Jesse Puljujärvi returned to the top after difficult seasons.
Jesse Puljujärvi fans the goal and Sakari Manninen joins in the joy. PDO
Jesse Puljujärvi scored 52 power points in 52 games in the Geneva-Servette team in the regular season of the Swiss Hockey League. The attacker was the third in the point exchange of Europe’s hardest puck series.
The Kärppie native didn’t freeze in the playoffs either, but continued his scoring streak with six goals and nine points in 12 matches.
After seasons filled with significant health concerns and difficulties, Puljujärvi came rushing back to the top of the puck.
– I’m damn satisfied. Jesse had other options in Europe and North America last summer. We considered Geneva and decided on that option because we believed it was the best place for him, says Puljujärvi’s agent Markus Lehto.
– This player has been booed left and right. Of course, a season like this is warming and the fact that the player believes in himself again, Lehto continues.
Geneve-Servette was eliminated from the Swiss playoffs on Sunday night after losing to Fribourg, 6-2. semi-final series, The Leman Derby went to Fribourg with match wins 4–1.
Operation
Jesse Puljujärvi scored 19 times in the shirt of Geneve-Servette in the regular season. It is one of the best and best paying ice hockey clubs in Europe. PDO
Both of Puljujärvi’s hips were operated on on June 19, 2023 in the state of New York, USA. After a major operation, the attacker practically had to learn to walk again.
The return to the rink was long and difficult.
– It was a huge operation. The fact that Jesse has gotten that shot after all is a good thing. I believe that Jesse is still an NHL player, Lehto continues.
After the operation, the Finn got two more short NHL contracts and played 53 games in the world’s toughest hockey league and 49 AHL games before moving to Switzerland.
Mies has played a total of 387 regular season games in the NHL and scored 58 goals in them.
Queries
Jesse Puljujärvi moves through the streets of Geneva mainly by bicycle. TIMO KUNNARI
Puljujärvi is now playing at the absolute top of Europe. A return to the NHL is not necessarily an impossible thing.
– We have had discussions in that direction. The NHL is still Jesse’s goal. But it has to be the right time and place if you go back there. It may not be worth taking just any offer. The player himself decides where he will play in the future, Lehto reveals.
“Pulju” has almost 400 matches in the taala league and the Finn is just entering his prime as a player. When the NHL clubs’ salary cap rises and the man’s salary request would be moderate, it would make Puljujärvi a risk-free option for both teams.
Puljujärvi has a contract with Geneva for next season, but it includes an NHL option, which means the man can leave the big water if a sufficiently attractive contract comes along.
Puljujärvi will receive an invitation to the World Cup camp of the Lions in the near future.
The Ice Hockey World Cup tournament will be played in Zurich and Friborg in May.
Geneva-Servette’s Finns this season: assistant coach Pekka Kangasalu (left), Vili Saarijärvi, Sakari Manninen, Markus Granlund, Jesse Puljujärvi and head coach Ville Peltonen. Assistant coach Samuel Tilkanen is missing from the picture. TIMO KUNNARI
