The Pittsburgh Penguins hope Jesse Puljujarvi can reach expectations and find his way back to the NHL.

PITTSBURGH – Jesse Puljujarvi was brought to the Pittsburgh Penguins organization on a free agent tryout in hopes he could crack the lineup and serve as a useful depth forward. Coming off of double hip surgery in the offseason, the Penguins knew it was going to be a long process with Puljujarvi, but they were excited about the possibilities.

Currently in the American Hockey League with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on a professional tryout offer, Puljujarvi broke through for his first goal in the organization. In his fifth contest with WBS, Puljujarvi showed some of the power he possesses in his skating ability.

Puljujarvi beat out a Springfield Thunderbirds defender to a loose puck for a quick break. Not quite a perfectly placed shot, but a hard one to beat the goaltender. The goal was also Puljujarvi’s first point of the year.

Since that was his first point with the Penguins organization after five games, it’s safe to say some of the early returns haven’t jumped off the page, but things might start coming around. Obviously, it’s not easy coming off of an injury and missing the amount of time that Puljujarvi did, he was going to need a few games to really get going.

This goal showed a perfect example that Puljujarvi has great skating ability. It wasn’t so much his speed but the strength and power he has in his strides. He only needed about three strides to beat the defender and break in with the puck.

Considering the time missed because of his offseason surgery, Puljujarvi has been working his way up to speed, usually on WBS’s top two lines. If he’s able to continue progressing at a quality rate, Kyle Dubas and the Penguins would love to find a way to get him into the NHL lineup.

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