Edmonton Oilers Pundit on Puljujarvi: “He’s like a six-foot-four Finnish Ryan Smyth.”

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

Edmonton Sun

Puljujarvi becoming everything Edmonton Oilers hoped

The big Finn was all over the Battle of Alberta, scoring once, assisting twice and treating the area around Jacob Markstrom’s crease like he owned it.
It was scrum after scrum after scrum as they did everything they could to discourage Puljujarvi from digging around their net, but no amount of shoves, threats or face washes could dampen his tenacity.
If you’re the Flames, or any other opponent, this is a problem. Facing a strong, hulking forward with high-end skill and blue-collar stones who thrives in the hard areas of the ice is a big problem.
As much as they want to devote all of their attention to shutting down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they can’t because they’ve got this relentless, grinning kid tormenting them from the other wing.
Puljujarvi can score with a heavy, accurate shot, he can dig in around the crease and jam in a rebound and he can fit in on the rush with the best players in the world.
Every time he does something it brings down the house. He’s like a six-foot-four Finnish Ryan Smyth.
His career highs of 15 goals and 25 points last year is about to be obliterated as he takes the next step on his way to becoming a scary player in this league.
Puljujarvi’s permanent smile and unbridled exuberance when he, or anyone on his line, scores a goal, tells you all you need to know about his motives.

BLH’s Thoughts: Looks like Pulju has converted another lost member of the Edmonton media. I’ll say this though, Jesse plays quite a different game than ol’ Smytty. Zach Hyman is a much better comparable for Ryan Smyth (94 is the better skater though), in my opinion. I think sans the physical game and the fighting, JP stylistically looks like Keith Primeau, you be the judge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srf_lvGTfto

The Athletic

Which Oilers AHL players are most likely to be called up in 2021-22?

Here are the 10 most likely recalls in 2021-22, ordered from earliest to latest:

Stuart Skinner
Dmitri Samorukov (injured)
Dylan Holloway (injured)
Philip Broberg
Filip Berglund
Markus Niemelainen
Cooper Marody
Ilya Konovalov
Raphael Lavoie
Phil Kemp

Skinner might get a look when the schedule gets a little heavier, and there’s a chance of injury with two older NHL goaltenders.
Broberg is a complete wild card; his skill set is so valuable if Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson unlock him he’ll be in the NHL right away. Berglund is right-handed and the Oilers have little depth behind Tyson Barrie, Cody Ceci and Evan Bouchard.
Marody played Saturday night, got involved physically but did not play a major role. A good guess is he is playing his final year in the organization.

BLH’s Thoughts: Marody shouldn’t even be on the list and just due to Edmonton’s depth on the right side of its defense, Berglund should be higher. I suppose Tippett might rather try playing Koekkoek or Russell on their off-side in the event he needs somebody to fill in there though.

Does anybody know why Kirill Maksimov isn’t playing? This season is very pivotal for him if he wants to stick with the organization. Personally, I don’t like how his year has started with missing training camp and now he’s being held out of games without reason. It wouldn’t shock me if this player was moved prior to or at the NHL trade deadline.

**UPDATE** Maksimov is on unconditional waivers and most likely returning to Russia. So in effect, my prediction was right on the button. He’s getting moved prior to the deadline… **UPDATE**

NHLRumors.com

NHL Watcher: Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts Podcast earlier this week: “Larkin is 2 years away from UFA, by the time they’re good he’s going to be on the market, I’m curious to see what that’s going to mean.”
NHL Watcher: Darren Dreger on TSN 1050 last week on Arizona Coyotes forward Phil Kessel: “As long as he stays healthy I don’t think Kessel makes it to March, I think he gets traded before March”.
Shawn Simpson: Am good with the Senators looking long-term with these forwards but at some point, they are going to have to give their defensive core some love this season with a trade.
Eric Stephens of The Athletic: (mailbag) The Anaheim Ducks taking on the contract of Vladimir Tarasenko – a $7.5 million cap hit for two years with salaries of $9.5 million and $5.5 million – that isn’t risk, it’s if he can stay healthy and score like he used to after having shoulder surgery three times.
- Not sure if Troy Terry and a second-round pick gets it done for St. Louis. The Blues don’t want to take a bad contract back.