Jesse Puljujärvi
| Jesse Puljujärvi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
7 May 1998 Älvkarleby, Sweden | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams |
Edmonton Oilers Bakersfield Condors (AHL) Hokki Oulun Kärpät | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL Draft |
4th overall, 2016 Edmonton Oilers | ||
| Playing career | 2014–present | ||
Jesse Puljujärvi (Finnish: [ˈjesse ˈpuljujærvi], English: /ˈjɛseɪ ˈpʊljuːjɑːrvi/ YES-ay PUL-ew-yar-vee; born 7 May 1998) is a Finnish ice hockey player, currently playing with the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect of the Edmonton Oilers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Puljujärvi was rated as a top prospect, and was drafted 4th overall by the Oilers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.[1]
Playing career
Puljujärvi made his Liiga debut playing with Kärpät during the 2014–15 Liiga season. Leading up the NHL draft, Puljujärvi was ranked the No. 3 European skater. He was described as a big, mobile, skilled, an all-around winger who can score and pass.[2] In 2015–16, his first full season with Kärpät, he played in 50 Liiga games, scoring 28 points (13 goals, 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, he scored two assists in 13 games, but remained goalless.[3] Puljujärvi was selected as the 4th pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft on 24 June.
Puljujärvi signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers on 13 July 2016.[4] Puljujärvi 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.
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Finland
| ||
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| IIHF World U18 Championship | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2015 Switzerland | |
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2016 United States | |
| IIHF World U20 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 7 games he scored 5 goals and 12 assists for 17 points, placing him second in all-time points for an under 18 player only behind Jaromír Jágr, and tying Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros.[5] He was subsequently declared Best Forward and Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Personal life
Jesse 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.[6] He also played bandy for years, a game similar to hockey that is popular in Scandinavia and Russia. Puljujärvi is described as a big-bodied, two-way, offense-generating first-line winger and compares himself to Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2013–14 | Kärpät Jr. | Fin-Jr. | 18 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Kärpät Jr. | Fin-Jr. | 11 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | Kärpät | Liiga | 21 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Hokki | Mestis | 15 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 28 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
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 | |
| 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. 2016-01-03. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
- ↑ "Matthews tops Central Scouting international rankings". NHL.com. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
- ↑ "Statistics | Champions Hockey League". www.championshockeyleague.net. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
- ↑ "Oilers sign Puljujarvi". Edmonton Oilers. 2016-07-13. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
- ↑ "Puljujärvi jagar storheter som Jagr och Gretzky | yle". yle.fi. 2015-01-02. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
- ↑ "Jesse Puljujärven passiasiat hämmentävät NHL:ssä - Ruotsin vai Suomen kansalainen?". Iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 April 2017.
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
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Connor McDavid |
Edmonton Oilers first round draft pick 2016 |
Succeeded by Kailer Yamamoto |