Two trains of thought emerged over the last decade or so in the NHL. They aren’t so much narratives as they are facts. Constants born out of ... well, consistency, in both results and actions.
The Oilers demoted their top prospect and that’s a great thing for both of them
Jesse Puljujärvi’s demotion is good for his future and the Oilers’ present.
Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images
The first: Younger hockey players benefit greatly from long periods of time spent in the minor leagues.
The second: The Edmonton Oilers ruin top first-round draft picks.
Both facts are kind of intertwined. Which makes the Edmonton Oilers’ move on Monday pretty interesting!
The Oilers sent down rookie winger Jesse Puljujärvi, who they took fourth overall in the 2016 NHL entry draft. On the surface, this makes all kinds of sense. In 28 games, Puljujärvi has one goal and eight points. Unlike Winnipeg Jets rookie Patrik Laine and Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews, Puljujärvi hasn’t done enough to warrant top-six minutes.
And that’s fine! He’s 18 years old. Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and those afore-mentioned rookies are outliers. The NHL isn’t meant for teenagers. Any team would’ve sent Puljujärvi down.
But since it’s the Oilers, it’s worth shining a light on it. Because sending Puljujärvi down from Edmonton not only goes against their Train Of Thought™, it signals a long-awaited shift in the franchise’s philosophy.
Consider how many forwards have been taken in the draft over the last five years, how many of them were drafted by the Oilers, and how many benefited from marinating in minor or junior leagues before making the full-time jump to the NHL.
Hey look, here’s a handy table.
Draft Season | Seasons ‘til NHL regular | Seasons in Minors (AHL/ECHL/Jr) | Became NHL Regular | Best NHL season |
|---|
Notice that a few players did adapt quickly to the NHL. They’re named Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and Nathan MacKinnon, and they’re the elite of the elite. The vast majority of players who became regulars as rookies had a longer gap between their debuts and their best seasons.
Meanwhile, those who played longer in the minor leagues had shorter gaps. Even those players who began by setting the league alight as rookies (Val Nichushkin, MacKinnon) began to taper off. There are exceptions here and there, but it mostly backs the idea that jumping into the deep end with rookies isn’t usually wise.
And you can see where the Oilers started to learn from this lesson. Leon Draisaitl played a third of his rookie season with the Oilers in 2014-15. Instead of running his confidence into the ground, Edmonton sent him back down to the WHL to finish the season. Ever since, he’s been a terrific pro player.
So maybe the Oilers would’ve sent Puljujärvi down at some point anyway. But they didn’t wait as long as other rookies for a big reason: they’re playoff contenders, deep enough up front to stay that way without Puljujärvi.
Puljujärvi isn’t a checking-line player. He’s too skilled and multifaceted for that role. So was Draisaitl. So was Couturier, and Jonathan Huberdeau, and Bo Horvat, and Alex Galchenyuk. Their parent teams were contending at the time they were kept below to develop, but it wasn’t their time to help the cause yet. And they were better for it.
After so many first-round failures, it’s good to see Edmonton following that train of thought. Puljujärvi will be better off for it.
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