After fighting his way back to professional hockey following surgery that kept him out to start the 2023-24 season, Jesse Puljujarvi has found his way back and has signed an American Hockey League (AHL) professional tryout (PTO) with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who are the Pittsburgh Penguins’ minor-league affiliate. The team has played two games since he joined the team, but he was given a rest in the second game. With the Penguins trading Rem Pitlick to the Chicago Blackhawks, it sounds like they are trying to make room to sign Puljujarvi to a full-time deal.
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In his first game in the AHL this season, Puljujarvi was held pointless but put up three shots in a 2-1 win while playing on the first line. It seems as though the Penguins are giving him every chance to succeed with their team and with the speed he had in his first game of the new season, he has proven he can still compete at the highest level. With his current level of play, it seems like the Penguins will be the first step back to the NHL level.
Puljujarvi’s NHL Career So Far
Throughout his NHL career, Puljujarvi has played 334 games split between the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes where he scored 51 goals and added 63 assists for 114 points which comes out to a 0.34 points-per-game average. His offensive ability was put in question when he played for the Oilers which eventually led to him being traded to the Hurricanes, but his defensive game has always been strong and is the reason he will likely get another opportunity in the NHL somewhere in the future.
Before Puljujarvi made the jump to the NHL, he played in the Liiga, which is a pro league in his home country of Finland, with Kärpät. In his draft year, he scored 13 goals and added 15 assists for 28 points through 50 games with Kärpät and represented Finland at the U20 World Junior Championship where he scored five goals and added 12 assists for 17 points through seven games.
As a former fourth-overall pick, the hype surrounding him in Edmonton seemed to have hindered his confidence. He never broke out with the Oilers after multiple chances with the team, and now he has chosen a new path back to the NHL level. If he can have a strong season in the AHL with the Penguins this season, it wouldn’t shock me if he earned an NHL deal as early as next season. When Puljujarvi was with the Oilers and playing alongside Connor McDavid, he had a bit of an issue scoring goals which was unexpected alongside the best playmaker in the league.
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With the Oilers, Puljujarvi played 317 games scoring 51 goals and adding 61 assists for 112 points, and he only had two points with the Hurricanes. His career-high season came in 2021-22 where he scored 14 goals and added 22 assists for 36 points through 65 games, but was traded the following season after only putting up 14 points through 58 games.
What’s Next For Puljujarvi?
It seems that Puljujarvi will earn a new contract for the rest of this season with the Penguins, so it will be a matter of whether he can explode offensively and continue playing strong defensively to fight his way back to the NHL level. He has played two games with the Penguins so far and looks like he can dominate in the AHL, so he has a really strong chance of getting one more NHL opportunity as early as next season. This route back to the NHL allows him to play in a team’s top six and get used to more ice time in more stressful situations so hopefully, he can eventually transfer that to the NHL level.
Teams will be looking for him to improve his offensive production, but not take a step back defensively. There are plenty of teams in the NHL that could use his services now, but holding out and playing in the AHL this season sets Puljujarvi up to earn more money and more security on his next contract. Hopefully, he can pull off a great comeback story and be back in the NHL for the 2024-25 season.
