Jesse Puljujärvi

Jesse Puljujärvi (Finnish: [ˈje̞sse̞ ˈpuljuˌjærvi]; born May 7, 1998) is a Swedish-born Finnish professional ice hockey player for Oulun Kärpät of the Liiga, a former player with the Edmonton Oilers in the National Hockey League (NHL), who still hold his NHL rights. Rated as a top prospect, Puljujärvi was drafted fourth overall by the Oilers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.[1]

Jesse Puljujärvi
Puljujärvi in 2016
Born	(1998-05-07) May 7, 1998 Älvkarleby, Sweden
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight	201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Right
Liiga team Former teams	Kärpät Edmonton Oilers
National team	Finland
NHL Draft	4th overall, 2016 Edmonton Oilers
Playing career	2014–present

Playing career

Kärpät

Puljujärvi played in the 2011 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Finland Selects youth team.[2]

Puljujärvi began his hockey career and Fin-Jr. league debut in 2013–14 with the Kärpät Jr. hockey team. In the two seasons he participated in, Puljujärvi recorded 23 points in 18 games and 18 points in 11 games.

Puljujärvi made his Liiga debut playing with Kärpät during the 2014–15 Liiga season. Leading up the NHL draft, he was ranked as the number three European skater. He was described as a big, mobile, skilled, an all-around winger who can score and pass.[3]

Puljujärvi was sent down mid-season and made his Mestis debut in 2014–15 with Kärpät affiliate Kajaanin Hokki. He finished the season with 13 points in 15 games. During the season, Puljujärvi was considered good enough again, that he was sent to the Kärpät hockey team to continue his career there. Kärpät would be his final team before he would be drafted into the NHL.

In 2015–16, his first full season with Kärpät, Puljujärvi played in 50 Liiga games, scoring 28 points (13 goals and 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, recording 2 assists in 13 games but remained goalless.[4]

Puljujarvi would then leave the team and European hockey altogether, as he would be drafted into the NHL as the fourth overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers.

He returned to Kärpät in August 2019, signing a one year contract, though the Edmonton Oilers maintain his NHL rights.[5]

Edmonton Oilers

Puljujärvi signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers on 13 July 2016.[6] He 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.

After just 28 games, Puljujärvi was sent down to the Oilers' American Hockey League (AHL), the affiliate Bakersfield Condors, for more development time. During his tenure at the AHL, Puljujärvi scored 12 goals and 16 assists in 39 games.

Puljujärvi returned to the Oilers in the 2017 NHL season but ultimately bounced between the NHL and AHL squads.[7][8][9] On 20 January 2018, Puljujärvi registered a career-high three-point game, recording one goal and two assists against the Vancouver Canucks. This would also mark the first time Puljujärvi received a first star for a game.[10][11]

International play

Medal record
Representing  Finland
Men's ice hockey
IIHF World U18 Championship
	2015 Switzerland
	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 seven games, he scored 5 goals and 12 assists for 17 points, placing him second in all-time points for an under-18 player behind only Jaromír Jágr, and tying Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros.[12] He was subsequently declared Best Forward and Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Later that year, Puljujärvi was also a part of the national team at the 2016 World U18 Championships, winning another gold medal, becoming the first and so far the only European player to win a U20 and U18 gold medal in the same year.

Personal life

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.[13] In his free time, he also likes playing ice hockey with neighbourhood kids.[14]

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		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Bakersfield Condors	AHL		10	1	4	5	4		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		65	12	8	20	14		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		46	4	5	9	16		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Bakersfield Condors	AHL		4	2	2	4	7		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Kärpät	Liiga		56	24	29	53	52		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				139	17	20	37	40		—	—	—	—	—

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

1. "ISS Hockey releases top 30 for January". isshockey.com. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
2. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
3. "Matthews tops Central Scouting international rankings". NHL.com. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
4. "Statistics | Champions Hockey League". www.championshockeyleague.net. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
5. Staples, David (27 August 2019). "Jesse Puljujarvi does best thing for Oilers and himself, signing for year in Finland". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
6. "Oilers sign Puljujarvi". Edmonton Oilers. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
7. "Oilers send Puljujarvi to Condors and put Fayne on waivers". Global News. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
8. "Edmonton Oilers send Jesse Puljujarvi to AHL, smart move for player and team". Edmonton Journal. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
9. "Oilers recall Jesse Puljujarvi, place Anton Slepyshev on IR - Sportsnet.ca". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
10. "Sportsnet.ca Live Tracker". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
11. Van Diest, Derek (21 January 2018). "Puljujarvi propels Oilers past Canucks". NHL.com. Edmonton. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
12. "Puljujärvi jagar storheter som Jagr och Gretzky | yle". yle.fi. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
13. "Jesse Puljujärven passiasiat hämmentävät NHL:ssä - Ruotsin vai Suomen kansalainen?". Iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 26 April 2017.
14. CBC news (Jan 18, 2018) article online

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