PRAGUE, Czechia — One look at Jesse Puljujarvi’s scars told Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson everything he needed to know about his teammate’s battle to return from bilateral hip surgery last offseason.
“They don’t seem nice,” Karlsson said. “The journey he’s had couldn’t have been easy. Once he came to us and we met him, you can see his dedication to the game and his determination to be the best he can be. He’s worked very hard. “. like anyone could have done.
“We are happy that he was able to come back and play at the level he is after such a horrendous injury and surgery. I’ve had a lot myself and I know it’s not easy. All credit to him for working hard and the dedication he has to play at the level he needs to play in the NHL.
“It’s just fantastic.”
Puljujarvi opted for invasive surgery while facing unrestricted free agency last summer, and the 26-year-old forward underwent a lengthy rehab before finally returning to NHL ice with the Penguins in February.
“It was certainly difficult, but I always focused on working hard,” Puljujarvi said from the 2024 IIHF World Championship, where he represents Finland. “The doctors said there would be some hope I could play. I believed it. I just worked hard, stayed positive and trusted the process.
“Of course I had some little ups and downs, but not big ones, and I was pretty confident that I was going to be able to be an NHL-level player.”
The road back hasn’t been linear for Puljujarvi, who became a free agent after failing to earn a qualifying offer from the Carolina Hurricanes last spring.
On December 10, 2023, just days after being cleared by doctors for full-contact training (a six-month recovery following his second hip surgery after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure in 2019), Puljujarvi signed a free agent tryout with the Penguins.
That turned into a 13-game pro tryout with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, Pittsburgh’s minor league affiliate, on Jan. 4.
Puljujarvi, the No. 4 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers, turned the audition into a two-year, $1.6 million contract (an average annual value of $800,000) with the Penguins exactly one month after.
The process marked a lot of sweat for Puljujarvi, who scored 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 75 regular-season games for Edmonton and Carolina last season, including two assists in 17 games for the Hurricanes after he was acquired in a trade. . with the Oilers on February 28.
“I’m still pretty young,” he said. “I was thinking I still have 10 more years (of playing). My whole life has revolved around hockey. I didn’t have any excuses and didn’t think it was going to be ‘that’s it.’
“I was 100 percent willing to be a good player again.”
All told, it ended up being an eight-month test of perseverance to get Puljujarvi back on the NHL ice.
“Being a high draft pick and the expectations that come with it,” Karlsson said, “then things maybe don’t go your way, and having those injuries and still fighting and still being able to play at that level is something that’s not a lot of things.” guys could do.
“Being around him, knowing him and being around him, you can really see the work he puts in and the dedication he has to the game of hockey, to himself, to his teammates, to being at his best and coming back and Playing at the level he is at is inspiring.”
Puljujarvi, who scored four points (three goals, one assist) in 22 games with the Penguins, believes there is another level to unlock in 2024-25.
“Next season, it will be the most important season of my career,” said Puljujarvi, who has 118 points (54 goals, 64 assists) in 356 games over seven NHL seasons.
“Now the question is how am I going to be a good player there?”
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow @Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.