CAMP: Confidence the key to unlocking Jesse Puljujarvi

EDMONTON, AB - Confidence is key when it comes to Jesse Puljujarvi.
When he had it last season, the Finnish winger kept filling the back of the net and showing off his first-round pedigree. When he didn't, both points and ice time were harder to come by as the Oilers neared the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I think confidence is a big thing here in the NHL, you need confidence every day and every game," Puljujarvi said. "I try to be a tough guy and play with good confidence, that is big stuff."
The Oilers coaching staff know they have a solid player in Puljujarvi, who is blessed with size and can help drive the play towards an opponent's goal. If he's playing with confidence, the ceiling for what the 24-year-old can provide the Blue & Orange this year is even higher.
"I've seen this young person mature over time in different places - I've seen him in Bakersfield when I was the coach down there. I think he's an established NHL hockey player," Oilers Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "He's worked hard to establish himself. He's looking to take a step in his game and consistently command top-six minutes. I think he put in a good summer and he's starting out with two really good linemates, and he's anxious to show what he can do. He laid down a really good first day, now it's on him to make sure he builds on it heading into day two."

It was certainly a tale of two seasons for the captivating Oilers forward. Puljujarvi rocketed out the gate, starting the year with 23 points (6G, 8A) in the first 29 games and commanded the premium top-six ice time Woodcroft was referring to. Once the calendar started to turn to 2022, things went south for the forward.
A positive Covid test in late December was followed by a cold stretch where Puljujarvi notched just two assists in the next 15 games. As he started to regain his form, he was struck by a lower-body injury in February which held him out of the line-up for a month. By the time he returned to the equation, the Oilers were firing on all cylinders as the playoffs quickly approached, which made it difficult for a player to re-establish himself into a lineup that was already clicking.
Woodcroft ended up playing the forward roughly six-minutes less per game in the playoffs than he did in the regular season. It's hard to argue with the results, but it provided Puljujarvi with the motivation to be better coming into this year.
"Last season, I started really well. The first 20 games I had like a point a game," Puljujarvi said. "That was really good, then there was something like a little injury and that kind of stuff. Of course in the playoffs, I'd liked to have played more there, but as a team we played really good. Now we start everything again and try to be the best player I can be."

With a new season on the horizon, Puljujarvi is taking the cliché of flushing last year pretty seriously.
"I don't even remember it anymore," he said. "I feel good. It's a new season. I think no one has to think about last year. I tried to do everything as good as I can. Let's see how that works out. I'm in a good spot and in good shape."
Puljujarvi says he put in a lot of work in the offseason to be as prepared as possible for an important year in his development. An always entertaining personality, the proof was on

.
He now gets the opportunity to test how that offseason work holds up. Woodcroft has started camp with Puljujarvi on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, a prime spot to show off the offensive abilities that made him the fourth-overall-pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
"The makings of that line, if you look at it you have a world class playmaker with size in the middle of the rink in Draisaitl. You have energizer bunny, worker bee that gets a lot of stops on the forecheck and plays hard around the blue paint in Zach Hyman. Then you throw in Jesse's skill set with those two players, we think they compliment each other," Woodcroft said about the line. "That's the making of a big, hard, forechecking, grind it down in the O zone type of line. I think they had a good first day and they set the tone in the first ice session."