Why Sending Jesse Puljujarvi To The KHL Would Be A Mistake

Yesterday morning, our friend Lowetide uncovered an interesting nugget of information surrounding Oilers rookie Jesse Puljujarvi. His blog post, which you can read here, goes into the full details and I highly recommend reading it.

The gist of it? That KHL team Ak Bars Kazan is interested in acquiring the KHL rights to Puljujarvi with the hope of him coming over. Most view the KHL as the second best league in the world, and while that may be true, I’m not sure it makes sense for the Oilers to let their prized prospect head back overseas.

For Jesse Puljujarvi, the options should be Edmonton or Bakersfield or nothing. The NHL or the AHL, pick one and let the kid play a big role with major minutes.

Why Not The KHL:

The big thing for Peter Chiarelli and the Oilers when it comes to Puljujarvi has been getting him accustomed to North America and the English language. Puljujarvi has been learning English since coming over this off-season and his handle of the language is clearly of interest to the organization, as it should be.

The adjustment to North America, both on and off the ice, has also been a pressure point with Puljujarvi. The Oilers clearly want him to adjust to the culture and get used to the smaller playing surface that is used in the NHL. Again, this makes a ton of sense. Puljujarvi is going to be a major part of Edmonton’s future and should be adapting to his new city and to the new style of play that he will be dealing with for the next x amount of years.

Going to the KHL literally helps none of that. English is not the main language in Russia, and the cultures are very different. On top of that, Puljujarvi would go back to playing on the larger ice surface and in the European game, which doesn’t exactly help prepare him for NHL duty in 2017-18.

Now, most fans will point to Edmonton sending out Leon Draisaitl around this time in 2014. That’s a good point, but Leon was sent to the WHL and played in Western Canada. That was a totally different scenario and does not compare with Puljujarvi possibly going to the KHL.

Basically, if the Oilers are concerned with all of the things they claim to be concerned about, then sending Puljujarvi to the KHL makes literally zero sense. If keeping him in Edmonton to learn the language and adjust to the culture and smaller ice surface was the plan, then sending him to the KHL is the exact opposite of accomplishing that. It makes no sense.

A Decision Does In Fact Loom:

Eventually, however, the Oilers will need to make a decision with Puljujarvi. If the club is going to keep him in Edmonton, fine, but they need to start playing him like an NHL’er who is going to handle a top six role. Having him sit around as a healthy scratch or play seven minutes a night is not going to help him.

If the plan is to develop JP in the NHL, then he needs a top six spot and a lengthy look. He hasn’t received that to this point.

Slow playing Puljujarvi is fine too, but if that’s the case then he should be sent down the AHL. The AHL gets a bad rep among fans, but it’s truly a very strong hockey league and has helped develop a lot of very good NHL players. Heading down there for a month is not the end of the word and doesn’t mean Puljujarvi is a bust. It just means he needs move development time.

In Bakersfield, Puljujarvi could get a top line role, powerplay time and strong linemates relative to the competition. That would allow him to succeed and, in turn, develop the needed confidence to produce offense at the NHL level. Away from the puck, Puljujarvi is ready for the NHL. Offensively, he clearly needs more time.

The Oilers can save a year of RFA eligibility by assigning him to the AHL before he’s hits 40 games on the NHL roster, exactly what they did with Draisaitl two seasons ago. I think that is the right move and I suspect that is what the club will do.

Regardless of their decision between the AHL or NHL, one thing is certain to me; sending Puljujarvi to the KHL would be a mistake at this point in time.