Quote:
Originally Posted by Vulcan
From the little I've seen, he looks to me a lot like Olli Jokinen. Just his size and the way he skates plus, he likes to carry the puck and shoot but isn't a great set up man and not often a lot of results happen.
For me Laine looks like a results guy. Maybe not as flashy but who needs flashy. Another thing I noticed is Laine is playing LW where his right handed shot is good for scoring.
|
I think Puljujärvi's skating posture invites the Olli comparison, but Puljujärvi is a significantly better passer. He showed at the U20 that he sees his linemates very well and can make difficult passes. That's nothing like Olli who was a shoot-only player.
So I disagree that Puljujärvi isn't a setup man. That's exactly what he was in the tournament. What I don't think is great is his shot, at least at this point. It's heavy and accurate in practice but not quick enough in game situations as far as I can tell.
I also doubt that Jokinen was much of a two-way player in his teenage years. You could say that he didn't start properly defending until he was coached by Brent Sutter.