JESSE PULKKINEN

Defenseman
6’6/216
Left
JYP/Liiga

Related: Zayne Parakh

Jesse Pulkkinen was a draft-eligible player in the 2023 draft but was passed over and will re-enter the entry draft again as part of the 2024 NHL draft class. Last year, the only thing notable about Jesse Pulkkinen was his frame, as he only put up four points in 44 games with JYP Jr. This season, Pulkkinen became dominant. He not only activates into the rush but spearheads offensive play with flashes of skill. His 28 points in 18 games for JYP Jr. (yes, you are reading that right) is good for the highest point-per-game rate out of all defensemen in the league. He’s been so impressive that he’s got a few looks in Liiga where he’s fit comfortably in all areas of his game, tallying 8 points in 23 games. Pulkkinen represented Finland at the U20 World Junior Championship, putting up 3 points in 7 games, where Finland lost in the Bronze medal game to Czechia. Pulkkinen is a towering, mobile defenseman with great poise and tools to become a unicorn of a defenseman; with some seasoning and development, he could become a great two-way defenseman in the NHL.

Size/Strength Excellent
Skating Great
Shot/Scoring Average
Puckhandling Great
Physical Play Great
Offensive Play Good
Defensive Play Good
Hockey Sense Good
Competitiveness Good

Strengths

1. His style of play is as unique as his development trajectory; the hulking left-handed defenseman moves around the ice with shocking fluidity, which his handling skill can match.
2. He’s composed under pressure and beyond comfortable with the puck on his stick; has shown a level of offensive dare at both the WJC and Liiga that compliments his toolkit.
3. He uses his mobility and reach to match footwork when defending the rush, maintaining an increasingly consistent tight gap, and being able to close it aggressively and quickly.

Areas of Improvement

1. Needs to improve his decision-making.
2. Pulkkinen will need to continue to balance on the line between actively fine-tuning his habits and retaining his offensive aggressiveness.
3. Can overestimate his ability to shield possession at times

Scouting Report

Jesse Pulkkinen has been impressive this season in Finland this season, first with JYP’s U20 and then with JYP in Liiga; Pulkkinen put up an astonishing 11 goals and 28 points with the U20 team before joining the Liiga team, where he recorded 8 points in 23 games. Pulkkinen as played 6 games with KeuPa HT in Mestis, putting up 4 points in those games. It is not normal that a D+1 player has a chance to go in the first round, but Pulkkinen is a special player and is starting to show flashes of what he could become somewhere down the line. His style of play is as unique as his development trajectory; the hulking 6 foot 6, left-handed defenseman moves around the ice with shocking fluidity, which his handling skill can match. He’s composed under pressure, almost to a fault, as he can overestimate his ability to shield possession at times – and beyond comfortable with the puck on his stick. He has shown a level of offensive dare at both the WJC and in Liiga that complements his toolkit and creativity and facilitates a 2nd pairing and PP2 projection. He uses his mobility and reach to match footwork when defending the rush, maintaining an increasingly consistent tight gap, and being able to close it aggressively and quickly. I see an upside with Pulkkinen in all three zones, but he shines brightest with the puck on his stick. Jesse Pulkkinen is comparable to Tyler Myers, who is a defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks now, but way back in the 2008 NHL Draft, Myers was the 12th overall pick by the Buffalo Sabres and had a lot of hype surrounding him entering the NHL, as Myers actually won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie in the 2009-10 season. To maintain a spot this high on the draft board, Pulkkinen will need to continue to balance the line between actively fine-tuning his habits and retaining his offensive aggressiveness, which he has done very well so far this season. He’ll need to rein in the offensive aggression but can develop into a unique second-pair blue-liner down the road.

Skill: Towering, mobile left-handed defenseman with great poise and tools; can develop into a unicorn on defense

NHL Comparable: Tyler Myers

NHL Potential: Top 4 Two-way Defenseman

Season	Team	League	GP	G	PTS
2022-23	JYP U20	U20-SM-sarja	43	0	4
2023-24	JYP U20	U20-SM-sarja	18	11	28
	JYP	Liiga	23	2	8
	HeuPa HT	Mestis	6	2	4
	Finland U20	WJC-20	7	1	3

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