Former NHLer Jesse Puljujarvi reveals replacement World Championship gold medal in hilarious fishing video

A mystery has been solved…sort of.

First reported by Finnish news outlet Iltalehti, Finland forward and former NHLer Jesse Puljujarvi has received a new gold medal to celebrate his win with his countrymen at the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship.

In a rather humorous video that has gone viral, Puljujarvi fishes the medal out of Oulujoki, the Oulu River, a body of water in North Ostrobothnia, Finland.

The replacement hardware was given to the Swedish-born winger after the former Edmonton Oiler somehow lost the medal in the Helsinki metropolitan area last month, just weeks after Finland beat host Switzerland to win the world championship. Puljujarvi reportedly stated that the medal was stolen at the Åke Karaoke bar, where he had the gold on display. However, by the end of the night, it had disappeared. The original gold medal is still missing.

Puljujarvi was excellent at the Men’s Worlds, as he was one of the top performers in the tournament. In his first appearance at the tournament in two years, the Swedish-born winger scored four goals and five assists for nine points in 10 games, finishing second on the team in scoring behind Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov. The duo was key in helping the Lions win gold at the world championship for the fifth time in the country’s history.

This year’s championship marks the third gold medal of Puljujarvi’s international career, having finished atop the podium at the 2016 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship and 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship, the latter of which he was named the tournament’s most valuable player after leading all skaters with 17 points.