echelon talent instead of playing with guys like Ryan Strome for most of the game.
This is not a guy you can just throw in there (the top-6) for spot duty with the big boys. You need to have him play, that’s the only way his game is going to become remotely more polished.
DARREN DREGER (TSN)
I get the feeling that they’re just trying to exhaust every scenario with Puljujarvi because I think that there’s been enough in his play to show them that there’s a really good player that’s just waiting to break out of this guy. They can’t coax it out of him on a consistent basis.
The question I always ask, and I’ve asked it of the Edmonton Oilers – not recently, but perhaps in the off-season – is at what point do you get where you go, ‘Alright, we’ve seen enough to know that maybe he’s not going to be the player that we hoped he would be when he landed in our lap on the draft floor.’
Well, that’s not an indictment on the player or the organization – sometimes that stuff just happens, so at what point are you better to use him as a tradeable asset? And at least in the off-season, the message that I got back was – they wouldn’t even discuss it with me. It was like, ‘We’re not trading Puljujarvi.’ They just didn’t want that narrative out there at any point.
And look, 10 games from now, 15, 20 – whatever the timeline is in this regular season – we might be signing a completely different tune because he’s playing with that consistency that everybody is searching for. (source)
RYAN RISHAUG (TSN)
Not only is he not creating offensively and having positive things happen for him offensively on a given night but he’s starting to make mistakes and do things that are costly and the Oilers are at a pivotal point in their season where they can’t be developing a player on the fly in the games against this kind of competition.
There are two conversations here, two different focal lengths. How do you feel about Jesse Puljujarvi being scratched tonight and that (above) would be the answer to that question. Completely different conversation, how do you feel about Jesse Puljujarvi’s development and the way the organization has handled it from draft day to this point?
Rishaug on Accountability
I think coddling him to the point to where when his play dips to unusable status, I think you need to hit him with a natural concequence and I think you need to let him get right back on his horse and see how it goes.
If it comes to the point to where they’re considering doing it again, send him to the American Hockey League. Enough is enough.
Rishaug on Expectations
The organization expected this player to develop quicker and you can tell by the way they handled him. Straight to the NHL out of the draft then they realized it might be a little early, sent him down, then after some success brought him back and then last season they did their best to believe he was a full-time NHL player and for tiny little portions here and there he was. Still poured in 12 goals last season but the base has not been built in Puljujarvi’s game and the coach does not trust him enough to use him enough to justify having him here.
A Reasonable Comparison?
We’ve seen this with other players, I mean Adrian Kempe is a good example. 16 goals in 81 games last season, drafted a few years ago and 1 goal in 9 games this year. Down to the minors he goes. Drafted as an offensive player to be an offensive player and hasn’t been and so down to the minors he goes and this might just be where it lands. Let’s see where Puljujarvi rebounds.
BRIAN BURKE (SPORTSNET/HNIC)
Remember Henrik Sedin? He didn’t put up any meaningful numbers until his fourth year after he was drafted. Remember Daniel Sedin? Same thing. Remember Markus Naslund? So you gotta be careful.
And I can tell you, it’s very fashionable to criticize the Edmonton Oilers and say Puljujarvi is a bad pick. We all had him there. We all loved him. We all think he’s going to be a player.
I’m telling you, the Calgary Flames had those guys in the exact same spots or close to, within one or two. We had Puljujarvi, we loved him, absolutely loved him. So did every other team. So if the Edmonton Oilers blew that pick, a lot of other teams would’ve done the same thing. Peter Chiarelli got offers for that pick so teams could leapfrog Edmonton and take Puljujarvi.
Burke on Trading Young Players
You’d better not be too impatient because the best trade Pat Quinn ever made, he made a ton of great trades, was when he got Markus Naslund from Pittsburgh for Alex Stojanov.
LOUIE DeBRUSK (SPORTSNET)
This is a young man who’s still trying to find his own way and if I was speaking to my own son I’d say control the things you can control, don’t worry about the things you can’t.
Right now I think there’s some expectation there from Jesse’s perspective where he’s thinking he has to do more and in reality I think he has to do less in the sense of basic down the game.
I would tell him to be the hardest working guy on the line each and every night. Go out there and make it known that you are the guy that is working the hardest on the ice.
DeBrusk on Mindsets and Consistency
When you’re a dominant player like Puljujarvi was in his younger years, big physical specimen, bigger than most of the guys he was playing against. He could manhandle, drive through, he was like a bulldozer going through the middle of the ice. I saw so many highlight reel videos of him just kinda dangling through people, blowing past guys getting off that wrist shot and getting a goal. Different animal here in the NHL and he’s still finding that out but he has it in his ability to do it because we saw that speed. It’s a matter of doing it consistently.
Here’s the other thing, when you have that mindset as a top-rated guy it’s sometimes hard to go back to the ‘Let’s put the work boots back on and drind this out’ type of an attitude.
If you want to play with better players make sure you’re playing harder than those guys are playing and everybody will want to play with you.
LOWETIDE (TSN 1260)
The organization has handled this player poorly. Puljujarvi has far too much skill to give up on, or trade for 10 cents on the dollar. His game has been broken. It might be time to repair and rebuild in Bakersfield. This time next year the Oilers won’t be able to send him to the AHL without waivers. For Oilers fans, the blame game (player, coach, general manager) is less important than unlocking Puljujarvi’s considerable talent while he is an Edmonton Oilers winger. What is best for his development should be the only consideration. (paywall source)
What do you think after reading this group of hockey analysts’ opinions on Jesse Puljujarvi? Let us know in the comments and also tell us what you’d do with him?
Grab a Grinning Finn tee by clicking on the pic!!A new season means a new design! Click the image above to get the new Pulju shirt!
It seemed like everyone was talking about Jesse Puljujarvi yesterday on Oilers talk radio or in the blogosphere. I counted 7 different personalities commenting on him and I’m going to share what each of them said for you and then you can decide if you believe they are talking out of their aces or what they’re telling us holds water.
If I missed anybody please let me know! Buckle up because this is a long-form post this morning.
**I started writing this post early in the morning Edmonton time (late night Taipei time) and now that I’ve awoken here in Taipei I can see there’s a shite ton of posts on this with much more opinion. But I’ll be honest, I’ve not got the time to go through all of that. So I hope what I’ve presented to you is of value and if possible, I’ll put out a part 2 if the messages have changed. – BLH**
Veikko. "Deserves more"? I believe in Jesse. But he has to EARN currency with his teammates and the coach. Puljujarvi remains a work in progress and needs to better understand the nuances of the NHL game. Patience! https://t.co/fR9xH67IZk
Merriam-Webster defines the word nuance as “a subtle distinction or variation”.
“EARN”
“CURRENCY”
What the f*ck is Bob talking about? How in the world is Puljujarvi supposed to “earn currency” on the 3rd line and the 2nd PP unit when neither line really gets enough TOI to make a noticeable impact on the game? Maybe someone will tell us below.
Here’s what the several different pundits had to say about Jesse Puljujarvi yesterday on Oilers talk radio or the blogs.
BOB STAUFFER (OILERS NOW)
Everybody’s just gotta relax here. But I personally don’t believe that Puljujarvi should be on the 1st unit PP and based on his play over the last three of four games, there’s no way you can play him with McDavid and frankly, I think the best spot for him is to play him with Strome and Lucic on the 3rd line. Give him matchups against 3rd defense pairings, give him 2nd unit PP time.
He has to learn the nuances of the North American game.
There’s something there with the player but it’s not happening so far and for those of you who have revisionist history that say “Well, the Oilers took him too high.” Guys were ready to block slapshots in the nude when Puljujarvi fell to Edmonton at four. The Oilers had him ranked 3rd on their board. They did not have PL Dubois ranked in their top-4 because they had Sergachev ranked 4th and they thought they were going to get Sergachev at the draft. You can argue they should’ve had Tkachuk ranked higher. Fine. I personally like Tkachuk, I understood the concerns with him. His skating was a little bit of a concern, the fact that he was playing with a broken ankle in the Memorial Cup that year, I liked a lot about what Matthew Tkachuk brings.
But in terms of Puljujarvi, I don’t think he should be handed front-line opportunity and I still think the Oilers need to be patient.
The only way I’d consider trading him is if you got another really good young prospect back. Would you trade him for Anthony Mantha from Detroit who’s minus 12 in 9 games this year and has got one goal? He’s 24. He scored 24 goals last year. Would you do a deal like that?
CRAIG SIMPSON (HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA)
I go back and I’ve said it I think many times to you (Stauffer) and about different players, I’m a firm believer in taking responsibility as the player and you can sit in an armchair and say he’s not getting this chance and he’s not getting that chance.
You have a chance everyday, everyday at practise, every single game, to show that you’re ready to play and make an impact and the difficulty of becoming a really good everyday NHL player is that consistency factor. Can you do it night-in and night-out? it doesn’t always mean that it’s scoring goals and I’ve said to you (Stauffer) before and I heard you talking about Hemsky and I’ve relayed a number of stories talking about helping him as a rookie trying to understand what we’re trying to get out of you as a player.
It’s not about cheating and trying to score goals, it’s about how you have to play to have success to stay in the lineup, to play bigger minutes and the goals will come on the heels of that.
I’ve just said watching Jesse in the American League, I just found at some point you have to take that responsibility of being hard everyday and being an impactful player and being impactful doesn’t mean scoring a goal.
Being impactful means playing with that energy and drive every game, getting in on the forecheck and you turn pucks over. Can you make some plays? Can you forecheck hard and play a couple consecutive shifts in the offensive zone?
All of those little things will build up that currency you’re talking about for Puljujarvi and I’m a firm believer when you start on a consistent basis playing that way everyday, the goals will come and the offense will come on the heels of that but I think a lot of times guys expect the offense to be there without putting in that work
JASON GREGOR (TSN 1260)
Part 1:
I’ve said this all along. I wouldn’t even have Puljujarvi in the NHL.So that to me is on the organization not on Puljujarvi. I’m not upset at Puljujarvi as a player. At all. Do I think he’s NHL ready? No, I don’t. Do I think that’s a bad thing? Not at all. Because the majority of 20-year olds in the world aren’t ready. They’re just not.
We saw a no.3 pick, Dylan Strome, play in the minors last year, why can’t an Oilers 20-year-old play there? It’s not Siberia. It’s not the end of the world if he plays there and if you’re Jesse Puljujarvi, sure it would suck at first to go down to the minors, I get it.
He wants to be playing, he wants to be scoring. You can’t tell me it’s fun and you can’t tell me his confidence is where it should be at this stage of his career. It just isn’t. He’s not making many plays.
So, me personally, I’d send him down there and I’d play him on the top line and I’d play him a ton. I’d play him on the PP, I’d play him on the PK, and if he makes mistakes, I’d put him right back out there because it’s the American League and that’s what it’s for. It’s for developing players. And you have a full-on strategy and you sit down with Jay Woodcroft and you say, “Jay, we’re playing him this many minutes a night because he needs to get his confidence back and it might take some time. Deal with it.”
Part 2:
It’s never about a coach liking or not. Everybody has different things that they look for. I think there’s a lot of fans who love Jesse Puljujarvi, they like his attitude, they like that he hitches rides from Oilers fans, and he’s just a down-to-Earth good kid. What’s not to like? I totally get it.
But you want him to develop. You want him to be an NHL player who could be a difference maker for you in the future. Could be a complimentary top-6 forward. Probably that’s the minimum you’d like from Jesse Puljujarvi.
Is he showing anything right now that says he’s close now? What’s wrong with a stint in the American League?
I think the organization has to get over this stigma that they have with the, “Oh geez, we can’t send anybody down there…” And the thing is they already sent him down. He’s been down there for parts of the last two seasons. So he’ll survive. He’s not gonna wilt at all. He could do it. I totally think he could do it.
Because if it continues and when Ty Rattie and Caggiula and those guys get healthy, I don’t want Jesse Puljujarvi playing on the 4th line. And if the other guys are doing more then they deserve to play because the no.1 important thing for the Edmonton Oilers this year as an organization is to win games. That’s the no.1 important thing and at the same time you have to figure out how to develop your players.
Easy Solution. Play the guys that give you the best chance to win here and if you can develop Puljujarvi and he gains his confidence and he can give you a better chance to win next year, that’s what I want. Because right now, the way he’s played, he’s not doing enough to really impact games.
There are ways to help the team win without getting points and you’re not seeing a lot of that from Puljujarvi. A) He’s not playing a ton of minutes. He’s not doing a lot and he’s a young player.
So I would definitely give him a stint in the American League and I wouldn’t look at it as a negative. I’d sit down and have a mature conversation with him and say “Jesse, we need to get your confidence up. We know your confidence isn’t high. We think you’ve got a lot of pieces that could make you an NHL player but you gotta be playing and you’ve got to be playing a lot. We want you to be on the PK.”
Because look at Jesse Puljujarvi, look at his stick length and everything. Wouldn’t he be a good penalty killer? He could be a guy who could be in your top-6, your PP and your PK. Why not? Let him try it in the American League.
Part 3:
Puljujarvi is a player who doesn’t look confident making plays. He doesn’t look confident thinking the game. He’s also only 20 years of age. I don’t expect him to be ready.
So, for me, I think the Edmonton Oilers got to wake up, grab a clue, and send him to the minors. Shane Doan went down his third year after playing two full seasons in the NHL and Puljujarvi has been 10 games in the AHL last year, 39 the year before. Wouldn’t be the worst thing for him.
Yeah it sucks for your ego short-term but I’ll tell you, if you could talk to Jesse Puljujarvi as a 30 year old and if that meant that going down to the minors for 40 games when he was 20 allowing him to have a ten year NHL career making millions of dollars. He would gladly take it.
RAY FERRARO (TSN)
When I watch Puljujarvi, I see some really good things and then I see some and he looks like a timid kid.
Why don’t they send him down? There’s a couple of reasons I can think, one is cover your ass a little bit. You’ve got another high draft pick and it looks like a failure when the other three guys ahead of him in the draft are already playing in the NHL and they’re producing. Maybe that’s some of it. Some of it maybe that they feel like they can keep a close eye on his development while he plays sporadically in Edmonton.
I know as a skilled player or a player that was supposed to produce, it’s really difficult to have the confidence to make a play when you know that if you make a mistake you’re going to lose your spot, you’re going to lose your ice, you’re going to sit for five or six minutes. So you make the safe play all the time.
When I watch Puljujarvi, I think he’s just trying to survive. He’s not trying to produce. I mean he’s trying to score but he’s not trying to produce, he’s trying to survive.
You mentioned 40 games, I think that’s a mistake. If you’re going to send him (to the AHL), commit to sending him. We’ll see you when we see you. You’re going to tell us when you’re ready by being in the American League and being too good for that league.
LOWETIDE (TSN 1260)
I don’t think anybody wants Jesse Puljujarvi to fail. I don’t think Todd McLellan does, I don’t think Peter Chiarelli does, I don’t think any fan wants Jesse Puljujarvi to fail. In fact, I think most people would be delighted because of the strength of his personality and the type of player he could be, to see him succeed.
And I think he will, I just don’t know if it’s going to be in Edmonton.
Last night was a microcosm of Jesse Puljujarvi’s career in Edmonton. He starts on the 2nd line and he ends on the 4th line, which was a disaster. The line itself was giving up goals left, right, and center.
The two right wings in trouble today are Zack Kassian and Jesse Puljujarvi and I’m not ever going to give up on this guy and you have to be patient.
BRUCE McCURDY (THE CULT OF HOCKEY)
He’s really fighting it and you know he scored one point on the year and mind you it was a very important tying goal in the 3rd period in Winnipeg that ultimately laid the table for a two point win for the Oilers in a game they were trailing but he’s had a lot of things go wrong. He’s taken some bad penalties, some questionable line changes, some of his defensive coverage has been a little suspect and he’s playing like a player, frankly, without a lot of confidence.I don’t think he’s got a lot of confidence from his coach at this point either and that can be a concern.
KURT LEAVINS (THE CULT OF HOCKEY)
I like Jesse Puljujarvi lots. But some sure look at the kid through rose-coloured glasses. He is making a lot of rookie mistakes that are causing problems. Late Saturday, the club needed to maintain the pressure on a Nashville team that had played the night but Puljujarvi took a lazy hooking penalty. Against Boston it was that blind pass up the middle. Poor work along the wall against Winnipeg cost his club zone time (but he finished strong). In Boston, we saw bad line changes. Look: Players of Puljujarvi’s maturity will make mistakes. But when it happens to other players (and it absolutely does), I hear calls for benchings. (source)
Leavins also dedicated an entire post to Jesse Puljujarvi here. A very balanced point-of-view in my opinion.
So while the opinions are different there are similar underlying messages we’re hearing here from former NHL players to pundits alike. There’s something there with Jesse Puljujarvi worth saving and it’s incumbent on the Edmonton Oilers to do the right thing for his long-term development.
I think that Jesse will be scratched for the game versus Washington and I’m completely fine with that. If he’s struggling, give him some time off to watch the game from above. You never know what he might glean from it. Besides, when I was growing up prospects used to get scratched all of the time, it was no big deal. The vets got to play.
That said, the prospects used to come up through the minor system until they were ready to play too…
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According to a source employed close to Montreal, the Habs are targeting Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl.
Ummm. Sure.
Now it’s no mystery what position the Montreal Canadiens are going to try and beef up this summer. Bob Stauffer on yesterday’s Oilers Now thought that they would be going after Ryan O’Reilly and Paul Stastny and I think that would be a much better plan of attack than to try and pry Leon Draisaitl out of Edmonton.
For argument’s sake, what would it take for you to trade Draisaitl to Montreal? For me, I can tell you it’d have to include a package that included 4 of the following,
2018 1st rounder
2019 1st rounder
Brendan Gallagher
Victor Mete
Noah Juulsen
That’s just me mind you. I won’t trade Leon Draisaitl for Erik Karlsson. So that should be enough to tell you how highly I value the big German.
A DIFFERENT OILERS/HABS PROPOSAL
On Lowetide’s show yesterday morning Pierre LeBrun said that the Habs were looking for a top-4 left-handed defenseman.
Oscar Klefbom, come on down!
Would you be willing to move Oscar Klefbom to the Habs for Victor Mete and Nikita Scherbak? Thus saving some space on the cap whilst adding young talent on D and on the wing creating a bit more depth.
OR
Would you prefer to move Klefbom for Brendan Gallager straight across?
I’m sure some smartass out there is going to say neither and that’s fine. I’m just trying to create some banter.
COMPARING DRAFT RANKINGS
In the last seven days, I’ve managed to purchase the draft guides from The Hockey News, ISS (International Scouting Services), and HockeyProspects.com (The Black Book) and I can tell you that I like each and every one but for different reasons.
The Hockey News ($6.99) – I like it because it’s visually pleasing. It offers a lot of articles and the scouting reports aren’t too long. Also covers a few prospects from the next two drafts briefly. I’m a big fan of comparables and each player up to a certain number is given one be it an NHL player comp or a positional/depth comp. Only 100 profiles though…
ISS ($10) – This is my first year purchasing the ISS draft guide and what I noticed off the bat was it was quite easy to read. Meaning the words weren’t too small that I had to get up close to read them whereas The Hockey News’ guide, the words were a tad tiny to try and fit all the reports in. This guide included a 1st round mock draft, risers/sleepers, and a top-5 best/worst of different attributes like “stay-at-home dmen”, “puck protection”, “underrated/overrated”. I also liked how they graded different skills on every player. Things like competitiveness, hockey IQ, and physical play were shown on a scale from below-average to elite. The downside to this is that the reports only to 110 players including goalies but the rankings go to 200. They also go into team draft histories five years deep.
THE BLACK BOOK ($50) – This is THE most in-depth draft guide available. It’s not flashy by any means as it’s all text. No mock drafts, no top-5 lists, it’s straight to business but it’s huge. 667 pages deep to be more specific. The one thing that Hockey Prospects does that I find rad is they include the game reports at the end so you can read what the scouts had to say about a specific player in a specific game. Another thing that they give the reader is actual quotes from scouts be they Hockey Prospect scouts or NHL scouts. Lastly, there’s one thing that annoys me about this guide, the scouting reports go in alphabetical order instead of the order of their ranking.
So depending on what kind of draft nut you are and how much money you’re willing to spend, all three I’d recommend.
I just wanted to give you that preface before getting into what these publications have the Oilers taking with their draft picks. Now, McKenzie and The Hockey News only have up three rounds of players to view and ISS and the Black Book have all 7 rounds available. Therefore two out of the four guides will allow us to see a bit more than the other two.
So let’s get into this.
The Oilers have the following selections in the upcoming draft,
10th
40th
71st
133rd
164th
195th
As you can see there’s a jump from 71st to 133rd, the 4th rounder belongs to Montreal due to the Al Montoya trade.
Below are the players that each of the draft guides above PLUS Bob McKenzie has in those spots where the Oilers will be drafting.
Selection
THN
Bob McKenzie
ISS
Hockey Prospects
10
Ty Smith (LD)
Adam Boqvist (RD)
Joe Veleno (C)
Evan Bouchard (RD)
40
Adam Ginning (LD)
Jacob Olofsson (C)
Danila Galenyuk (LD)
Jake Wise (C)
71
Egor Sokolov (LW)
Allan McShane (C)
Kody Clark (RW)
Milos Roman (C)
133
Billy Moskal (C)
Erik Portillo (G)
164
Dan Kowalczyk (LD)
Blade Jenkins (LW)
195
Linus Nyman (RW)
Isaac Johnson (RW)
How wide open is that? No overlap whatsoever eh? This draft is going to be a lot of fun!
If you had to pick one, which group would you go with?
Personally, I’m drawn to how McKenzie’s is starting. I’m real high on Boqvist and I hear good things about Olofsson. McShane is not a player I’m familiar with but Hockey Prospects have him as an undersized playmaker with a quick release and good anticipation defensively.
But that Hockey Prospects group has some nice names in there. I’d have no issues if the Oilers selected Bouchard at all. A right-handed dman who has been labeled as one of the best passers in the draft is fine with me. Jake Wise is a name that has climbed up the rankings over the year. He’s a guy with great vision and passing skills. A very hard worker and he’s a 200ft player. Milos Roman is a name I’ve read now and then online and from what I can gather his skating is deceptively good. He’s a very cerbral player and he’s a very responsible player at both ends of the ice.
Your thoughts?
We’ve got some pretty rad draft videos up at the Beer League Heroes YouTube page. Please, go check them out and if ya can, subscribe to our channel and that way you’ll be the first to know when a new video is up!
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