The Edmonton Oilers recently traded their first-round pick from the 2021 NHL Draft, Xavier Bourgault, and Jake Chiasson, to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Roby Jarventie and a fourth-round pick.
The 21-year-old Jarventie, from Tampere, Finland, was selected in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft. Unlike Bourgault, he’s a big winger at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds and is expected to begin the 2024-25 campaign with the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL. With that in mind, here are four facts to help you get to know the newly acquired prospect.

Jarventie’s Father Once Played for the Montreal Canadiens… Once!

Family connections run deep in the NHL, from the Sutters and Tkachuks, and now we have the Jarventies.
Jarventie was born on August 8, 2002, ten months after his father, Martti Jarventie, suited up in his first NHL game. Martti was a defenceman selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the fourth round of the 2001 NHL Draft. At the time of his selection, he was already 25 years old and had seven years of playing experience in Finland’s top professional league.
That year, he moved to Canada but only suited up for one game with the Canadiens; however, he played in 59 games with their minor league club, the Quebec Citadelles, where he tallied 21 points before returning to Finland after the season.
Overall, Martti played professional hockey for 22 seasons, retiring in 2016. Additionally, Roby has a brother, Emil Jarventie, who the Pittsburgh Penguins selected in the seventh round of the 2023 NHL Draft. Their youngest sibling, Max Jarventie, just recently finished his hockey season in Finland.

Jarventie Has a History of Knee Issues

During the 2022-23 season, Jarventie suffered a knee injury only 10 games in, sidelining him for three months. When he returned to the lineup, he scored only one goal and an assist in six games. However, moving him from the wing to center allowed Jarventie to hit his stride, scoring 23 points in the final 26 games.
That said, Jarventie made his NHL debut on Nov. 4 last season during the 2023-24 campaign against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He picked up his first NHL assist four nights later against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and overall, he averaged 7:31 minutes of ice time in the seven NHL games he played.
After his seven-game NHL stint, he returned to the AHL, where he recorded 20 points in 22 games. However, the knee injury that bothered him from the previous season worsened to the point where he required surgery last February. In addition, Cam Lewis recently highlighted Belleville’s coach’s comments about the injury at the time:
“It’s unfortunate for him,” Belleville head coach David Bell said at the time. “It’s just a nagging knee issue that they’ve tried to band-aid along the last couple of years, and it just got to the point where he needed to have surgery to get this thing completely fixed. It’ll be a long off-season for him, but hopefully, he comes back the player that he was when he left.”
Jarventie was nearly a point-per-game player in the AHL last season; however, he’s recovering from major knee surgery, so it’ll be interesting to see how he performs out of the gate with the Bakersfield Condors next season. On that note, similar to what Oilers fans saw with Connor Brown, recovering from knee surgery takes time, and Oil Country should set expectations that Jarventie’s best hockey might not come until the latter half of the season.

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A Major Strength of Jarventie is His Shot

Jarventie was drafted 33rd overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Senators, the same draft in which Oilers’ forward Dylan Holloway was selected at the 14th spot. That said, in 2022, ‘The Athletic ranked a list of Senators’ prospects, placing Jarventie at number eight, with Corey Pronman praising his shot:
“He’s got a nifty release for a bigger player and some power to his shot as well (it’s not explosive, but he can finish around the slot and creates a lot of big rebounds when he shoots low).”
Moreover, Pronman also projected his potential peak at the NHL level, saying, “With his skill, size and history of producing versus men, I could see him as a bottom-six winger with a chance at more.”
Additionally, when he signed his three-year entry-level deal with the Senators in 2021, the then Ottawa GM, Pierre Dorion, noted that Jarventie has a good shot, good hockey sense, and a knack for getting to the net. The Finnish forward has scored 36 goals in 123 AHL games, which averages to a 24-goal pace in an 82-game season.

Jarventie Lost a Gold Medal Game in OT at Rogers Place

The 21-year-old has suited up for his home country, Team Finland, on a few occasions. He won a silver medal at the U17s, scoring a goal in the tournament, and his team finished fourth at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2019, where he scored a single goal in the three games he played in.
Jarventie was selected to play for Team Finland at the 2021 World Juniors. He failed to record a point in six games, but his team captured the bronze medal. Additionally, a year later, he represented Team Finland at the 2022 World Juniors once again, which took place in August at Rogers Place in Edmonton, giving him playing experience in what is now his NHL home arena.
The Finnish forward recorded nine points in seven games, but his best game was against Team Germany in the quarter-finals, where he scored two goals and added two assists, in a 5-2 win. In the end, Team Finland played Team Canada in the gold medal game, falling 3-2 in overtime at Rogers Place, with Kent Johnson sealing the win for Canada.
Now that you’re acquainted with the Oilers’ new prospect, what are your thoughts on the trade to acquire him?