Edmonton Oilers will have to play out the rest of the 2018-19 NHL season without their talented right wing Jesse Puljujarvi. The team announced on Thursday that Puljujarvi underwent hip surgery and will miss the rest of the season.
The 20-year-old Finland international played his last game on February 15th, after which he was placed on the injured reserve list.
“This injury has been bothering Jesse for some time now and after careful consideration with Jesse, his agent and our medical staff, the best decision was to have the surgery and miss the remainder of the season,” – said Oilers assistant general manager Keith Gretzky in a statement. “We expect Jesse to rehabilitate and train throughout the summer and be 100 percent ready to go for training camp in September.”
Oilers drafted Jesse Puljujarvi fourth overall in the 2016 NHL draft. He immediately received an opportunity to play in NHL but didn’t have a big impact in his rookie season, managing only one goal and seven assists in 28 games. After spending time with Edmonton’s AHL affiliate Bakersfield Condors, Puljujarvi was recalled to Oilers for 2017–18 season and played in 65 games while contributing 20 points.
In this season, Puljujarvi managed nine points in 46 games.
