October 26, 2022 /

Edmonton Oilers Talk: If You Think Puljujarvi is Playing Well, You Don’t Know the Game Says Rishaug

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The Jason Gregor Show

Rishaug/Gregor on Puljujarvi/Yamamoto/Foegele/Holloway
  • Ryan Rishaug – “I mean, let’s face it, those two need to be contributing, those two need to get going or Dylan Holloway’s not going to be on the 4th line for very long. Once he’s back and he’s an option for them, you could give him a look in place of… Certainly in place of Yamamoto and certainly on the 3rd line in place of Puljujarvi. Holloway, when he comes back, he should push those guys I would think.”
  • Jason Gregor – “Well, he will for sure because right now Yamamoto’s fighting it. Jesse Puljujarvi’s fighting it. Warren Foegele’s probably been the best of those three but he’s not a right winger naturally. Now, he can play the right side, but I don’t know if they’ll suddenly put him up there because then you’d have Yamamoto and Puljujarvi, one of them, playing the left side on the third line. So I don’t know if that’s really there. 
    • “Right now I see a lot of people arguing, “Yamamoto… Puljujarvi…” I do find it somewhat entertaining that those who were the staunchest Puljujarvi supporters are now claiming that Yamamoto’s not Finishing well playing with McDavid and I’m like, “Hmm… It’s almost like that was one of the criticisms for Puljujarvi for the longest time…” Because if you actually look at Yamamoto’s analytic numbers, they’re actually fairly strong. So, the hypocrisy there is rather comical for me. 
  • Rishaug – Well, listen, there’s value in numbers… I’m not one to dismiss that, but I think if you look past what’s right in front of your face and dig into numbers as a way to confirm something that your heart is telling you… I just… You have to look at what you’re seeing. There’s nobody who knows this game, that can watch these games and say that Puljujarvi is playing with confidence, playing well, and being generally effective. Nobody would say that that watches the game right now. Now, he’s not the only one and there are other guys that are struggling but he can’t handle the puck. He has no confidence handling the puck and I’m sorry, that’s just too crucial a skill in this game to have. You have to be able to grab the puck and skate with it and make plays and Puljujarvi’s really dramatically struggling with his hands right now. And so is he doing some good things? Yes. He’s digging some pucks out on forechecks and he’s had some really nice looking backchecks. He’s doing what he can, but you cannot watch these Oilers games right now and think “there’s a guy who’s playing with confidence and is on the right side of it.” He’s just not right now and they’re trying to give him the space to work through it, but he’s not and so I’m not really that interested in the numbers right now because what’s right in front of my face is painting such a clear picture. I don’t need numbers to confirm or deny anything that’s going on in Puljujarvi’s game. He’s a player that has next to no confidence and cannot handle the puck and make plays right now and it’s showing on a shift-by-shift basis. Is he working hard? Yes. Is he trying to do other things? Yes. But it just is what it is right now and they’ve got no choice but to keep giving him at-bats and letting him try to work through it. 
  • Gregor – Yeah, he is what he is. He’s a 3rd line guy that can create some chaos in the offensive zone and just doesn’t have a lot of finishing ability right now.

BLH’s Thoughts: To me, it sounds like Rishaug is talking out both sides of his mouth here with Pulju. He’s saying he’s not playing well and he’s not playing effectively but at the same time he’s “doing some good things” and “he’s working hard”. 

See, I don’t really know what Rishaug expects out of him. If Jesse has two goals but still appears the same on a shift-to-shift basis as Rishaug is seeing him as, does the evaluation change? “Oh he’s got a couple goals but…”, do you know what I mean?

Him saying that the eye test confirms his thinking is also lazy too because I’m a tad surprised that this is actually the case. Pulju is playing more physically assertive, he’s aggressive, using his body to his advantage AND he’s still making great defensive plays at both ends of the ice. But. That’s to my eye and I guess if that’s the case, I don’t know anything about “The Game” according to Rishaug. 

Has there been any consideration made to the idea that Jesse doesn’t receive a lot of passes going through the neutral zone so that he can carry the puck a little bit. In fact, I think there’s a clause in Darnell Nurse’s contract that says if he passes the puck to Jesse it will result in an expulsion from Connor and Leon’s clique.

To add to that facetious notion above, there’s the possibility that Pulju’s been instructed not to hang on to the puck as well. Maybe Coach Woodcroft has said to him, “When you get the puck, take a quick peek and if nobody’s open, chip and chase.” Because, after all, Jesse’s chase game is elite. 

See, I just don’t see Puljujarvi as struggling with confidence right now. He’s playing much better than he was at the end of last year in my opinion. He’s going to the right areas to get the chances, is he not? And what do they say about scoring chances? It’s better to be getting them than not because it means you’re doing the right things on the ice, or something to that effect. 

So now we’re at a point where Yamo’s sitting in Jesse’s old spot and the movie hasn’t changed with regards to production and Gregor is saying he finds that the JP supporters getting on Killer for that is hypocritical and entertaining. For me, they’re just clapping back at all those who gave Jesse shit in previous years. It’s not hypocrisy, it’s just the other side saying, “What do you call this?” and it’s a back and forth within the fanbase that has grown tiresome I feel. 

How long until Kailer’s favor with Connor and Leon is lost? I mean, I’ve been watching him this year and he’s not been as impactful as previous seasons. He still goes out there and hits and gets in the muck, but opposing defensemen are having ZERO problems removing the puck from him and his 150lb frame cannot produce a decent enough shot to trouble NHL goalies. So even when he is gifted with a 10-bell chance, it’s wafted towards the netminder. 

Going forward this year, Jesse can play left wing, He’s done it already this year. So when Hollywood comes back, they can shift things around a little bit. I don’t know if there’s an appetite to alter that 3rd line mind you, but the roster is flexible. 

Pulju should be in the top six and not because I’m a fan of Jesse, but because I think he serves the team better there. It pushes players down to roles where they can have a better chance to succeed? Ask yourself this, if Yamo is still dealing with an upper body problem, should be he going out and facing the other team’s best players? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have him on the third line where he can get a bit more room and rebuild that confidence thus allowing the Oilers to try out yet another elite 3rd line combination? 

Well, that’s all fun to think about but at the same time, if Jesse’s going up and Killer’s going down (or not), that puts Holloway on the 4th line because with how Foegele is playing, you can’t have him on the bottom rung. 

So what do you do? Ken Holland has a deep forward group but his defense is struggling a tad… Maybe there’s a trade on the horizon in November? That’s not when Holland usually does his business, it’s usually in February or March, but this team can’t afford to be a .500 club with all of this talent.

GM 7 – Oilers vs. Blues

Three Players to Watch on St. Louis
  • #4 Nick Leddy – Last time these two teams played I remember all the pundits saying how well Leddy did against McDavid and I was shocked because every coach who’s played against 97 that has had Leddy on their roster has used him to try and shut Connor down. Look for it again tonight even more seeing as STL has last change. 
  • #90 Ryan O’Reilly – ONE goal this season so far. ZERO assists. NINE shots on net. And the Edmonton media is up in arms about Puljujarvi and Yamamoto not producing. One thing you can always bet on is a player breaking out of a slump against the Oilers.
  • #50 Jordan Binnington – 3-0-0, 1.23 GAA, .953 SV%… He’s having an excellent start to the year and a lot of that has to do with that great defensive hockey the Blues are playing in front of him. 
Three Players to Watch on Edmonton
  • #97 Connor McDavid – He’s going to be flying tonight just because he’ll have a burr in his saddle thanks to Leddy shutting him down last time out. He’ll want to correct that and attempt to take over the team lead in scoring from Leon at the same time. 
  • #93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – The Nuge started slow but absolutely blew up production-wise more recently. He’s looking like he’s got a bit more pep in his step and the seven points he’s scored to date reinforces that. I like that he’s really getting in the muck too. Although, it would be nice if he could do something about his work on the draws. 
  • #74 Stu Skinner – Stuey gets the start tonight. Deservedly so, I might add. It’s one game only so far, but his GAA is under 1.70 and his save percentage is sitting up around .940. The local lad is developing nicely under Woodcroft. Now, imagine how well he’d do with a championship caliber defense in front of him… 

BLH’s Thoughts: I liked Edmonton’s chances tonight. They’ll feel a bit energized getting out of the fishbowl and giddy as this is their first road trip of the year. I reckon they won’t let the Blues turn off their offense like last time out and I predict they will have control of their special teams this evening. Meaning they’ll spend more time out of the penalty box than in it. 

What’s the over/under on the Oilers media as a whole using the term “puncher’s chance” in the next 24hrs? 

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey
  • SPORTSNET:ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski appeared on the Jeff Marek show last week where the future of Patrick Kane was among the topics of discussion.
  • TSN: Darren Dreger reports that the Vancouver Canucks aren’t about to hit the panic button over their poor start this season. However, he feels they’re getting “dangerously close to having to put everything on the table.”
  • NHL.COM: During an appearance on the “Cam and Strick” podcast on Tuesday, former NHL head coach Barry Trotz said he’d be intrigued by the notion of coaching an Orignal Six franchise if the opportunity presented itself.

BLH’s Thoughts: Vancouver kind of shot themselves in the foot extending a guy max term who has had thoughts of leaving instead of their captain… I don’t get the feeling Pettersson and Boeser want to be there and I wouldn’t be surprised if Quinn Hughes has entertained the idea of asking out. What about Andrei Kuzmenko? Is he having a bit of buyer’s regret after passing on Edmonton?

If Rutherford does go the rebuild route, there’s not better time than now with the generational talents coming in the draft and he’d have no shortage of suitors if he put Horvat, Pettersson, Boeser, and even JT Miller on the block. Although, do you trust that organization to get the job done?

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CategoriesArmchair GM Beer League Hero Edmonton Oilers NHL Rumors

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Beer League Hero Written by:

I'm the Beer League Hero! I am from Camrose, Alberta but I make my home in Taipei City, Taiwan. I've been through the ups and downs and the highs and the Lowes, the Bonsignores and the McDavids, the Sathers and the Eakins but I'll never leave my Oilers, no matter what! They're with me until the end and then some. GO OILERS GO!