FEATURE: Life of the (pool) party

EDMONTON, AB - Bring a floaty.
You've been cordially invited to Jesse Puljujarvi's pool party.
The Finnish winger has been a hype man at Oilers Training Camp, pumping Oil Country up by demanding the puck, splitting defenders and using the red lamp as his personal strobe light, scoring four goals on 17 shots in four pre-season outings.

OILERS MAIN CAMP

DAY 11 CONTENT
PRACTICE | Wednesday at Rogers Place
BLOG: Jerabek improving incrementally
BLOG: Special teams units compete
PRACTICE RAW | Strome
PRACTICE RAW | Talbot
PRACTICE RAW | Chiasson
PRACTICE RAW | Head Coach McLellan
Not only that, but the winger's affable personality has been felt by teammates and fans alike. While sitting in the penalty box during Tuesday's game, Puljujarvi happily obliged when he was asked to pose for a selfie with a fan.
"I think he asked me there and I said, 'OK, why not?'" Puljujarvi said following the Oilers practice on Wednesday. "I like that. It was fun."
The Kodak moment didn't go unnoticed. For Ryan Strome, the happy-go-lucky nature of Puljujarvi has been infectious.
"He brings out the little kid in me sometimes," Strome, Puljujarvi's linemate for the better part of the exhibition campaign, said. "I don't think he's doing it for any other reason other than that's his personality.
"It's good to see people enjoy the game like that and have fun."
In front of the camera, Puljujarvi's tepidness is apparent but away from it is a different story. The comfort is clearly evident on the ice, as the forward has shown with his eagerness to handle the puck. Strides have been made off of it, as well.
"He doesn't really talk about it but if I was from Finland and I was 20 years old, I would be like, 'What the hell is going on here?'" said Strome. "He's actually getting a lot better. It's small steps at a time."

Puljujarvi attributes the early success to his training. The Finn worked hard during the off-season, hitting the ice in September with more assertiveness as a result.
"I feel like I'm in better shape," the 2016 fourth-overall pick said. "After that, I feel confident more and feel like I can do things on the ice. Couple games and I've scored a couple goals. Everything is good. We're having fun here."
'Fun,' being the keyword.
"You see a little bit of a different attitude," added Strome. "He's maybe not thinking as much and not worried as much. Just kind of doing things out there, if that makes any sense.
"Like he's been around for a couple years now and knows what he's doing."
Head Coach Todd McLellan has noticed Puljujarvi's confidence and upbeat demeanor the past few weeks, noting that the forward hasn't been compromising defence in his hunt for offence.
"He's confident. I haven't seen him try to do anything really cute. I see him getting the puck and wanting to fire it at the goaltender. Playing straight-forward, heavy, aggressive hockey," McLellan said.

Entering Training Camp, the biggest question mark for the second year in a row was the complexion of the Oilers right wing position. Ty Rattie, Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto have played 151 games combined but are doing everything and more to re-write the narrative at right wing.
Rattie currently leads the National Hockey League in pre-season scoring with 10 points, Yamamoto has earned praise from his coach with a solid two-way game and Puljujarvi, of course, has been giving many people - himself included - a reason to smile.
"If there's a position that's been the strength of our team right now, it's those right wingers," McLellan said Tuesday post-game. "They understand some of the things they need to do, they've taken advantage of the position they've been put in and they all look confident.
"We've turned what we considered a weakness into a strength."
The hope, now, is for the party to continue.
"He's a happy-go-lucky kid who works hard and is doing well," said Strome. "It's fun to see."