Jesse Puljujarvi "One of the Best Surprises" of Camp

Heading into the Penguins' final preseason game on Friday versus Columbus, Jesse Puljujarvi said he wanted to “keep building more and more.”

He came out of Pittsburgh's 7-3 win with a beautiful breakaway goal as part of a three-point night, a plus-four rating, and plenty of well-deserved confidence.

“I’ve been feeling good. I’ve been having fun,” Puljujarvi said. “It’s been a hard camp. Lot of competition. Try to do my best every day, and when I get the chance, play good hockey.”

At the start of Training Camp presented by UPMC, Mike Sullivan said it would be a competitive camp – and regardless of position, guys would get an opportunity to show what they can do.

Puljujarvi is one player who’s done exactly that, with the Penguins head coach calling him “one of the best surprises of training camp, from our standpoint.”

“He’s made a significant impression on our overall group. He’s deserving of the opportunities that he’s been getting,” Sullivan continued. “He's an exciting player for us, because I don't think we have a lot of some of the things that he brings – in particular, the size and the length and just the physical stature that just makes us harder to play against.

“And he's a guy that he's shown ability to finish. That breakaway goal is a high-end play. So, if he can produce some offense for us, make us hard to play against, get in on the forecheck, be reliable defensively – I think there’s going to be a huge opportunity.”

The Penguins initially brought the 26-year-old Finn, a veteran of over 300 NHL games with Edmonton and Carolina, into the organization last December on a professional tryout contract following bilateral hip surgery. It’s a significant operation that comes with a particularly grueling rehabilitation, and even though Puljujarvi put himself in a position to earn a two-year deal, he still had a ways to go on his journey.

Now, after having a healthy summer, Puljujarvi is showing his draft pedigree – he was taken fourth overall by Edmonton in 2016 – and what he’s capable of now that he's no longer hampered by injury issues.

“The recovery from the injury and the surgery that he went through, that was extensive and that takes time,” Sullivan said. “My experience with those types of long rehabs is sometimes it takes longer than a year. So, having an offseason that he can continue to work on his strength and his power, he comes back in training camp in great shape. I think his skating is stronger. He's got a more powerful stride. His balance is better. He's quicker from a dead stop.”

That was evident on the breakaway goal, a play Puljujarvi said he probably wouldn’t have been able to make a year ago. The 6-foot-4 forward is feeling good on the ice, “just more comfortable. I’m just trying to find out everything, how the body moves, how to work, and so – it’s been a long process.”

That process started paying dividends immediately, as Puljujarvi scored a hat trick in the preseason opener in Buffalo, and hasn’t looked back from there.

“I guess have to be a little bit proud. It’s been a really tough year. It was almost like, I couldn’t play. So this feels like a second chance,” Puljujarvi said. “I’ve been doing a lot of work to get back to being a good player. Now, I need to show it. Give myself the best chance every day, and work again and again and again.”