Thread: 2016 NHL Draft
View Single Post
Old 06-20-2016, 02:21 PM   #5562
bigrangy
Franchise Player
 
bigrangy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Exp:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bear View Post
A question for some of you that have watched more of the Finnish prospects than I have...

Is there a chance Puljujarvi is massively overrated? I'm far from a pro scout but every time I watch him he seems to have poor puck handling and fans on most of his shots. His numbers in his draft year also fall quite a bit short of what Barkov achieved in the same league.

I guess I'm just looking for someone to placate my fear that we move up for him and he disappoints. The good news is I usually get prospect projections completely wrong.
I feel this as well. He really doesn't scream top 3 pick if you're looking at his Liiga draft year stats.

The reason I think so highly of him is just how dominant he was at the past two u20's. He has speed and skill in spades, and from every interview I've seen of him, he has his head on straight enough to get the most out of them.

His draft year Liiga stats definitely aren't great, but Puljujarvi is definitely still a kid. In his draft year, Barkov was a man, even though they were the same age. Pulju has so much more development to do, he in nowhere near a finished product. In my mind he is definitely not NHL ready this year, and maybe not even the year after. He needs time to refine his game but the sky is the limit. He has everything. Big, fast, hands, smart, pedigree, production, late birthday, not physically developed.

The team that drafts him better do right by him and develop him properly.
__________________
Oliver Kylington is the greatest and best player in the world
bigrangy is offline   Reply With Quote