If you rewatch Laine's highlight's from the U20, of course you see him score the goals from where you expect, but you also see his coordination, how he catches a waist-high pass right at the beginning of the video or how he very quickly rotates for his tip-in goal. You see that when he pushes past a defender, the defenseman at this level has no chance at all to stop him. He doesn't slow down when he goes to the net, he goes straight into the equally big defenseman in front of the net without hesitation. I personally haven't seen Puljujärvi equal that.
It's totally legitimate to prefer Puljujärvi of course. I'm not an expert. But to me Laine's upside is just too high.
Neither of them are major goal scorers close to the net at the moment. Both have heavy, accurate shots from afar. It's easier for me to imagine Laine being more dangerous closer to the net as well, with his quicker release, better stick handling and coordination, and more belligerent attitude.
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