A transfer to Carolina was exactly what the doctor ordered for Jesse Puljujärvi, who was in pain in Edmonton, writes Urheilu’s NHL reporter Tommi Seppälä.
That’s where it came from. Edmonton did everything it could to push its nightmarish story Jesse Puljujärvi with as far as possible.
The relationship with the player had been broken for a long time, the player had lost his self-confidence many times and the club management postponed after reaching a final solution to trigger the situation.
Jesse Puljujärvi, 24, was the latest demonstration of the Edmonton Oilers’ total inability to develop players from their reserves.
Of course, Puljujärvi’s backpack would also have caught a lot along the way. You shouldn’t go to the NHL without language skills as a wall rose to watch from the sidelines. You have to be open, become part of the group, take responsibility for your own screen and, above all, always be ready. In this respect, not everything went smoothly.
Freedom came on Tuesday, the last day of February in 2023: Edmonton traded Puljujärvi to Carolina in exchange for a power forward Patrik Puistolaa22.
Puljujärvi could not have wished for more.
The support network of Sebastian Aho and partners
I have at least been offering Puljujärvi to Carolina for a long time. The Finnish striker has been speculated by clubs that reside in the bottom floors of the NHL, but especially in the case of Puljujärvi, operating in a losing culture would not have offered anything anymore – the Oulu resident looked at that card in Edmonton.
Puljujärvi is a player who needs particularly strong support around him. Puljujärvi needs a strong team, structure and support network of Finnish players. All of this is available in Carolina. There is a team with a strong structure that wins seven out of ten games and Sebastian Ahon led by the excellent Finnish mafia.
And Puljujärvi has also grown along the way.
Maybe now he dares to go boldly by himself to a new team to get a new boost in his career. And Carolina’s high-octane tempo skill game is not a concern for Puljujärvi at this point. Puljujärvi is able to play and bring his own contribution to the table, as long as he is properly prepared for the opening situation.
A model from Tolva and Välimäki
Puljujärvi’s most important task in recent weeks has been to recharge himself for the moment when a new opportunity opens up. From Finns Juuso Välimäki and Eeli Tolvanen changed clubs earlier in the season via the transfer list and immediately broke through in their new clubs.
Puljujärvi also has to come through the end boards already in the first practices. Relaxed and in his own loose style, but at the same time determined. Jesse Puljujärvi is definitely a much better player than the last year in Edmonton showed – now it has to be shown in Carolina.
You can only make a first impression once.
Puljujärvi has an opportunity that every player dreams of. He won’t be cool in Carolina’s first team next to Aho, but in a very high-quality organization with good coaching there is an opportunity to learn a lot.
Puljujärvi is able to play a high-quality bottom chain game, and through that there is a chance to even improve the stock over time.
Everything starts from the fact that Puljujärvi is ready from the first exercises. Puljujärvi won’t get anything easy in Carolina, but if the snowball starts rolling in the right direction, many may still be surprised.
There isn’t an impossibly large amount of sand left in Puljujärvi’s NHL hourglass, but he couldn’t have wished for a better opportunity than this.