Penguins forward Jesse Puljujarvi is happy to be back in the 'big league'
With forward Evgeni Malkin absent from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ practice session Thursday in Cranberry for what was termed as a “maintenance day,” forward Jesse Puljujarvi filled in on the second power-play unit.
Considering he didn’t formally join the NHL roster until Sunday after signing a two-year contract, Puljujarvi still is getting used to his new surroundings and learning the team’s schematics.
As such, veteran forward Lars Eller, also a member of the second unit, sat next to Puljujarvi on the bench and explained the structure of the power play with a sheet of paper as the first unit drilled during Thursday’s session.
While he still has a ways to go to get acclimated, Puljujarvi made a strong first impression during his Penguins debut Tuesday in a 3-0 home win against the Winnipeg Jets.
He had a slight hand in the opening goal in the first period by defenseman Kris Letang as he dumped the puck into the offensive zone. Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey recovered the puck but turned it over to Letang, who elevated a backhander into the cage.
Back from break and scoring goals! ???? pic.twitter.com/KAR6eJ9kTD
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 7, 2024
“Get some plus there,” Puljujarvi said with a smile Thursday in reference to his plus/minus rating.
Puljujarvi, who played 13 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on a professional tryout contract in January, logged 9:41 of ice time on 13 shifts and had two shots on three attempts in Tuesday’s contest.
He also drew a strong endorsement from his coach in his first NHL game since undergoing resurfacing surgery on each hip in June.
“Jesse had a good game,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s jumping on a moving train, so to speak, with all the work that he’s put in to get himself to this point. When you get into that first NHL game, I think the pace is a whole other level than what he saw at the (AHL). Though I think those (AHL) games are invaluable for him. That’s a really good league, but the pace at this level is a whole other level. There’s one way you can, I think, acclimate to that is getting into games and competing.
“He did a good job. He’s good on the forecheck. He’s a rangy guy, he takes up a lot of space. He’s got a good stick. He hunted pucks in the offensive zone. He was part of (the opening goal). He had a good game for his first game.”
Puljujarvi, the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, is being deployed on the third line with Eller and Rickard Rakell. In Tuesday’s game, that line was on the ice for nine shot attempts for and only four against according to Natural Stat Trick.
“Good guys,” Puljujarvi said. “They can skate, and they can make plays. It felt good.”
Just being in the NHL is a nice feeling as well.
“It was a solid game,” Puljujarvi said. “We played a good game. It was actually really fun to be back in the ‘big league.’ ”
Fleury finale?
The Penguins could be facing former goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for the final time in his career Friday when they play his current team, the Minnesota Wild, in St. Paul, Minn.
The first overall selection of the 2003 draft by the Penguins, Fleury is the franchise leader in most goaltending statistical categories and remains an icon in the area.
Now 39, Fleury has acknowledged the possibility of retiring after this season but has stopped short of definitively saying so one way or another.
Regardless of the circumstances, the significance of playing against Fleury is not lost on his former teammates.
“There’s a lot of memories there,” forward Sidney Crosby said. “Just the passion that he brought to the rink every day, the energy. He still brings it. We’re not playing on the same team, but I know what he’s like. You hear his teammates talking about him, and that’s the thing that comes up a lot: just the energy and the passion that he has, still to his day. That says a lot about him as a player and a person.”
Ansons to Wheeling
Forward prospect Raivis Ansons was assigned from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to Wheeling of the ECHL.
Sidelined since Dec. 27 because of an undisclosed injury, Ansons was in Cranberry earlier in the week rehabilitating his ailment.
Having injured prospects work out with the franchise’s NHL staff as part of their recovery process appears to be a new practice under current management. In November, forward Sam Poulin rehabilitated a high ankle sprain with the NHL club before returning to the AHL Penguins.
In years past, injured prospects largely recuperated with one of the team’s minor-league affiliates.
“When these guys come up and have an opportunity to get looked at by our medical staff here in Pittsburgh, I think it’s an opportunity also to continue to help them with the rehab process,” Sullivan said. “That’s some of the thought process behind it.”
Ansons was a fifth-round pick (No. 149 overall) in the 2020 draft.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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