One of the top-rated 16-year-olds in the world right now is Kärpät Oulu's Jesse Puljujärvi. He just recorded 5 points in four games for Finland at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup this past week, and coming up in the next week for the young phenom might be some Champions Hockey League action.

by Derek O'Brien and David Jahoda

BŘECLAV, Czech Republic - In the competitive world of international hockey, there is little margin for error. Team Finland found that out this week at the U18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, with three tight battles in the group stage against Russia, Czech Republic and the United States, but only won once and missed the semi-finals.

"We played three good games," said 16-year-old forward Jesse Puljujärvi. After beating Russia 5-2, they lost a tight 4-3 decision to the Czechs before falling 9-4 to the Americans, but the score was 5-4 with seven minutes to play. "We regret the third game against the USA the most. I was not very satisfied with my individual performance. I had lots of chances, but unfortunately it did not go in."

It may seem strange for a 16-year-old to put so much responsibility on himself at a tournament where he's one of the younger players, but Puljujärvi’s used to being one of the younger players. He scored better than a point a game last year as a 15-year-old in Finland’s top under-20 league, with 11 goals and 12 assists in 18 games. Before coming to the Hlinka tournament, he played a pre-season game for Kärpät Oulu’s professional team and recorded a goal and an assist.

Even more strange is there’s not much to be critical about as far as his offensive contribution in this tournament. The USA game was the only one where he didn’t score a goal, and he collected at least a point in all four games, including a 2-point effort in the team’s last game, a 9-3 win over Switzerland to claim fifth place.

"Obviously, our team had a good start this game," he said after beating Switzerland. In fact, Puljujärvi scored the first goal - he scored Finland’s first goal in three of their four games. "We came prepared and we really wanted to win it. At the beginning we scored three goals, so we had a good start.

"It’s a good feeling to win the last game with a score like that. Now we’re going back to Finland with smiles on our faces."

Smiles or no smiles, regardless of how their teams finished, everyone who played for their national U18 teams in Břeclav and Piešťany this week now go back to their clubs. For Puljujärvi, that means Kärpät, and possibly a big game to open the Champions Hockey League schedule in Liberec this Thursday. There are no guarantees, though, either in the CHL or in Liiga, where he hopes to see some action this season.

"It’s gong to be strong lineup overthere, there are many good players, but I want to challange for a spot on the team. I know I will get an opportunity. Anyway the time will tell more."

Time is something that Puljujärvi has on his side, as he won’t be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft until 2016. Fans in Oulu should get plenty of chances to see him play before that, and fans of Champions League Group A rivals in Liberec, Košice and Cologne might also get a glimpse really soon.