The Edmonton Oilers have decided it’s time for Jesse Puljujarvi to get another shot. The team has recalled the top prospect from the AHL and placed Anton Slepyshev on injured reserve to make room. Puljujarvi was sent to the minor leagues to begin the year, where he has five points in ten games.
Selected fourth-overall in 2016, Puljujarvi was expected to make an impact quickly in Edmonton. Instead, he struggled to find ice time and was eventually sent down last season after scoring just a single goal. In all, he played in 28 games for the Oilers and registered eight points, though his results at Bakersfield were more promising. In 39 minor league contests last season, the big Finnish winger scored 28 points and generally grew into one of the better players on the team. With huge upside, he’ll now have a chance to prove that the Oilers didn’t make a mistake when they took him ahead of others that have already made an NHL impact.
Edmonton was able to sneak by New Jersey last night with a 3-2 overtime win, and have started to turn their ugly start around with three wins in their last four games. They’ve still had plenty of trouble scoring goals, and Puljujarvi will be tasked with giving them some secondary scoring from the wing. It’s likely that he’ll jump right into the fire alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Milan Lucic when the team takes on the New York Rangers tomorrow afternoon.