Ex-Edmonton Oilers player Puljujarvi lighting up World Championships
There are plenty of current Edmonton Oilers players to keep an eye on at the IIHF World Championships right now, but a former player is making the biggest waves.
Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard are representing Canada at the tournament as we speak, while Mattias Ekholm suits up for Sweden and Isaac Howard takes to the ice with the United States. Yet, none of those players is having nearly as good a tournament as Jesse Puljujarvi is with Finland.
The 28-year-old Puljujarvi is lighting up the competition in Switzerland and is currently tied for the tournament lead in both goals (three) and points (five) in just three games.
Jesse Puljujärvi finishes off the Barkov play to make it 2-0 Finland 🇫🇮#MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/UxJSiGdpxZ
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 16, 2026
The former Oilers first-round pick picked up a goal and an assist during last Friday’s tournament opener against Germany, and then added two more goals and an assist during Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Hungary.
Puljujarvi did not pick up a point in Finland’s impressive 6-2 victory over the United States on Sunday.
This has sparked some discussion about whether an NHL comeback could be on the horizon for Puljujarvi. The smiley Finn hasn’t played an NHL game since the 2024-25 season, when he appeared in just five games with the Florida Panthers. He hasn’t been an NHL regular since being traded away from the Oilers at the 2023 trade deadline.
While the results haven’t been great in North America, he appears to have found a steady spot overseas. Puljujarvi has been a standout player in the Swiss-A league, where he has 19 goals and 52 points in 52 games with Geneve Servette.
He led the Swiss-A league with 33 assists and finished third in total points.
🚨 Jesse Puljujärvi with the 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐆𝐎𝐀𝐋 !!🔥 pic.twitter.com/0wmdKim9Uz
— Genève-Servette HC (@officialGSHC) October 19, 2025
There is no doubt that Puljujarvi is a talented hockey player; he just hasn’t been able to figure out the NHL yet. That may have been a good enough excuse when he was a younger player, but now that he’s pushing 30, it’ll be a harder sell.
Still, his performance at the Worlds will only add to his stock this summer. We’ll have to wait and see if an NHL team takes notice, and if Puljujarvi is willing to try the league for a third time.
The Oilers are still in the market for a cost-effective scoring winger…