Jesse Pulkkinen : In-Depth Scouting Report

Each season, lesser-known players emerge during the year and build a resume rich enough to earn consideration for the first round of the draft. No one could have anticipated at the start of the calendar that a 19-year-old Finnish defender (ignored in the last draft) would have taken the hockey world by surprise like this. Having started watching Pulkkinen in November at the 5 Nations Tournament, I admit to being slightly irritated to see him get a leading role for Finland at the WJC, since he would no longer remain a secret in the public eye.

What stands out the most when looking at this 6’6 defenseman is his unwavering confidence with the puck. Having made my first viewing of this player in a U20 caliber (5-Nations), I was amazed to see to what extent he decided to maintain exactly the same bold style of play in his first steps among the professionals, in the Liiga. And I say that on a positive note. Often, the transition to the Pros can be difficult for certain young prospects who must temper their offensive-orientation. In the case of Pulkkinen, he concurred that his know-how with the puck could represent a major asset to his maximum so he decided to exploit his abilities to the maximum, and this, with a lot of errors that can result from it. His coaches seem to be on the same wavelength as him while he benefits from all the latitude possible to express his talent.

His ease with the puck on his stick is remarkable. He can skillfully maneuver and dangle players in one-on-one situations. Where he may stand out from the crowd is that players with a reach as long as him simply don’t have that kind of gracefulness with the disc.

This combination goes perfectly well with his calmness. Even when put under pressure at the offensive blue line, he is never forced to get rid of the puck because with a single maneuver, he can place it out of reach of his opponent.

This composure is also observed in his own zone. Pulkkinen is, alongside with Sam Dickinson of the London Knights, the most ‘Poised’ defenseman in the draft. However, the two operate in different ways. Dickinson will instead use quick information gathering followed by a pivot in the opposite direction from where the pressure is coming from. Pulkkinen, for his part, will capitalize on his dexterity with his hand, as well as his long reach and his imposing size to shield the puck. The biggest difference between the two is that Dickinson matches the speed at which the pressure arrives with his countermovement, Pulkkinen slows down the game to extinguish the opposing forecheck and to reorganize the structure of his team, giving time to his own teammates to come and give him support.

This is an essential quality to have in a defender as far as I am concerned. More than ever, within a game, Momentum can change from one side to the other, and when it is the other team that takes control, it can be difficult to get out of the abyss. Being able to count on a defender who never gives in to panic can be very profitable.

From this strength in Pulkkinen, however, arises some questions. The first is to wonder if Pulkkinen is not a ‘Low Pace’ player. Each year, the collective speed of execution of the teams seems to increase and it is a legitimate doubt to wonder how his way of operating will be perceived by his coaching staff in the NHL. To evaluate everything in the most informed way possible, we must also take into consideration the context in which the player plays. The Liiga is not a generally offensive-oriented league. The team’s patterns are not focused on a pronounced forecheck to force the opponent to make mistakes.

The most important thing to look at during these sequences is the positioning of Pulkkinen’s teammates, to know if one or more passing options had been possible to make the play progress rather than retracing in his steps and slowing down the pace of play. Even if I will always ardently defend ‘Scouting’ through video, I must admit that it also has some limitations and this is one of them: it was often difficult to see the position of all the other players on the ice, therefore, it was more difficult to judge the relevance of Pulkkinen’s selection of plays.

So I tried to pay particular attention to his first pass to find out if he can bring value to his team in transition. Forced to admit, in a very large number of sequences, his breakout pass following a game play he slowed down the pace was flawless! His first pass is a brilliant aspect of his game.

I also looked for sequences where his decision-making and execution happen quickly in a situation of imminent pressure, to know if a possible weakness could arise when he leaves the Liiga. I have seen enough examples to dispel my doubts. I think that’s just how he prefers to play, but that he will be able to adapt his habits in a different climate.

(Note that this ‘Poise’ will also work to its own detriment on a few occasions and that there is still a bit of fine-tuning to be done).

Another aspect of Pulkkinen’s identity is physical play. At 6’6, he fully capitalizes on the advantages that nature has given him. I am ready to say that the Finnish defender is among the 5 most physical players in the entire draft. In terms of quantity, he is one of the players who distributed the most hits in my viewing during the season. Some of these were very impactful.

He plays with a lot of ‘Piss and Vinegar’ in his game. He likes to play hard and make life difficult for his opponents. This has allowed him to win a lot of battles for loose pucks as he goes in it by any means necessary to ensure his team takes back the puck.

What I like about Pulkkinen is that he uses his checks wisely as he regularly uses them to separate the puck carrier from the puck, which above all remains the main goal of a hit.

Another nuance that the Finnish defender master well is how he uses his strong frame proactively to protect the puck when he goes to recover it deep in his own zone. Just before taking possession of the disc, he will put on the brakes and initiate contact with his back so as to catch the forechecking forward off guard. He then finds himself the instigator in a scenario where he is supposed to be the target of the check.

To return to the offensive aspect of his game, Pulkkinen is not the most dangerous shooter from the blue line, but his offensive confidence, the quality of his hands and his long reach still allow him to open up interesting shooting lane.

Watch here how he widens his skating base to push away an opponent’s stick and thus allow himself to gain the slot.

His skating is somewhat difficult to assess. On the one hand, given that he plays a rather slow ‘Pace’, a faster skating ability wouldn’t really give him any additional advantages. When he carries the puck, he seems to move at a satisfying speed. During certain sequences, he demonstrates surprising agility at his height of 6’6.

I would say that for a player like that, given his position and his size, the most important thing is whether the opposing forward can get around him from the outside and in his case, that doesn’t happen.

On the other hand, at the end of a shift it may happen that his first strides are not on point. And also, he sometimes has the annoying habit of making his pivots from the wrong side, fortunately for him, he can recover with his long reach and limit the damage, but as a general rule of thumb, it is usually something that is not forgiving.

It may seem like a perilous exercise to rank a 19-year-old player so favorably, however, there are certain things to clarify with player development and progression: development is never linear. This is as true with prospects as it is in other areas of life. I could draw several parallels with the strength and conditioning field, which is my profession. Starting from very far last year, Pulkkinen will have experienced a development that is simply out of the ordinary and we must evaluate the player as he is as of now. In a field where no one is immune from periods of stagnation or even regression, it could be wise to give value to the assets present in his arsenal that his rivals cannot afford to bid; his size, his physical play, his poise, his audacity with the puck. For the sake of the exercise, we could also evaluate his current game relative to that of the players from the 2023 draft and, for me, I would rank him in roughly the same place as I currently rank him in the 2024 draft.

He is a player for whom I have more arguments to move him up in a list than to move him down.

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